Public Finance Transparency Improvement Support Project in Economic, Financial, Social Ministries, and Target Municipalities

Context :

Public finance reform in Cameroon is primarily built upon four (04) fundamental legal texts:

• Law No. 2018/011 of July 11, 2018, instituting the Code of Transparency and Good Governance in Public Finance Management;

• Law No. 2018/012 of July 11, 2018, on the Financial Regime of the State and Other Public Entities;

• Law No. 2019/024 of December 24, 2019, on the General Code of Regional and Local Authorities (CTDs);

• Decree No. 2019/281 of May 31, 2019, on the State Budget Calendar.

This legal framework reaffirms the principles of performance and transparency in the preparation and execution of the State budget, which is divided into revenue execution and expenditure execution. The operations for executing the State budget fall under the responsibility of authorizing officers (ordonnateurs) and public accountants.

Oversight and Transparency Mechanisms

In terms of oversight, three formal types of control are implemented to monitor and evaluate the State budget:

1. Parliamentary oversight

2. Judicial oversight

3. Administrative oversight

Beyond these three statutory mechanisms, a fourth, non-formal type of oversight is exercised by civil society. To simplify budgetary information, a simplified version of the finance law is jointly developed by the Government and civil society, published during each fiscal year as the “Citizen Budget.” Furthermore, to evaluate public access to budget information, Cameroon is one of 120 countries participating in the Open Budget Survey (OBS) conducted by the International Budget Partnership (IBP).

Cameroon’s Open Budget Survey (OBS) Performance:

The Open Budget Survey (OBS) is the world’s only independent, comparative, and fact-based research instrument that uses internationally recognized criteria to assess public access to budget information. Cameroon’s scores for the 2017, 2019, and 2021 editions were 7/100, 28/100, and 34/100 respectively. Although Cameroon gained 6 points between 2019 and 2021, this progress remains insufficient relative to the targets set by the NDS30 (National Development Strategy 2030) regarding governance and budget transparency.

The importance of accountability by national authorities in improving public service delivery to communities is an emerging priority, with growing initiatives across West and Central Africa. UNICEF’s interest in further exploring this topic and developing clear strategic guidelines was highlighted in the synthesis document reviewing its experiences (UNICEF Engagement in Social Accountability: A Stocktake, April 2018). A key challenge remains the need to strengthen the role of civil society in transparency, governance improvement, and public finance accountability, building upon lessons learned from existing practices.

Strategy

In all its projects, AfroLeadership prioritizes a tailored intervention logic that incorporates technical and human dimensions, as well as gender mainstreaming and other cross-cutting themes.

For this iteration of the Cameroon Open Participatory Budget (COPB) project, AfroLeadership will leverage fifteen years of expertise, established collaborations with key ministries (Finance and Economy), and the proven expertise of its core specialists in decentralization, local governance, and local finance. This includes experience gained from municipal projects conducted with the National Program for Participatory Development (PNDP), where AfroLeadership serves as a member of the National Orientation and Steering Committee (CNOP). The strategy will also introduce and consolidate the use of digital tools to enhance information access, transparency, and citizen participation.

Levels of Intervention

• Central Level (Ministries): The project relies on the Open Budget Working Group (GTBO), established by the Budget Reform Division within the Directorate General of the Budget at the Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with AfroLeadership. The GTBO is a sustainable outcome of the Budget Transparency Project funded in 2022/2023 by UNICEF. It serves as a permanent platform for dialogue and evaluation regarding Cameroon’s efforts in budget transparency, public finance oversight, and citizen participation in the budget process. Project activities here will focus on indicators of transparency, parliamentary and judicial oversight, and citizen participation in public policy-making through budget tracking.

• Local Level (Child-Friendly Municipalities): AfroLeadership’s experience from previous project cycles has highlighted effective intervention methods to ensure the sustainability of actions taken with municipalities. Consequently, signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU/Convention) with each Municipality is required to secure local commitment, facilitate access to information, and ensure the availability of staff for project activities.

• Modalities in Child-Friendly Municipalities: Supported by UNICEF, activities in these municipalities will be deployed using optimized delivery modes (grouping activities, utilizing a mix of face-to-face and remote approaches). Interventions will be coordinated directly with Mayors to align the support actions with municipal agendas.

Expected Results

• R1: The capacities of government actors, Regional and Local Authorities (CTDs), and CSOs in budgetary processes are strengthened.

• R2: Government actors are sensitized to incorporating the recommendations of the OBS 2023.

• R3: The capacities of government actors to incorporate the recommendations of the OBS 2023 are strengthened.

• R4: The capacities of Child-Friendly Municipalities in budget transparency and citizen participation are enhanced.

• R5: Local actors improve access to information and citizen participation within Child-Friendly Municipalities.

• R6: The capacities of local actors are strengthened regarding citizen participation, citizen oversight, and social accountability.

• R7: Child-Friendly Municipalities improve their capacity to produce administrative and management accounts.

• R8: The capacities of Child-Friendly Municipalities in public accountability and reporting are strengthened.

• R9: The capacities of government actors in budget tracking and monitoring are enhanced.

• R10: The quality of budget documents distributed to government and local actors is improved.

• R11: The capacities of government actors to adopt OBS 2023 recommendations are strengthened.

• R12: The capacities of youth in Child-Friendly Municipalities are enhanced regarding citizen participation and citizen oversight.