Administrative Institutions and The Law of Decentralisation UBa NN

ADMINISTRATIVE institutions and the law of decentralization uba 2O23/2024
University of bamenda
Faculty of law and political science
ADMINISTRATIVE INSTITUTIONS
AND THE LAW OF
DECENTRALIZATION
LEVEL: 200
PROGRAMME: BACHELOR
DEPARTMENT: PULL, EPL AND POS
COURSE NOTES
2023/2024
Course Master: Dr. IHIMBRU Barnabas
1
ADMINISTRATIVE INSTITUTIONS AND THE LAW OF DECENTRALIZATION
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
We start this course entitled, Administrative Institutions and Decentralization with the
understanding that the course is not only centered on decentralization. Within the context of the
course, we shall be looking at local public administration, its evolution and traditional
“administrative” institutions such as the chieftaincy institution. Whether it is human communities,
services or the State, the common denominator linking them is; the administration. The
phenomenon of public administration is not new. It is basically related to all forms of human life,
since the human race exist more or less in a community, as demonstrated to a certain extent by
Pierre Legendre in his book, “The History of Administration from 1950 to the Present Day”. The
phenomenon of public administration is so unavoidable today to the extent that even the legal and
political systems challenge the State on grounds of hyper- bureaucratic structures. But what is the
administration? And what are the functions of the administration?
I. Definition of Administration
The notion of administration is rather vague because in everyday language this concept refers to
quite a number of very different realities. For instance, an endowment is administered, an
establishment is administered and a municipality is administered etc. But, within the context of
administrative law, focus is on public administration. In this respect, it is public administration
that is of interest within the context of this course.
Public administration can be defined either from the functional point of view or from the organic
point of view.
A. Functional Point of View
From the functional point of view, the administration is considered as a set of functions with which
the State is charged. These will be all the more varied as it is difficult to make an exhaustive list
of them (national defense, education, health, research, etc.). All these activities find a nexus in
terms of their purpose and modality.
With regard to the purpose, it should be noted that the activities of the State are essentially aimed
at maintaining public order and satisfying general interest.
2
With regard to the modalities, it should be noted that all the administrative tasks fit into the exercise
of the executive power. But according to various modalities, some of these tasks are performed by
the government itself or under its authority- that is the State administration. Others are only
discharged under its control- that is; the autonomous administration.
Irrespective of the constitutive elements of the executive power, the administration is only one of
the missions of the government. Hence, the need to make a clear demarcation between the two
major missions of the executive power, which some authors have developed interest in. In his
treatise on “Administrative jurisdiction and Contentious Appeals”, Edouard LAFERIERE
clearly states:
…to administer is to ensure the daily application of governmental authority and ensure constant
contact between the citizens with central or local administration or of the various
administrations among them, to govern is to ensure the respect of the constitution through the
exercise of the public powers, to assure the rapport with the different arms of government and
also with foreign powers.
George VEDEL holds the same view: "…to govern is to trace the general orientations, to
design strategic plans, to administer is to meet certain daily collective needs that the State is
charged with ".
B. Organic Point of View
From this point of view, the administration is a group of natural or legal persons involved in the
execution of administrative tasks. Individuals charged with executing this role are numerous and
differentiated because they can be either civil servants or administrative agents. As for the legal
persons, they are constituted by individualized structures benefiting from legal personality and
some measure of autonomy.
In light of all these elements, we can summarize some definitions of the administration, namely:
all activities under the authority or control of the government are geared to maintain public order
and the satisfaction of other needs of general interest. It can also be said that the natural or legal
persons who perform the administrative functions aim at the same goal. Georges VEDEL defines
administration basically as; “all the activities of the government and decentralized collectivities,
relations between the public authorities and the governed, and the conduct of the international
relations taking place within a context of public power.
II. Functions of Public Administration
We may start by asking a question; What is administration? Do the officials responsible for
translating administrative policies into action have a role? If they do, what is this role?
Obviously, the administration has a specific role that is quite varied. For a long time, the
administration, like the State, has been more focused on sovereign functions such as, the
3
administrative police, questions linked to the issue of the currency, diplomacy, national defense,
etc. This was the triumphant period of liberalism often referred to as the Gendarme State. But
nowadays, the functions of the administration have evolved to the point where they now deal with
missions that were once reserved for private initiatives. That is the advent of the Welfare State
otherwise, the Faustian State. This results in a classification of the missions of the administration
whose inventory is inexhaustive. We however group them in two categories: Principal Missions
(a) and Auxiliary Missions (b)
A. Principal missions of administration
Principal missions refer to tasks for which the public services were instituted by the political
power. These functions are varied. However, they all are geared towards responding to the
collective needs of the population, irrespective of what the needs are. For instance, defense, crime
prevention etc. Compiling and classifying these main functions of administration are quite
difficult, but we shall group them into four general categories: -
i. Sovereign Function: These include amongst others; defense, the conduct of external
relations, the police, justice, civil status, formation and functioning of political
institutions.
ii. Economic functions; Amongst other things, these include State power relating to
money i. e. the issue of money or the control of the money supply, actions in favor of
operational research, general coordination of economic policy.
iii. Social functions; It concerns actions relating to health and hygiene, housing and urban
planning, rights and interests of workers, environmental management, income
redistribution, etc.
iv. Education and cultural function; These can be summarized as scientific research,
general education, adult education, promotion of artistic and literary production, etc.
Although these examples are not exhaustive, they are simply meant to give an idea of the
heterogeneity and complexity of the principal missions of the State, to which are added the
auxiliary missions.
B. Auxiliary Missions of Public Administration
Unlike the main functions, the auxiliary functions are unique in that they are found in all services
or service packages. The basic idea here is that some civil servants do not work directly for the
public, so their activities are directed to other officials or to other administrators. This is why the
functions they perform are auxiliary functions or logistical functions. These are common or
horizontal functions. In trying to categorize them, we find them in five domains:
4
i. Staff administration
A careful perusal of public administration shows a relative inflation of State personnel. This occurs
irrespective of reforms envisaged to slim down public administration. In fact, public administration
is rather witnessing constant staff increase. According to Parkinson's law, the best-designed
structures and the most modern working instruments cannot perform at its optimum with
insufficient quantity and quality staff. Therefore, a good staff policy plays a determining role in
administrative performance. Correlatively, the function of staff administration is one of the most
important auxiliary tasks.
ii. Administration of the Material Resources
It goes without saying that public administration can only perform optimally if in possession of
the necessary materials. That explains the importance of the mission of acquisition and
management of material resources in public administration.
iii. Financial Administration
All administrative policy must take into account the needs of the administration. The budget is of
utmost importance here because it helps in the identification of these needs with accompanying
costs, and sources of revenue for its realization. Consequently, it will have to keep the accounts so
that it can draw up a balance sheet between the forecasts and the realizations.
iv. Litigation function
It permits the administration to self-censure so that its decisions always comply with the laws.
v. Documentation function
Not surprisingly, Public Administration is an essential generator of information as a producer of

