Between 2020 and 2025, Cameroon's decentralised territorial bodies received 727.8 billion FCFA in transfers from the state, and their investment budget grew from 97.6 billion to 157.8 billion FCFA. That is 60 billion FCFA more than in 2020, to build schools, roads, water points and other facilities. But the official figures also record a loss: 78.4 billion FCFA in credits were forfeited because councils did not respect execution deadlines, leaving infrastructure unbuilt and equipment undelivered.
Key facts
- Total transferred to decentralised entities, 2020 to 2025: 727.8 billion FCFA (Ministry of Economy).
- Investment funds: from 97.6 billion FCFA to 157.8 billion FCFA, an increase of about 60 billion FCFA.
- Councils concerned: 374.
- Lost to forfeiture: 78.4 billion FCFA, because execution deadlines were not respected.
- Powers transferred: education and literacy; public health and social action; culture, youth, sports and leisure.
More money, closer to the people
Decentralisation is meant to move decisions and money closer to citizens. The Ministry of Economy's figures show the money part of that promise growing: councils received more than 157 billion FCFA for investment in the latest year covered, about 60 billion more than in 2020.
The state has also transferred skills to councils, in education and literacy, in public health and social action, and in culture, youth, sports and leisure. In theory, those local bodies can provide services to the population without depending on the central administration.
The 78.4 billion FCFA problem
The warning is about delivery. Some councils, the authorities say, are guilty of credit forfeiture, to the detriment of local development. In 2025, 78.4 billion FCFA were lost because execution deadlines were not respected, which meant infrastructure that was not built and equipment that was not delivered.
The government's recipe is a result-oriented approach built on four checks: better programming and preparation, timely award of contracts, rigorous execution and systematic monitoring. The expected results are fewer credits lost to forfeiture, better quality works and respect of execution timeframes.
A test of the whole public-money chain
A council that cannot award contracts on time loses its budget, and a state that cannot track those budgets loses visibility over its own money. That is why this story belongs with the treasury reform (the treasury single account reform) and the payroll audit (the state payroll audit): all three are about whether public money reaches its destination on schedule.
It also echoes a theme in our article on where Cameroon's public money leaks: the issue is not only how much the state raises, but how well it spends.
What the law promises, and what the loss means
The transfers rest on a legal commitment. The General Code of Regional and Local Authorities, Law No. 2019/024 enacted on 24 December 2019, wrote the Common Decentralisation Fund into law. Under Section 25, the Finance Law sets each year the fraction of state revenue that goes to the fund, and that fraction may not be less than 15%, Cameroon Tribune reported. For 2022, a decree set the fund at 240.2 billion FCFA: 128.1 billion for operations and 112.1 billion for investment.
Those numbers make the 2025 loss easier to judge. The 78.4 billion FCFA forfeited equals about half of the 157.8 billion FCFA investment budget. Spread across 374 councils, it averages about 210 million FCFA each, although the loss will not be evenly shared. Our reading is that the constraint is shifting from how much money arrives to how fast local authorities can turn it into contracts and works.
What to watch next
Officials point to some councils with tangible results in 2025, but the figure to follow is the forfeited credit total for 2026. If it falls, the planning and contracting reforms are working. If it does not, the extra money will keep running into the same bottleneck.
More in this round-up
- Cameroon Tells High Earners: File Your Income Tax or Be Named
- Cameroon Moves to Track Hidden Financial Assets, With World Bank Help
- 5,971 Civil Servants Abroad: Cameroon Audits Its State Payroll
- Cameroon's Treasury Single Account: Finding Public Money Parked in Banks
- IMF Mission Chief on Cameroon's Fuel Subsidy: Costly and Poorly Targeted
- Inside the Last Days of Cameroon's Census: Border Trade, Mobility and Reluctant Households
- Cameroon's Cocoa and Coffee Race to Prove 'Zero Deforestation' to the EU
- Cameroon Tells Geneva: Small Firms Are 99% of the Economy, and Weak Accounts Block Their Finance
- Cameroon Economy Roundup, September 2026: Tax Drive, Payroll Audit and Treasury Reform
Sources and further reading: Ministry of Economy, Planning and Regional Development (MINEPAT), Ministry of Finance (MINFI), Cameroon Tribune on the financial regime, Decree on the 2022 Common Decentralisation Fund. Field reporting: Clarice Arrey Tarkang, L. Nguimbous and Hugues Djon. Figures come from the Ministry of Economy; the legal framework comes from the 2022 decree and Cameroon Tribune. The per-council averages are our calculation. Updated 7 November 2026.
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