On Thursday 22 August 2024, the town of Bertoua hosted a capacity-building workshop for Mayors from the East region, on the Road Fund’s financing procedures.
In its 2024 programme of activities, the Road Fund plans to organise capacity-building sessions for regional and local authorities on its financing procedures. In this vein, a workshop for councils from the Lom and Djerem, Boumba et Ngoko, Haut Nyong and Kadey divisions was held on 22 August 2024 in Bertoua.
During the workshop, four modules were discussed including : transferred competencies and requirements specification for each of the Road Fund’s three authorizing officers, the methodology for designing communal road maintenance programmes, award of contract and execution of projects, and the procedures and processing chain for invoices and payments.
It should be noted that this training follows that organised in June 2024 for some forty mayors from the Wouri, Mungo, Nkam and Sanaga Maritime divisions, in the Littoral region. As a reminder, between 2018 and 2024, the Road Fund mobilised CFAF 91.61 billion in favour of councils in general, including CFAF 7.29 billion for those pertaining to the East region. These funds have been used to maintain 1 060 kilometres of road and 216 linear metres of engineering structures in the region.
With regard to the 2024 communal and regional road maintenance programme, councils of the East region received FCFA 1.039 billion to maintain 131.15 kilometres of road and 29 linear metres of engineering structures. As for the East Regional Council, it has been allocated a budget of CFAF 451.678 million for the maintenance of 153.03 kilometres of road and 24 linear metres of engineering structures.
Given the amount of funds mobilised, it appeared necessary to build the capacities of mayors and the administrations concerned, with a view to improving the process of maturing and implementing projects managed by councils.
At the end of the session, coordinated by Aubin ESSAIE MOUSSA, the Road Fund Administrator, participants were encouraged to apply the knowledge they had received, in order to boost grassroots development through road maintenance.