Cameroon’s central government has revoked the authority of local councils to collect taxes and levies, transferring this responsibility to the General Tax Directorate. The stated goal? To curb widespread tax evasion and financial mismanagement across the country’s municipalities.

While the government frames this as a move toward fiscal rationalisation, it represents a significant centralisation of financial control—despite ongoing promises of decentralisation. In regions like the East, where municipalities such as Doumaintang and Betéaré-Oya face severe infrastructure deficits, the implications are particularly stark. Potholed roads, inaccessible villages, and a scarcity of public services have left residents voicing urgent demands for improvement.

Ending financial malpractices, or undermining local progress?

In Doumaintang, Mayor Honoré Koumé supports the reform, citing chronic irregularities in local tax collection. He highlights systemic issues, including inflated administrative costs, procedural inconsistencies, and frequent conflicts between municipal agents and traders—particularly market vendors and motorcycle taxi operators.

“No one can deny the prevalence of financial deviations in local tax collection—from improper agent conduct to flawed procedural oversight,” he explains. “The resulting tax evasion rates have been alarmingly high, and the clashes between agents and citizens over payments only underscore the dysfunction.”

Koumé concedes that the General Tax Directorate brings technical expertise, logistical capacity, and trained personnel to the task—advantages absent at the municipal level. Yet critics argue this shift may do more harm than good.

Will fiscal centralisation stall community development?

In Betéaré-Oya, Mayor Nicolas Baba questions whether this reform aligns with the spirit of decentralisation. He warns that stripping communes of revenue-collection powers could stifle local initiatives and delay much-needed projects.

“We made commitments to our people—promises we’re struggling to keep,” he says. “Decentralisation was supposed to empower communities, not leave us paralysed while waiting for clarity. Now, our development plans are on hold.”

The government’s decision responds to years of scandals involving embezzlement, budgetary irregularities, and poor governance in numerous Cameroonian municipalities—including Nkongsamba. With over 360 communes nationwide, the coming months will reveal how this policy reshapes local finances and whether it delivers on its promise of accountability—or merely shifts the locus of mismanagement.