• (Business in Cameroon) – Cameroon’s Audit Bench criticizes Nkongsamba Urban Community for poor governance, unrealistic budgets, and weak internal controls.
• The city recorded execution rates as low as 31% of revenues and failed to disclose its debt stock.
• Public services suffer from poor planning, waste mismanagement, and lack of infrastructure funding.
The Audit Bench of Cameroon’s Supreme Court has criticized the management of Nkongsamba Urban Community (CUN) between 2020 and 2023, citing unrealistic budgets, opaque debt practices, and governance failures.
The report, reviewed by Business in Cameroon, says the CUN operates with a “defective governance system,” including a deliberative body deemed unfit to resolve the city’s chronic problems. The court also highlights a weak capacity to mobilize resources and systemic dysfunctions in management bodies, which undermine the delivery of public services.
The auditors underline that the internal oversight body, the Inspectorate General of Services, exists in law but remains inactive in practice. “It compromises the CUN’s ability to anticipate and manage irregularities, comply with regulations, and ensure transparency in public resource management,” the report states.
Human Resources and Oversight Gaps
The report finds major shortcomings in human resources management, with no effective monitoring, planning, or evaluation tools in place. This gap weakens administrative efficiency, reduces the city’s responsiveness to skill needs, and lowers the quality of service.
Fragile Budget and Financial System
Auditors describe the city’s budget projections as unrealistic and its accounts unreliable. Between 2020 and 2023, revenue realization rates ranged from 31.66% to 69.34%, while expenditure execution varied between 31.43% and 47.82%. Current self-financing dropped from 36.8% in 2022 to negative 6.4% in 2023.
For instance, in 2023, CUN forecast spending of CFA2.26 billion ($3.6 million), but only CFA716 million were actually executed.
The weak revenue performance reflects over-optimistic projections, poor collection of local taxes, and failure to anticipate state transfers. Rising operating expenses also contributed, increasing by 19.8% between 2020 and 2023, with more than half now absorbed by general charges and supplies.
The Audit Bench further notes that “no information on the city’s debt stock is available in its accounts,” raising concerns over hidden liabilities.
Deficient Urban Policies
The court identifies major weaknesses in urban planning, road maintenance, and waste management. The absence of a monitoring and evaluation framework exacerbates the gap between announced priorities and results on the ground. “Urban public policies suffer from a lack of coherence and coordination,” the report says.
Garbage collection is hindered by chronic understaffing and lack of skilled workers. Waste is often dumped in ravines or incinerated due to the absence of treatment infrastructure. Meanwhile, the city failed to collect CFA489.3 million in special tax revenues between 2020 and 2023, further limiting its ability to fund essential services.
The Audit Bench calls for a more structured governance framework, including internal regulations and regular planning of council sessions. It recommends reorganizing administrative services, ensuring timely submission of accounts, and making internal audit fully operational with risk mapping and reports.
The court also urges improvements in human resource management and budget planning to enhance transparency, efficiency, and performance in local governance.
This article was initially published in French by Amina Malloum
Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum
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