Execution of Public Investment Projects: Gov’t rewards Nkambe Council again for exceptional performance.

The recognition is from the Ministry of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development, MINEPAT. Nkambe Council was recognised and rewarded with a cheque of 50,000,000 FCFA, alongside nine other councils, during a ceremony at the Yaounde Hilton Hotel. 

The ten councils were singled out and rewarded during the second edition of the Model Council Award. It is an initiative of MINEPAT, designed to celebrate achievements of councils in terms of project quality realisation. 

The Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development, Alamine Ousmane Mey, chaired the ceremony that was attended other government officials and actors in the decentralisation chain.

Minister Ousmane Mey told attendees that the said the additional 50 million FCFA investment is to recognise the hard work put in by the outstanding councils.  

The member of government explained that the money will further help the councils to push through their grassroots development projects and improve the living conditions of inhabitants of the municipalities. 

Minister Ousmane Mey also said the Model Council Award, already in its second edition, is a scheme to reward best performing councils.

He said it is also aimed at encouraging others to meet the expectations of their population in terms of projects execution.

Minister Ousmane Mey said the financial support is also a tangible way to recognise the progress made by the councils in the execution of resources transferred to them under the decentralisation process much cherished by the Head of State, President Paul Biya. 

Through the scheme, the Minister Ousmane Mey said the ministry is demonstrating that councils can achieve good practices in local governance, community engagement and council improvement. 

He said the move will also offer a structural framework to empower all councils to enhance and realise their full potential. 

The other councils recognized were Pété, Zoétélé, Nguelebok, Touroua, Kobdombo, Pète-Bandjoun, Ngaoundéré III, Ibabato and Loum councils.

Enter Nkambe Mayor 

Speaking after collecting the cheque, the Mayor of Nkambe Council, Musa Shey Nfor, thanked government for the multiform efforts geared at fast-tracking the decentralisation process and improving the lot of compatriots in Nkambe in particular and across the national territory in general.   

He also saluted the visionary move of economy minister for the scheme to encourage councils that are doing well in the local governance chain. 

The respected grassroots politician said the money handed to Nkambe Council will be used to execute income-generating projects and better serve youth of the municipality, especially Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, who are seeking refuge in the municipality as a result of the crisis in the two English-speaking regions. 

The municipal authority said it is through such youth empowerment projects that the municipality has been able to have the peace that it enjoys, which is enabling the council to be able to execute projects that have contributed to it winning the prize.

Mayor Musa Shey Nfor said the prize from MINEPAT will go a long way to encourage other councils to do exactly what Nkambe Council has been doing in executing Public Investment Projects in the right way for the benefit of the population. 

Road to success 

The Nkambe Council had emerged as the best performing council in the entire North West Region in the execution of Public Investment Projects in 2025. 

The council came out top in a rating of the region’s 35 councils based on data contained in the 2025 North West Annual Rankings of Council which MINEPAT officials in the North West Region published on January 2, 2026.

The data ranked Nkambe Council at the top with 100% execution rate, alongside six other councils with 100%. The 2025 ranking marked the 5th consecutive year that the Nkambe council has maintained the first position. 

Hard work, commitment driving change in Nkambe

Nkambe Council’s achievements are largely attributed to the steadfast commitment of Mayor Musa Shey Nfor. 

Besides positioning Nkambe among the cleanest municipalities in the North West Region, the municipality has experienced exponential growth within the last six years since Mayor Musa Shey Nfor came to office in 2020.

No sector has been ignored in his development agenda. Among few mayors in the North West Region who have taken permanent abode in their municipalities, Mayor Musa Shey Nfor has been on a mission of transforming Nkambe. 

With alternative funding through the Special Council Support Fund for Mutual Assistance, FEICOM, the Nkambe Council has greatly addressed the issue of electricity in the town by putting in place solar lighting across the municipality. 

The council has also engaged a project to address the issue of potable water in the municipality. Series of infrastructure projects have been embarked in domains of education, health, road, culverts among others. 

Several income generating projects in agriculture have also been engaged to address issues of food insecurity since the municipality host thousands of IDPs. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3918 of Wednesday September 23, 2026