Decentralisation process: CAMTEL rallies stakeholders to fast-track digital, local dev’t.

 This was the focus of CAMTEL’s Decentralisation Day, which held in Yaounde Tuesday. The event was part of activities organised to celebrate CAMTEL’s 25^th anniversary.

It held under the theme: “Digital development: Vector for acceleration of local development process in Cameroon”.  Interest was on boosting the decentralisation and local development processes in the country.

The day is the corporation’s initiative, with goal to improve its contribution to speeding up decentralisation and local development.

The event brought together representatives of government ministries viz; the Economy, Planning and Regional Development, MINEPAT; Decentralisation and Local Development, MINDDEVEL; Basic Education, Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of State Property, Surveys and Land Tenure, MINDCAF.

There were also representatives of regional and municipal council authorities and other state institutions in the decentralisation chain, such as FEICOM, MAETUR, local development companies and partners as well as those from the private sector. 

CAMTEL committed to digital dev’t

Addressing guests at the start of the event, CAMTEL General Manager, Judith Yah Sunday Epse Achidi, said the initiative gives the corporation the opportunity to reflect strategically on how it can improve not only its performance, but also its contribution to achieving national development goals. 

“This workshop should therefore enable us all to share information on the opportunities the telecommunications sector presents, with a view to promoting local development, but also to highlighting the ways in which CAMTEL’s range of services could promote the development of digital technology within Regional and Local Authorities,” she said. 

Speeding up the decentralisation process and promoting local development, she reminded guests, are key components of the 2020-2030 National Development Strategy (SND30). 

CAMTEL GM, Judith Yah Sunday Epse Achidi, addressing guests at event 

The CAMTEL boss said Regional and Local Authorities, RLAs, which are presented as growth centres, are at the heart of the vast project to transform the structure of Cameroon’s economy, one of the levers of which is the development of digital technology. 

“Considering the various social and economic changes brought about by the development of digital technology, we need to analyse how Cameroon’s RLAs fit into this dynamic, with a view to enhancing their development,” the CAMTEL GM said.

Yah Sunday said within one of its missions to build infrastructure and provide electronic communications services, “CAMTEL contributes not only to the development of the digital economy within RLAs, but also to the promotion of digital governance within regions and councils”. 

Context, rationale of initiative 

The Technical Adviser No.1 at CAMTEL, Ottou Francis, used the opening ceremony to brief stakeholders on the context, objectives and expectations of the CAMTEL Decentralisation Day.  

Ottou said it is in the context of accelerating decentralisation that CAMTEL intends to celebrate its 25 years of existence, by organising a day dedicated to decentralisation. Such, he said, is to provide an opportunity for debates around concerns to mobilise stakeholders.

This, he said, is to ensure that CAMTEL continues to play an effective role in speeding up the decentralisation process and promoting local development.

Objectives 

The main objective of the activity, Ottou detailed, is to define the modalities that will allow CAMTEL to promote the emergence of digital governance within Regional and Local Authorities. 

He said it also specifically aims to present the decentralisation process in Cameroon and the related issues in the context of digital development. Ottou highlighted the contribution of digital technology in promoting local development and international best practices in the sector.

The Technical Adviser also talked on the state of development of the digital economy and e-governance within Regional and Local Authorities.

He said the gathering is also to present CAMTEL's contribution to digital development in the country and the promotion of local development along with its future prospects. 

Participants, he said, are expected to, at the end be versed with the decentralisation process in the context of digital development. He said they are also expected to better understand the contribution of digital technology in promoting local development as well as international best practices.

Participants also evaluated constraints in the digital economy and e-governance within the RLAs. They also gave an overview of the process of digitising municipal services in general and the civil registry system as well as challenges and prospects.

Key areas of presentations

Presentations touched on challenges, approaches of digital and local development, stakes and challenges of digital development within Regional and Local Authorities.

Other topics treated were: challenges and opportunities within the context of digital development in the decentralisation process, the role of international best practices in digital technology in the promotion of local development.

CAMTEL’s role in digital development and the promotion of local development and prospects were also presented. Funding and stakes of technological challenges of smart cities were also looked into.

Other presentations touched on the state of constraints of digital economy and e-governance, digital management of town-planning documents, digitalisation of the civil status registry system and the role of RLAs in bridging the digital divide in the country. 

Cross section of participants at CAMTEL Decentralisation Day 

Event wraps up on satisfactory note 

Closing the workshop, the CAMTEL General Manager, said the discussions gave a clearer picture of the decentralisation process, related challenges in terms of digital development.

She said it also enabled them to highlight the contribution of digital technology to the promotion of local development as well understand the progress made by Local and Regional Authorities in developing the digital economy and e-governance.

Contributions made during the workshop, she added, helped to lay the groundwork for a strong boost to digital development in the country in general and within the RLAs in particular.

The CAMTEL GM said the digital boom and the promotion of local development, as envisaged in the SND30, will be achieved with the contribution of various stakeholders. 

“In this respect, CAMTEL intends to play its part appropriately,” she pledged. 

The CAMTEL Decentralisation Day, it should be said, comes after CAMTEL Digital Day held last October 31. CAMTEL officials said both events have given the corporation an overview of the areas of intervention that it needs to develop, in order to better articulate its contribution to Cameroon's long-term development.