Government Of Cameroon
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The
Republic of Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; th ...
is a
decentralized Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those regarding planning and decision making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group. Conce ...
unitary state A unitary state is a sovereign state governed as a single entity in which the central government is the supreme authority. The central government may create (or abolish) administrative divisions (sub-national units). Such units exercise only th ...
.


State power

In the Republic of Cameroon, the President of the Republic and the
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
exercise 'State power' as per Article 4 of the constitution of Cameroon.


Executive power

'
Executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...
power' is vested in the President and the Government.


The president

A presidential election determines the President of the Republic. The presidential elections take place every seven years and the vote is made through direct, equal and secret suffrage. The President is elected by a majority of the vote cast for a term of seven years in office renewable only one time. (Constitution of Cameroon: Article 6) The
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
of the Republic defines the policy of the nation, appoint the
government officials An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their su ...
and other senior administrative officials and define their function with respect to the policy he defines; the President of the Republic put an end to these appointment.


The government

It is the duty of the Government to implement the policy of the nation. (Constitution of Cameroon: Article 11) The Prime Minister and the
Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...
lead the government. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President of the republic and the Council of Minister is made of ministers also appointed by the President of the republic on the proposal of the Prime Minister. The powers of the President of the Republic might be delegate by this one to the Prime Minister, any one of the Ministers or senior administrative officials of the State, Minister within their respective agendas.(Constitution of Cameroon: Article 10) Pursuant to Article 14 of the 1996 Constitution (Law No. 96-06 of 18 January 1996), Legislative power rests with the Parliament which consists of The National Assembly (lower house) and The Senate (upper house). The Parliament has legislative power in matters relating to (a) The fundamental rights, guarantees and obligations of the citizen; (b) The status of persons and property ownership system; (c) The political, administrative and judicial organization; (d) The following financial and patrimonial matters; (e) Programming the objectives of economic and social action; and (f) The system of education in the country – Article 26. However, pursuant to Article 28 of the 1996 Constitution, Parliament may empower the President of the Republic to legislate by way of ordinance for a limited period and for given purposes. Such ordinances shall be tabled before the bureau of the National Assembly and the Senate for purposes of ratification within the time-limit laid down by enabling law.


Public administration

The numerous administrations existing in Cameroon can be seen as the government in charge of the policy of the nation within the framework of their respective duties. * Ministry of Social Affairs: Following decree n°75/467 of June 28, 1975, the Social Affairs Department is established as a Ministry in its own rights. The Ministry of Social Affairs is organised by Decree n°75/723 of November 1975. Madam Delphine TSANGA, economist, is at the Head of this ministerial department, there are central and external services. There were two Departments: Private Assistance Department and Social Development Department. External services were Provincial Services of Social Affairs, Divisional Sectors of Social Affairs, and Social Posts. Decree n°77/495 of December 7, 1977 fixes of functioning conditions and creation of Private Social Structures (OSP). Decree n°78/056 of February 23, 1978, creates the National Rehabilitation Centre for Persons with Disabilities initiated by the Canadian Cardinal Paul Emile LEGER. Decree n°80/199 of June 9, 1980 creates the National School of Social Workers (ENAAS) of Yaounde. A small innovation intervenes in 1981, with Decree n°81/295 of July 23, creating within the Ministry of Social Affairs, a Women Empowerment and Social Defence Service. * Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development * The Superior State Audit: ministry under the Presidency of the Republic * Minister-Delegate at the Presidency in charge of Relations with the Assemblies * Ministry of Commerce 4.7. Ministry of Communication * Ministry of Culture * Ministry of Defense * Ministry under the Presidency of the Republic * Ministry of Urban development and Housing * Ministry of Economy and Finance *
Ministry of Finance (Cameroon) The Ministry of Finance of Cameroon is responsible for the public finance policies of Cameroon. Ministers of Finance * Arouna N'Joya, 1957-1958 * Charles Assalé, 1958-1959 * Charles Onana Awana, 1963-1964 * Victor Kanga, 1964-1966 * Simon Nko'o ...
* Ministry of Basic Education * Ministry of Livestock Fisheries and Animal Industries * Ministry of Employment & Vocational Training * Ministry of Energy & Water Resources * Ministry Of Secondary Education * Ministry of Secondary and Superior Education * Ministry of Environment & Nature Protection in Cameroon * Ministry of the Public Service and Administrative Reforms * Ministry of Forestry & Wildlife * Ministry of Industry, Mines & Technological Development * Ministry of planning, Programming and Regional Development * Ministry of Small & Medium Size Enterprises, Social Economy & Handicraft * Ministry of Posts & Telecommunications * Ministry of Women Empowerment and the Family * Ministry of Scientific Research & Innovation * Minister of External Relations * Ministry of Public Health * Ministry of Sports and Physical Education * Ministry of Tourism * Ministry of Transport * Ministry of Labor & Social Security * Ministry of Public Works * Ministry of Justice * Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization: Preparation, implementation and assessment of Government policy on territorial administration, decentralization and civil protection is within the framework of the duties assigned to the MINATD. It is the duty of the MINATD to organize the territorial
administrative units Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...
,
chiefdoms A chiefdom is a form of hierarchical political organization in non-industrial societies usually based on kinship, and in which formal leadership is monopolized by the legitimate senior members of select families or 'houses'. These elites form a ...
and external services, to organize national and
local elections In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...
and
referendums A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
in accordance with
constitutional laws Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in feder ...
. By assuring the preparation and implementation of the laws and regulations and the maintenance of
public order In criminology, public-order crime is defined by Siegel (2004) as "crime which involves acts that interfere with the operations of society and the ability of people to function efficiently", i.e., it is behaviour that has been labelled criminal ...
, the MINATD acts as a guarantor public liberties- associations and
political organizations A political organization is any organization that involves itself in the political process, including political parties, non-governmental organizations, and special interest advocacy groups. Political organizations are those engaged in politi ...
;
religious organization Religious activities generally need some infrastructure to be conducted. For this reason, there generally exist religion-supporting organizations, which are some form of organization that manages: * the upkeep of places of worship, such as ...
s; non-profit movements, organizations and associations. Performing as a guarantor of the state powers, the MINATD oversees the activities of regional and local authorities. The MINATD is also in charge of preventing and managing the risks related to
natural disasters A natural disaster is "the negative impact following an actual occurrence of natural hazard in the event that it significantly harms a community". A natural disaster can cause loss of life or damage property, and typically leaves some econo ...
.


