Must Mayors Live In Their Municipalities?

The law provides that mayors should be resident in their municipalities but not all mayors abide by the law.

Prime Minister Philemon Yang’s decree of February 22, 2017 on the General Endowment on Decentralisation for 2017 in which he clearly spells out that FCFA 3 billion of the total of FCFA 10 billion would go to pay the remunerations of municipal magistrates has once more provoked the debate on whether mayors should be compelled to reside in their council areas.
From the declaration of the Director of Local government in the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation, Etienne Owono Owono, municipal magistrates will have their first salaries before the end of this month of March. President Paul Biya in the decree of September 16, 2015 gave details on the remuneration of Government Delegates, Mayors and their Deputies. According to the decree the monthly salary base of the Government Delegate is FCFA 400,000, mayor FCFA 250,000, Deputy Government Delegate, FCFA 200,000 and Deputy Mayor FCFA 150,000. Besides the salary base, the municipal magistrates has to enjoy representation allowances and other benefits.
The issue of residence still comes out in the Head of State’s decree of September 16, 2015. Article 4 paragraphs 2 of the decree says the Government Delegate and mayor benefits an allowance from his/her actual residence in the urban community or the relevant municipality. “The actual residence under paragraph 2 above, the subject of a certificate of residence issued at the beginning of each financial year by the competent territorial Prefect,” paragraph 3 specified.
All these point to the importance of  the availability of the municipal magistrate who according to the Law N° 2004/018 of 22 July 2004 to lay down rules applicable to councils, is the head of the council executive. He has to represent the council in civil and judicial matters as well as in official ceremonies.  Mayors who do not reside in their council areas and their supporters advance numerous economic and other reasons.  However, a majority of the population are of the view that the law has to be respected compelling mayors to reside in their council areas so as to attend to the day to day development and social needs of the population. Some people have mixed feelings and say if the mayors stay out to seek ways of  meeting the development  needs of the population, it would not be necessary to confine them to the council area.
 

Pour

 « Quand le maire est présent, tout le personnel travaille »

Max Abraham Nwatsock, maire de la Commune de Bafia.

« Je réside à Bafia, bien que ma famille soit actuellement à Yaoundé. Et c’est la meilleure option parce que le maire devrait résider dans sa commune. Ceci parce qu’il y a toujours des occupations au quotidien, sur lesquelles il devrait veiller. Dans mon cas par exemple, il existe certains dossiers que seul le maire est capable de traiter. Et lorsque celui-ci est absent ça devient délicat pour les populations qui ont parfois besoin d’une réponse urgente. Vous voyez donc que l’absence du maire pourrait trahir les attentes des populations. En outre, l’entretien, la propreté, bref le service de salubrité dans la commune doit être suivi de près par lui. Du coup, il y a une culture du travail qu’il faut inculquer aux agents. Ce rôle de leader lui incombe. Ainsi, quand le maire est présent, tout le personnel travaille. Sa présence est nécessaire pour faire avancer l’activité de sa circonscription. Il est vrai que certains maires s’absentent permanemment pour suivre les dossiers d’intérêt commun dans la capitale régionale. N’empêche. Mais, il est logique pour lui de vivre au milieu de son peuple, pour ne pas manquer aux éventuels problèmes qui surviennent dans sa commune, notamment les manifestations publiques, les fêtes, et même les cas de deuils, où la population a besoin de l’affection de celui qu’elle a élu. L’Etat a même pris des dispositions concernant les services jugés incompatibles avec l’activité des maires, à l’instar des services d’administration centrale, les fonctions de directeur général dans les entreprises ou structures, etc. Donc, leurs statuts de fonctionnaire ne sauraient justifier leur absence. Surtout, les maires ont vu récemment leur problème de salaire réglé. La raison est donc suffisante pour qu’ils demeurent près du peuple. Ce qui veut dire qu’avec la rémunération, les maires n’ont plus de raison de vivre hors de leur circonscription.»

Contre:

Calvin Ndangoh Tah : “The Mayor Needs To Go Out”

Barrister, Solicitor

“The first argument is that of the law. The Electoral Code of Cameroon does not make it mandatory for someone to be resident in a constituency before he stands as a municipal councilor because before becoming a mayor, you must first of all be a municipal councilor. According to our electoral code before you stand election to become a municipal council, you must have been resident in your constituency for at least six months. The law did not say that should be resident continuously for at least six month before election. The law does not precise what period to be resident in that constituency. The law says six months to show prove that you have ever stayed in that constituency to stand election. The law goes further to say that somebody who can prove that he has a fixed place of abode in a particular constituency can stand election. If you insist that all municipal councilors should be resident in their areas what do you do then with those who can show prove that they have been in that constituency for six months and can show prove that they have a house in that constituency but maybe are working out of the constituency. So there is no way you can insist that the mayor should be resident permanently in their constituency. What is the meaning of a permanent residence? Does that mean the mayor does not go out? The mayor needs to go out and interact with other constituencies so that he learns the development strategies of other areas and see what is going on in other constituencies so as to develop his own area. With regards to the law, we can cite Article 175 of the Electoral Code and we can equally talk about the social factor that a municipal councilor or mayor does not necessarily need to reside in his constituency. Once he is elected there is no way he can be controlled that he must stay in his constituency. What is important is that the mayor in question should do his job. If he is doing his job and he is comfortable where ever he is, there is no problem. No law bars him from staying out of the constituency and doing his job. The law says show prove of residence and does not forbid you from staying elsewhere. If a Mayor has his house in Mbengwi for example, he works there and goes to Bamenda to spend his nights; you would not say that he is not resident in Mbengwi. We only have a problem with those who abandon their constituencies and only come again when there is election. Once you are elected, it is difficult for you to be controlled on where to stay.

Nuancé:

Fatima Ndam :« Les maires cherchent des partenaires »

Ingénieur en coopération décentralisée pour le développement, consultante en développement local.

« La loi 2004/018 du 22 Juillet 2004 fixant les règles applicables aux communes, à l’article 58, en ses alinéas 2 et 3 stipule que : « (2) Le maire est le chef de l’exécutif communal. Il est assisté d’adjoints dans l’ordre de leur élection. (3) Le maire et ses adjoints résident dans la commune ». Cet article permet aisément  de comprendre que c’est une obligation pour le maire de résider dans sa circonscription. Bien au-delà de cette obligation, le rôle primordial et incontournable que joue le processus de décentralisation dans le développement local et national, voudrait que les maires qui sont les chefs de file de cette décentralisation dans les circonscriptions soient aptes et présents afin de mener à bien ce processus.
Cela dit, le maire a donc cette charge de faciliter la mise en œuvre de ces ensembles d’axes constituant la décentralisation. Il ne saurait dans ce contexte de développement local, être étranger aux réalités de la localité, raison pour laquelle il doit y résider. Mais cela suffit-il &agra...

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