Strengthen fiscal transparency, accountability and citizen participation in the management of local affairs. This is the objective of the workshop organized by COPB (Cameroon Open Participatory Budget) on April 26, 2023 in the commune of Tokombéré.

The work presented by AfroLeadership experts with the notable presence of municipal councillors, CSO leaders and traditional and religious authorities, aims to promote collaboration between local elected officials and citizens through the mechanisms of participation in public policies, improve the access to public information and open data and strengthen local governance through the use of digital tools.

During the discussions, the participants were made aware of the major role they are called upon to play on a daily basis for the smooth running of the locality. As for local elected officials, they are invited to put into practice the new guidelines on budgetary practice by taking into account all aspects of social strata when drawing up the budget through citizen participation, by making information available to the public budgets through digital tools. This according to the new governance law.

Remember that this work is a logical continuation of our collaboration after the signing of the partnership agreement between the Municipality of Tokombéré and AfroLeadership, the bearer of the COPB project. The aim of this project is to build the capacities of the stakeholders (elected representatives of the CTDs, representatives of the administration, civil society, traditional and religious authorities), to contribute to increasing citizen participation and improving transparency in the budgetary process in order to improve access to basic service supplies in our municipality. Like the Municipality of Tokombéré, several other municipalities in our Region have also benefited from this collaboration, namely:

• Maroua I district municipality,
• Maroua II district municipality,
• Maroua III district municipality,
• Yagoua municipality.

The same is true of other municipalities in other regions of Cameroon. This project was initiated by AfroLeadership and supported by the United States Embassy in Cameroon.