Decentralisation not a Solution
- Akere Muna, 2018 Presidential Candidate
Akere Muna |
I write this article against the backdrop of popular demand
to clarify public opinion on the two concepts of Decentralization and
Federation and how decentralization will not be the solution to the Anglophone
problem in Cameroon.
I base
my submission on what I see as the most comprehensive definition of the
Anglophone problem articulated by the Bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province of
Bamenda. The Key issues highlighted by their definition are:
The failure
of successive governments of Cameroon, since 1961, to respect and implement the
articles of the Constitution that uphold and safeguard what British Southern
Cameroons brought along to the Union in 1961 (Legacy),
The
flagrant and constant disregard for the Constitution, The cavalier management
of the 1972 Referendum which took out the foundational element (Federalism) of
the 1961 Constitution.
The
1984 Law amending the Constitution, which gave the country the original East
Cameroon name (The Republic of Cameroon) and thereby erased the identity of the
West Cameroonians from the original union, The deliberate and systematic
erosion of the West Cameroon cultural identity which the 1961 Constitution
sought to preserve and protect by providing for a bi-cultural
federation.Decentralization is a political system which is the direct opposite
of Centralized government. From 1972 to present, Cameroon has been a
centralized state. This means power in concentrated at the center and all
services are delivered from there.
Over
the years this system has failed to satisfactorily deliver services to Cameroon
explaining the unrest of the early 1990s. In 1996, the government grudgingly
gave to the mounting pressure and introduced a decentralized constitution. This
was followed by the decentralization laws of 2004.
These
measures have not been able to solve the problems Cameroonians are facing talk
less of the specific problems faced by Anglophones in Cameroon. Bad governance
has persisted, corruption has been unabated, chasing of files has become more
complicated, unemployment has been increasing, moral values have decayed,
tribalism and nepotism have been upheld, and you name the rest.
Decentralization
which was introduced as a panacea to solve problems of centralization has
therefore not produced the desired results.
The
reasons are not hard to find. Decentralization means the agenda is determined
by the top and devolved or passed down to the decentralized units. By
implication therefore, decentralization is top down. It is the top that decides
how much power it wants to release to the lower levels. The decentralized units
there just execute the policies and accountability is to the top. Decentralized
units do not have constitutional safeguards and can be dismantled by the
central authority.
This
system does not meet up with the demands of democracy where power is with the
base and accountability is to the people and not the leaders.
Let us
examine the typical case of Cameroon where several political parties run the
councils. Leadership of the councils is elected by the population. As such
accountability is normally supposed to be to the electorate. However, with the
practice of decentralization, the leadership of the councils (Mayors) are
forced to implement the agenda of the party in power which defines polices at
the top. Parties of the opposition therefore have to implement policies that
are defined by the party in power. The population is deprived of the power of
citizen control.
Some
mayors find themselves in the difficult position of fulfilling the promises
they made to their electorate since they have to be accountable to the top and
not the bottom. This makes accountability difficult and betrays the argument
that Cameroon is a democracy.
The
central authority also uses the powers at the center to distribute resources.
Decentralized units which belong to the opposition parties are openly
discriminated in the allocation of these resources.
Federalism
on the other hand is a political system where the central government and
regional governments share power and decision making. The autonomy of regional
units is constitutionally rooted in federalism. So, federalism is about the
autonomy of the regions. Federalism allows regions a constitutionally
legitimate basis on which they can disagree with the center or indeed with
other regions. It is therefore not surprising that countries formed through a
union of autonomous entities like Southern Cameroons and La Republique in 1961
would more likely want to maintain their autonomy within a federal structure.
That is
the case with Cameroon. Southern Cameroons came into the union as an autonomous
entity and sort to protect such autonomy through a federation. If Southern
Cameroons’ forefathers of reunification were not given guarantees that they
were to retain the legacy they brought into the union, they would likely not
have gone into the deal. That is why they see any move that does not protect
this autonomy as a threat and a betrayal of confidence by the other party to
the union.
In
federal systems, the central government cannot overrule the federated states
because power belongs first to the regional states. It is the regions that give
power to the Federal government to manage issues of national security and
foreign relations. The Federated states have the authority to decide on their
programs and run them, determine the leaders to rule them and are accountable to
the electorate. Sovereignty is shared between the Federal structure and the
Federal government at the central level.
With
the Federal system, you will agree with me that the guarantees being asked for
by the Anglophones would be guaranteed by the constitution. They will develop
their programs, run their affairs, consolidate their legacy and participate
fully in public debate. Accountability will be to the electorate and leadership
will be legitimate. Constitutional change will be the subject of a referendum
and not a decision of the central authority as we have today.
I
therefore conclude on the note that Federalism and only Federalism will solve
the problems of the Anglophones in Cameroon. Decentralization will be
administering malaria treatment to a patient suffering from Diarrhea.
Pic
Akere Muna
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