LOCAL DEVELOPMENT
LOCAL DEVELOPMENT WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF COMMONWEALTH BEST PRACTICES
In order to identify policies that could help in the development challenges of local communities, a Member of the Senate of Cameroon calls for Parliamentarians to work closely with municipalities by adhering to best practices contained within Commonwealth values.
Senator Francis Isidore Wainchom Nkwain Senator Nkwain was a Member of the Cameroon Parliament from 1978 to 1983. He was Minister Delegate at the Presidency of the Republic in charge of Cameroon Assemblies from 1987 to 1988; then Minister of Mines, Water and Energy from 1988 to 1992, and Minister Delegate to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, responsible for Commonwealth and Islamic Affairs from 1992 to
1997.Today, he is a nominated Member of the Cameroon Senate and President of the Senate Standing Committee for Foreign Affairs
Cameroon gets ready to host the 60th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference bringing together people from 53 Commonwealth Member States. From 2 to 10 October 2014, Yaoundé shall play host to this large annual event. Under the patronage of Cameroon’s Head of State and President of the Republic, H.E. Paul Biya, the theme of this year’s conference is “Repositioning the Commonwealth for the post-2015 Development Agenda”. The ultimate purpose of
the CPA is the promotion of knowledge and education about the constitutional, legislative, economic, social and cultural systems within a parliamentary democratic framework, with particular reference to Commonwealth countries, and to other countries that have a close historical and parliamentary association. Furthermore, the CPA connects, develops, promotes and supports Parliamentarians and their staff, to identify benchmarks of good governance and the implementation of the enduring values of the Commonwealth. The choice of Cameroon to host
30 | The Parliamentarian | 2014: Issue Three - Cameroon
the 2014 conference is undoubtedly anchored on the symbol of the path of good governance Cameroon has embarked upon. The choice of venue of any CPA conference is usually a reflection of its value system, since peace, security, stability and good governance remain the index cards of the Commonwealth. How then can we fail to see the link between the cultural heritage of Cameroon, its value system, and the shared vision with the Commonwealth? When it comes to matters of local development, Parliamentarians play a crucial role in their respective constituencies. The question remains: “what is the role of the Cameroonian Parliamentarian in local development within the context of Commonwealth best practices?”
Parliamentarians and local development The development of our local communities can only be effective through a participatory approach, given the realities of the ongoing decentralisation process in Cameroon. The main focus, therefore, is our local Councils, and what
we set out to define here is what the Cameroonian Member of the National Assembly (Lower House), and the Cameroonian Senator (Upper House) should do through our municipalities to impact on the lives of fellow citizens. In this context, the aim of local development, which is to alleviate poverty, is adapting the needs of our local democratic institutions to local realities for sustainability. After all, although the Westminster-style parliamentary system is dominant, all Commonwealth Assemblies contribute to the continuing evolution of democratic methods of governance based on their own cultures, social traditions and levels of development, so that no single institution or country is seen as preeminent, and no individual practice is universally applicable without local adaptation. In practical terms, the local development realities of my native Njinikom Council are different from those of Santa, Buea or Bakassi, as well as the cultures and social traditions of these municipalities. Yet, the underlying motivating factor in the
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