Regional government

Originality, the Republic of Cameroon was divided into provinces. The appellation "regions" came with the Amendment of the
Constitution of 1996 A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princip ...
. The regions are the primary subdivisions in Cameroon. Here are the ten regions of Cameroon: Adamawa, Center, East, Far North, North-West, West, South, South-West,Littoral and North . Considering the fact that the Law No. 96-06 of 18 January 1996 did not yet came into force, a region is under the authority of a Governor appointed by
Presidential Decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...
meaning that the governor represents the authority of the President of the Republic and implicitly upholds the authority of the State in the province/region where he is appointed. Each Ministers assigns to each region a competent
provincial delegate Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in Can ...
in charge of implementing the policy of the state in his province within the framework of the responsibility assigned to their respective Ministerial department. For example, the Minister of Public Health appoints to each province a Delegate in charge of Public Health to coordinate the duty assigned to the Ministry of Public Health at the regional level. It is the same for all the Ministerial departments. With the collaboration of provincial delegates, the governor covers the general administration and co-ordination of the work of the civil service in the province, with the exception of those aspects that fall within the remit of the Minister for justice. And we also have to notice that all local government officials are employees of the central government's Ministry of Territorial Administration, from which local governments also get most of their budgets. As the country is subdivided into regions, the regions are subdivided into departments.


Department administration

There are 58 departments in Cameroon. As in the French model, the capital of a department is called "prefecture" (''préfecture'' in the French language). A department is under the authority of a
Prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...
(in French ''préfet'') appointed by Presidential decree meaning that the prefect upholds both the authority of the State and implicitly the authority of the region at the local level. Each Ministerial department appoints to each department a
departmental delegate ''Departmental'' is a 1980 Australian TV movie based on a play by Mervyn Rutherford. It was part of the ABC's Australian Theatre Festival.Ed. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p43 Reviews were poor ...
in charge of preparing and implementing the policy of the state in his department within the framework of their respective agenda. For example, the Minister of Secondary Education appoints to each department a delegate in charge of secondary education to coordinate the duty assigned to the Ministry of Secondary Education at the local level.


District administration

We have to acknowledge the fact that the French's word ''
arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements' ...
'' is translated "district" in English pose a problem in the context of the subdivisions in Cameroon. Departments are subdivided in "arrondissements", and "arrondissements" are further subdivided in districts. As it is the case for the French's administrative division, the capital of an arrondissement is a sub prefecture (translate in French ''sous-préfecture''). An arrondissement is under the authority of a
sub-prefect A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. Albania There are twelve Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several districts, sometimes translated as subprefecture ...
(translate '' sous-préfet'' in the French language) who upheld the authority of the state in the arrondissement.


References


External links


Presidency of the Republic of Cameroon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cameroon Public Administration Structure