CAMEROON
AT A GLANCE
Head of Government: President Paul Biya
Next election: 2011
Capital: Yaounde
Population: 18.9 million (UN, 2008)
Independence: 1961 through unification of two former colonies, one British, one French.
Human Development Index (HDI): 150th of 177 countries (2008)
Gender Gap Index (GGI): 117th out of 130 countries (2008)
Gross National Income (GNI) per capita: US$1,050 (World Bank, 2007)
Focusing on Results-based Management in Cameroon
Status: Complete, 2009
Local Organization: Cameroon’s Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and Ministry of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development (MINEPAT)
Canadian Expert: Pierre Martineau, Bernard Gingras and Gilbert E. Oloko
Presentation: A Few Observations on RBM Initiative Implementation in Public Administration by Pierre Martineau
In June 2007, the government of Cameroon decided to modernize the Cameroonian public service by implementing results-based management (RBM) (PROMAGAR). PROMAGAR was created in response to concerns about the less than optimal performance of their public administration and its lack of transparency and accountability.
Working closely with executives from Cameroon’s Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Deployment for Democratic Development experts Pierre Martineau and Bernard Gingras helped to promote the objectives of PROMAGAR and build a culture of a public service based on delivering tangible results for the population. They held training seminars in Cameroon in April 2009 with 40 public administrators to provide the tools necessary to effectively manage projects in a public service fostering RBM, a management approach that has been successful in Canada and other OECD countries. Implementing RBM in a traditional public service is fraught with challenges, and this is why the Canadian experts included in their seminars a presentation on service standards as RBM enablers. The relevance and timeliness of these seminars was eloquently expressed in comments and interviews with the Cameroon media. Overall, the way forward has become clearer to the mandarins of the Cameroon Public Service and, although much remains to be done, the Canadian mission has facilitated a shared sense of direction and better grasp of priorities for action.
Another Canadian expert Gilbert E. Oloko, who previously assisted the PMO to conceptualize and plan the PROMAGAR, travelled to Cameroon to work closely with the Ministry of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development (MINEPAT) in its current Growth and Employment Strategy (formerly known as Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy). He provided expertise in strategic planning and evaluation, illustrating the use of RBM to ensure transparency, efficiency, and accountability in public policy, programs and projects. He focused on the revision of sectoral strategies in rural development, social development, education, governance, industry and services, infrastructure, and health.