Local governance project: Decentralisation minister salutes strides, tasks committee to redouble efforts.

The event which took place in Yaoundé was attended by the representative of the World Bank, the National Coordinator of PROLOG and members of the Steering Committee among other invitees. 

Speaking during the opening of the session, the minister said the aim of the meeting was to examine and approve the work plan and annual budget of PROLOG 2026. 

He also added that it was an occasion to assess the impact of decentralization on the daily lives of citizens. 

The aim of the 2026 project, the minister emphasized, must focus on activities that have a significant impact. He added that the 2026 budget must not be a catalogue of micro-activities, but rather actions that drive structural transformation.

“…Today’s session is not merely a budgetary review, but the setting of a course for the benefit of our people and of decentralization. Every budget line we approve today must embody the dignity of a displaced family, the future of a young person in a conflict zone and/or the health of a mother in a rural area,” the minister said. 

He tasked the committee to make certain that 2026 becomes “the year of inaugurations and the handover of infrastructure”.

The minister also stressed that partnerships with specialized bodies, such as the National School of Local Administration, NASLA, must be finalized. 

The member of government also hammered on the need to equip “our municipalities with IT skills to ensure their digital transition”.

2025 strides albeit challenges 

The minister said PROLOG entered a decisive phase in 2025 during which concrete results were recorded. The minister described the results as: “promising” but insisted that they now have the “obligation to deliver accelerated results”.

The minister said that in 2025, despite constraints related to security in certain regions and poor accessibility in others, the project achieved a significant level of community mobilization. 

He cited the organization of nearly 2,776 general assemblies and the identification, within the communities, of more than 11,800 sub-projects.

The minister added that the project awarded grants totaling 27 billion FCFA and enabled the implementation of 544 sub-projects.

According to minister Elanga Obam, the remaining implementation deadlines remain tight due to the initial administrative delay that affected the project’s launch. 

He said this time constraint requires a proactive strategy to maintain the project’s momentum and meet its development objectives. 

“Completing the works on schedule is the key to ensuring that the loan provided by the Bank is utilized satisfactorily,” the minister said. 

Hails World Bank for support 

The meeting was an occasion for minister Elanga Obam to salute the support of the World Bank. 

He noted that the country “greatly appreciates the ongoing assistance and support your institution provides to the government in accelerating the implementation of this important project”.

The minister also reiterated the government’s commitment to working towards the successful implementation of this project, with a view to achieving the objectives on schedule.

Enter PROLOG Coordinator 

Speaking to the press, the National Coordinator of PROLOG, Jackson Ngwa Edielle, PhD, explained that following instructions from the minister, they are going to focus “all our interventions on investments.” 

According to Ngwa, around 23 billion FCFA will be allocated to regional and local authorities for this year to put in place major infrastructure in our different communities. 

“For 2025, we have to consider the evaluation in two steps. The first is allocation of grants to regional and local authorities. The steering committee on the March 5, 2025, authorized the project to sign conventions for about 27.6 billion FCFA to regional and local authorities. That is what we did exactly, we allocated all the money to regional and local authorities,” Ngwa said. 

He said the execution rate last year was rated at around 53%. He noted that this was due to “two major elections that really made it difficult for contractors to work on the field for about two months”.

He, however, revealed that “we expect that by June of this year, they will complete all 2025 projects and be able to move forward with 2026 projects”.

This article was first published The Guardian Post Edition No:3756 of Friday April 10, 2026