Programme to digitalise councils, cities: UCCC records major milestone in first phase.

This was during a ceremony to present the report of the first phase of the programme to digitalise councils and cities. 

The Minister of Decentralisation and Local Development, Georges Elanga Obam, chaired the ceremony which was attended by members of UCCC national and regional bureaus, mayors, and other actors in the decentralisation process among others. 

In his address, the National President of UCCC, Augustin Tamba, emphasised that digital transformation, an essential lever for local development, is the general idea behind the programme to digitalise councils and cities.

The programme, he said, will increase the visibility of councils, enhance territorial marketing actions, enable them to sell their potentials, attract investors as well as provide the public with valuable information on the services they offer.

Tamba who doubles as Mayor of Yaounde VII Council said the programme gives decentralised local authorities the opportunity to become vectors of grassroots development, especially as digital technology is well established as an indispensable tool for modernising local governance and promoting community participation in development. 

He said the realization of the first phase of the programme was made possible thanks to the 1.5 billion FCFA grant which was offered by the Head of State, Paul Biya, who is committed to “bringing our municipalities and cities into the digital society once and for all, so that they can catch up”. 

“Today, every municipality has a website,” Tamba stated, while conveying the gratitude of municipal authorities to the Head of State, and pledging their “commitment to support him in the pursuit of his immense work for the development of Cameroon”. 

Tamba also appreciated the Director General of the Special Council Support Fund for Mutual Assistance, FEICOM; officials of CAMTEL, ANTIC, IAI Cameroon and other actors for their support which made the first phase come to fruition. 

He also saluted mayors for their commitment and diligence in providing the data that facilitated the development of the internet sites and also hailed the programme coordination team for working tirelessly to deliver the first phase within a very short timeframe.

Enter local dev’t minister 

The Minister of Decentralisation and Local Development, Goerges Elanga Obam, described the digitalisation programme as a decisive factor in the modernisation of decentralised local authorities and a clear indication that decentralisation architecture is well on track and is being consolidated.  

The move, he said, will encourage citizen participation, make local authorities more effective in delivering basic social services and offer the possibility to transform its territories into hubs of progress, growth and social cohesion as well as facilitate interaction and synergy between all local development actors. 

He said thanks to the political genius and foresight of President Biya, “local authorities are no longer spectators, but major players in their own destiny”.

“That is why I say with conviction: decentralisation is the best way to build a more resilient, equitable and truly prosperous Cameroon,” the minister stated.

He said through the digitalisation programme, public officials will better liaise with local elected officials to reinvent local governance, break bureaucratic delays and seize the digital revolution as a decisive lever for performance and credibility.

Results achieved in first phase 

In a presentation during the ceremony, officials in charge of the programme, updated officials on what has been realised in the first phase. They disclosed that prior to the launch of the programme in 2024, over 80% of councils had no online presence.

The first phase of the four components programme, it was disclosed, focused primarily on setting up 374 digital platforms, including 360 for municipal councils and 14 for city councils. 

This phase, officials stated, handled the design of draft/mock-up websites with proposals on structuring, harmonisation of domain names, hosting plans and costs, awareness-raising among mayors and their key staff about the importance of the programme's implementation mechanisms through workshops organised in 58 Divisions.

The sensitisation, it was revealed, resulted in the signing of 240 MoUs between councils and the UCCC as well as the appointment of digitalisation focal points within the councils concerned.

Through the first phase, the capacity of 335 focal points were honed on technical activities related to website management through 10 regional workshops, creation of content and provision of website management tools. 

To date, the programme officials said 335 councils have a website under the (.cm) domain while 39 (.cm) domain names for certain councils are unavailable because they have been purchased by third parties. 

Challenges identified 

To ensure better functionality and proper maintenance of the websites created and launched, as well as the regular and continuous online presence of councils, the officials harped on the need to effectively addressed challenges. 

They cited among others as main challenges; the absence or poor development of ICT infrastructure, poor connectivity at the municipal level, poorly qualified and insufficiently equipped council staff to address the digitisation in their municipality, insufficient and unstable energy supply and limited municipal financial resources. 

Councils still without a website, as well as those whose domain names are not harmonised under .cm. were also encouraged to embrace the programme. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3565 of Monday September 15, 2025