Abstract

Councils need resources to effectively implement projects. Resource mobilization is the way through which councils proactively acquire the resources which they need. These resources are material, financial or human in nature.

Councils in Fako Division are faced with a variety of difficulties to source adequate revenue from central government, donor organizations and internally generated revenue; such problems are cogwheel to the smooth running and realization of council projects. Due to the increasing demand for services by the population, the poor  performance of councils in project implementation, the reliance of councils on loans and grants, there is the need to adequate explore resource mobilization.

The research made use of four specific objectives: to assess the appropriateness of the legal framework on resource mobilization; to identify the resource mobilization strategies used by councils; to explore the resource mobilization challenges faced by councils; and also to assess the resource mobilization potentials which exist for councils in Fako. The research covered three council areas in Fako (Muyuka, Tiko and Buea).

The study design was mainly exploratory with data collected from both primary and secondary sources. The data collected were presented in tables and chats and analyzed descriptively. Face to face interviews were conducted after which they were triangulated to ensure reliability. Findings revealed ignorance and irregularities in the legal framework, the use of very few provisions in the legal framework, the main source of revenue for councils being taxes, poor capacity of the staff, poor planning for resource mobilization, inadequate partnerships, alleged corruption, tax evasion and inadequate use of the potentials which exist for councils.

It was recommended that the capacity of the staff should be improved on the legal framework and resource mobilization, frequent trainings offered to staff, patriotism should be encouraged, computerization of the tax system, proper planning for resource mobilization, capacity building of the population and that the government should provide effective financial autonomy to councils.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

Development is one of the most used words today. Every country or region is working towards development, progress or ensuring positive change in human wellbeing. Often development initiatives are carried without sufficient interest in the aspect of sustainability. In recent times however, there has been a shift from mere development to sustainable development.

Sustainable development is seen as development that meets the needs and aspirations of the present generation without compromising the ability of the future generation to meet their own needs and aspirations Brundtland Report (1987). These include economic, social and environmental needs. Emphasis is increasingly on the principle of needs and limitations. In addition to sustainability, the catalytic role resources play in the development process is also being realized (Manyi, 2007).

A review of the development literature reveals also that most central governments in Africa historically took decisions, designed policies and implemented them without consulting the local people, who can determine, and are affected by, the realization of the policies (top-down approach).

The top-down approach have generally failed because of the absence of basic freedoms for local peoples; the exclusion of grass root people from decision-making, and failure to incorporate local cultures and concerns in the development architecture (Manyi, 2007). The failure of the top-down approach has popularized the bottom up approach in an effort to speed up citizen participation in the development process.

In Cameroon, Law No. 74-23 of December 5, 1974 created Councils and caused Cameroon to democratize the system in order to devolve power to these decentralized units to champion the planning and implementation of rural development. The spirit of decentralization is that local governments should generally be in a better position than the central government to identify local needs, and to deliver public services accordingly (Brewer, Chandler and Ferrell, 2006).

The major challenge faced by organizations and development institutions  is that of limited resources. Resource mobilization (RM) can be seen as a management process that involves identifying people who share the same values as your organization and taking steps to manage that relationship (International Development Research Center, 2010).

Other organizations and scholars have equally highlighted their views on the meaning of resource mobilization. The United Nations Development Group (2008) views Resource Mobilization as the ability to acquire resources and to mobilize people towards achieving stated development goals. In the past, the term resource mobilization was used as a synonym to fund-raising. It is worth understanding that fund raising is just an aspect of resource mobilization. Resource mobilization can be viewed from three dimensions; human, financial and material resources.

Resource mobilization is very important to councils for development purpose. In the context used here, it is an integrated way of mobilizing human and material assets to support organizations and state owned institutions to realize their plans.

Since resources increases the probability of realizing plans, effective planning to mobilize resources is critical to the success of development programs. Resources mobilization is the  major link between the implementation of plans and the attainment of development. This is because plans cannot be realized without the use of resources. This makes resource mobilization a precondition for project implementation and development.

