The Minister of State, Marafa Hamidou Yaya in an order spells out the modalities. The Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation (MINATD) has taken another decisive step to ensure that the additional resources and competence to be transferred to City, Subdivision and Local Councils from January 2010, be effectively and efficiently
managed. The Minister of State in charge of MINATD, Marafa Hamidou Yaya last August 24, in an order organises recruitment and specifies the structures in the different types of councils. Mr Marafa in the order instructs that City, Subdivision and Local Councils have six months beginning from August 24, 2009 to conform with the prescriptions. The councils are thereby instructed to hold sessions during which they will specify the organisation of structures provided for in the order, their constitutive units, the way they will be called and the number of corresponding work positions. He specifies the structures and gives the council authorities the powers to regroup some of them, taking into consideration the overlapping nature of their functions but warns that in doing so, they must neither perturb the continuity of the public service vocation of the councils nor compromise the proper exercise of the competences transferred by law. Councils after deliberations and depending on the specificities of particular activities, can create other structures not provided for in the present order. For the sake of efficiency, MINATD has specified the profiles of staff to be recruited into some positions. The recruitment of staff from category seven, the order states must be submitted to the approval of the Ministry in charge of Decentralised Local Structures. The order from MINATD is part of government??s ongoing efforts to create the necessary framework for the success of the decentralisation process. This comes on the heels of the second session of the National Decentralisation Council presided at by the Prime Minister Philemon Yang last August 5. Mr Yang said during the session that government had provided the legal and legislative framework for the effective transfer of competence and resources to councils. When the resources and competence will finally be transferred to City, Subdivision and Municipal Councils beginning 2010, there will already be adequate structures and qualified staff to transform them to the desired development.
Emmanuel KENDEMEH, Cameroon Tribune