In a surprising policy shift, Cameroon’s central government has revoked the authority of local municipalities to collect taxes, transferring this responsibility to the General Directorate of Taxes. While framed as a measure to combat fraud, the move contradicts the nation’s ongoing decentralization efforts.
This decision has sparked mixed reactions, particularly in the eastern region’s communes of Doumaintang and Betaré-Oya, where residents have long awaited improved infrastructure and public services. The lack of accessible roads, poorly maintained facilities, and inadequate resources has fueled frustration among local populations eager for tangible development.
Local leaders divided over the centralized tax collection
In Doumaintang, Mayor Honoré Koumé welcomes the reform, citing chronic irregularities in local tax collection. He highlights the “inflation of deviant behaviors” among collectors and procedural inconsistencies, leading to rampant tax evasion. Conflicts between municipal agents and traders, including motorcycle taxi operators, further underscore the challenges faced in managing local revenues.
Koumé believes the General Directorate of Taxes has the necessary logistics, training, and expertise to handle tax collection more effectively. However, in Betaré-Oya, Mayor Nicolas Baba voices strong reservations, emphasizing that decentralization should empower local governance from the ground up.
Will the reform slow local development?
The centralization of tax collection risks stripping municipalities of their primary revenue stream, potentially stalling local development projects. Baba expresses concern: “We made promises to our constituents, but now we’re forced to shelve those plans until clarity emerges. The decentralization initiative was supposed to bring change from the bottom up—will it now stall entirely?”
The government’s move reflects its commitment to tightening oversight of local finances. Recent years have seen multiple communes, including Nkongsamba, embroiled in scandals involving fund misappropriation, poor governance, and budgetary irregularities.
With over 360 communes nationwide, the coming months will reveal the true impact of this reform on local finances and municipalities’ ability to meet public expectations.