With the reduction in the funding pie without a corresponding increase in resources, it is important for councils to improve on resource mobilization strategies and techniques in order to ensure long term financial sustainability. For local authorities to be effective in mobilizing resources, they will need a clear knowledge of the resources available to them (Nguti Council, 2009).

Local governments can mobilize resources through taxes, donations, loans, grants, and partnerships with the private sector. The resource mobilization process involves three main integrated concepts; organizational management and development, communicating and prospecting, and relationship building. The UN IPOS approach to resource mobilization is the most widely used and consists of five major steps: resource gap analysis, external environment analysis, matching potential donors with unfunded outcomes, prioritizing potential partners and the development of a resource mobilization strategy document.

Local governments around the world today play a key role in facilitating development and improving living standards. Local government is the collective term for local councils, Olowu et al, (2004). In Cameroon, 374 local governments exist and they are managed by elected councils (GIZ, 2012). Of the 374 councils, there are 315 councils, 45 urban councils and 14 city councils. They were created to bring the government closer to the people and equally used as a medium to implement decentralization (Manyi, 2007).

Local governments are the nearest government to the people at the grassroots and they are strategically located to play a pivotal role in national development. The creation of councils in Cameroon was informed by the need to improve the capacity of the local population to mobilize and generate the resources which are required to implement their local development initiatives. This is because the central government cannot provide all the resources needed by people at the grass root.

Councils have thus been charged with the responsibility of generating her resources and ensuring endogenous growth.

In Cameroon, there are two main laws that have been passed which organize and give councils the right to mobilize resources. These are the 2004/017 of 22nd July 2004 and Law No 2004/018 of 22nd July 2004 on the orientation of decentralization and rules applicable to municipalities respectively. With these laws, councils in Cameroon are free and have  been given the powers to mobilize their own resources; financial, human and material resources. More so, section 55 (2) of the Constitution states that Regional and Local Authorities shall have administrative and financial autonomy and shall be freely administered by elected officials.

The literature shows that globally local councils and in Cameroon in particular have wonderful development visions and initiatives, which are always accompanied by very appealing plans. However, these ever- promising development initiatives are mostly plagued by limited resources. In Africa, few local councils achieve up to 70 percent of their development initiatives, not necessarily because the resources are not available but because they lack the needed capacity to mobilize it. This has caused most of the councils to depend on the national or sub-national governments and other organizations for resources (Bahl et al, 2003). It is through the empowerment of local governments that municipal programmes, plans, and service provisions have a higher likelihood of reflecting local needs more accurately than in centralized systems of governance (Materu, 2001). Olowu (1988) in analyzing the prosperity of Zimbabwe in the 1980s attributes it partly to the local government institutions – both urban and rural councils.

In Cameroon, councils are facing serious challenges when it comes to resource mobilization ranging from internal to external challenges (Buea CDP, 2012). Holloway (2003) states that local authorities have limited range of resources. Due to extreme politicization of local authorities, they are accountable more to the ruling party than to the local masses. This has affected effective local government resources mobilization adversely (Horngen, Foster, and Datar, 2007).

For local authorities in Africa to provide the services required adequately and efficiently, they will need to find new methods and ways of mobilizing more revenues (Tibaijuka, 2005). Weak by-laws and lack of appropriate financial strategies have also been cited as contributing to the low revenue generation and collection (Republic of Kenya, 2008). In Cameroon, this has caused many councils to be heavily indebted to Special Council Support Fund for Mutual Assistance (FEICOM) which acts at a support fund for councils and also to be unable to realize their plans. Resources are very instrumental in the implementation of projects and also in the planning process. However, due to the gaps in resource mobilization faced by local governments in Cameroon there is great need to examine and improve on it to ensure their success. This study covers the Buea, Tiko and Muyuka councils which are found in Fako Division in the South West Region of Cameroon.

Empirically, resource mobilization cannot be dissociated from planning due to the fact that the implementation of any plan requires the use of resources. Even from the conception phase, human resources are required to generate the needed ideas for the formulation of development interventions.

As such, it is very vital to address the challenges faced by councils to mobilize resources in order to ensure the realization of their plans. A lot of development initiatives remain on paper due to the limited resources or poor resource mobilization strategies. Local governments are expected to do more with less (Farvaque et al, 2014) It is therefore relevant to identify and address the challenges faced by local governments in Cameroon in their quest for resource mobilization.

1.2 Statement of the problem

Pressure put on local councils by citizens for improved service delivery has increased the need for them to mobilize more resources. An example include the increase in population of Buea without a corresponding increase in water tanks creating shortages in supply relative to demand. Resources mobilized through voluntary contributions, local taxes and user charges are part of the mechanisms to achieve this objective (Bahl et al, 1984). The amount of resources generated by these local governments cannot provide all the basic services needed by the increasing population in the council area. Portable water for instance is not enough to adequately supply the council area due to an increase in the population. It is necessary to mobilize resources that will adequately provide the basic services needed by the population. There is thus the need to look into the challenges faced by local governments in mobilizing these resources in order to meet up with the demands of the population.

In Cameroon, it is believed that councils have a rich resource base and can legitimately develop varying resource mobilization strategies (RMS) that are within their constitutional powers. To support the resource mobilization process, a number of central ministerial departments have deconcentrated some functions to councils. But despite this, many local government authorities have been performing poorly in resource mobilization and service delivery. This is evident in councils’ periodic reports where resource mobilization is often highlighted as the major challenge (Buea CDP, 2012). However, there is need to identify and solve the challenges faced by local governments in mobilizing resources in other to meet up with the demands of the population.

Law No. 2009/011 of 10 July 2009 gives councils in Cameroon the competence to mobilize resources. The 2004 decentralization law gives councils financial autonomy and the power to mobilize her resources. However, these councils still find it difficult to carry out the process. It is therefore important to understand if the problem is coming from limitations of the laws or from the inadequate performance of these councils.

The foregoing raises a number of questions that this study seeks to provide answers. Firstly, one may wish to know if the problem of the councils is with the legal framework. In this regard, the decentralization process has given councils the autonomy to embark on the development of their municipalities, without corresponding resource back-up (July 2004 law enacted by the Cameroon Government which is equally applicable to local councils); the decentralization process was not accompanied by adequate resource backup, creating a problem in proper service delivery by councils.

Secondly, it may be argued that the councils in Cameroon lack the human resources to professionally, conceive, plan and implement projects. Truly, the inadequate planning skills can hamper resource scheduling and mobilization. This is particularly so because most councils in Cameroon employ staff based on political inclination instead of professional competencies. As such, incompetent people are put in positions which they cannot handle.

This is coupled with the fact that they are rarely given proper training to improve their capacity. This can create weakness in the conception, planning and implementation of resource mobilization strategies. Thirdly, is the view that few councils in Cameroon adequately prepare for resource mobilization. Without proper planning few council staff actually know what they ought to do to mobilize resources. As such, they do it in their own way, which is a recipe for failure. It is therefore needful to determine which of the above and other resource mobilization challenges are faced by councils in the Fako Division, South West Region of Cameroon.

Previous studies on resource mobilization strategies and approaches by councils in Cameroon have focused more seriously on financial resources. For example Mukeshet. al., (1996) undertook a study on developing and implementing a financial management strategy for councils, Odhiambo (2005) was also preoccupied with how the councils use their funds.  Markus et al, (2007) worked on a strategic framework for the planning and monitoring of municipal development in Cameroon. Torome (2013) emphasized the need for the councils to mobilize internally generated revenue (IGR). The need for local councils to mobilize resources has been emphasized in the literature, however there is still a huge gap between what the local councils need to do and the resources they are able to mobilize. It is also true that few local councils have been able to mobilize a substantial part of the resources at their disposal. Hence this study seeks to contribute its quota to filling the resource gap faced by local councils in Fako Division.

1.3 Research questions

1. How appropriate is the legal framework for resource mobilization by councils in Cameroon?
2. Which resource mobilization strategies do the councils in Fako Division adopt?
3. What challenges do councils in Fako face in mobilizing resources?
4. What further potentials exist for resource mobilization by local councils in Fako?

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