laws, personal records, historical, geographical, environmental, or scientific knowledge, among
others. This information is beneficial, not only for the administration but also for citizens and
private organizations. Information management systems involve, among other actions, custody,
protection, and controlled destruction of information and information sources such as documents.
In organizations, especially when they have a long history - as are usually the public
administrations - many paper documents are kept. Some of them are important and therefore,
necessary to preserve.
It should be understood that administrative practice is different in different states. In the developing
world where Cameroon is found, the administration has its own peculiar characteristics. It is
indeed, marked by pragmatism, amateurism and more particularly, a natural propensity for
5
exponential growth in personnel. However, whatever the specificity, public administration is

organized in a well- defined general framework, having a central structure, with decentralized
structures, to which are added the peripheral structures with traditional dominance.
PART I: THE GENERAL FRAMEWORK OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

The administration is necessarily ordered through a public person. In other words, the concept of
public person is at the core of the construction of administrative structures. We cannot reasonably
talk of administration unless we first identify the public person in question. This notion is
fundamental, but there is the problem of linking people to specific administrative tasks in the
practical application of the public administration needs to be resolved. How can decision-making
power be effectively distributed between different administrative staff? These are practical issues
whose solutions have been progressively developed and the legal aspects specified. They are based
at the same time on the general or fundamental principles of the public administration and on the
operational modalities of public administration.
CHAPTER 1
THE PRINCIPLES THAT GOVERN THE ORGANISATION OF THE

ADMINISTRATION
We have two main principles that govern the organization of the administration, these are;
- The principle of administrative centralization and
- The principle of administrative decentralization
Centralization is the opposite of decentralization. These two directing principles are a
technique of organizing the administration of the State, especially a unitary State.
SECTION I
ADMINISTRATIVE CENTRALISATION
According to Maurice HAURIOU “administrative centralization brings about unity in the
enforcement of laws and in the management of services”.
Administrative centralization may be seen at two levels:
i. At the Centralization of activities: that is, the involvement of the State in a number of
national activities and;
6
ii. At the Centralization of organs: here, we have functional or material centralization on the
one hand and organic centralization on the other hand. Centralization creates a unique center of
administration and this is done following certain modalities and also due to the existence of a
hierarchical power (superior authority).
Para 1: Modalities [modes] of Centralisation
There are two modalities of administrative centralization: administrative concentration and
administrative deconcentration or devolution.
A. Administrative Concentration
This is done in three ways:
1. The Concentration of public powers
Concentration of public power in the hands of the central administration of the State is
something to take hold of. This is the concentration of the right to make decisions that are
immediately enforceable in a state by the central administration.
2. The Concentration of [the choice of] agents;
Concentration of the choice of agents is linked to the fact that this choice is not left in the hands
of special or specialized bodies and is not by election. It is the central power that chooses its agents
either through competitive exams or through recruitment based on qualification. Thus, the agents
are those committed to the administration and may be displaced or dismissed either due to public
service needs or professional mistakes. By so doing, agents are bound to take orders from the
central administration.
3. The Concentration of the power of decision making and technical competence.
Concentration of the power of decision making and technical competence, there is first of all a
difference between decision making, and preparation or enforcement of the decision. This signifies
that the power of decision making is concentrated in the hands of a central authority and since
activities cannot take place without decisions being taken through this way, all decisions have been
concentrated in the hands of one and the same authority. But such a concentration is suicidal to the
administration. This is why within the same administration there is another modality of
centralization which acts as a corrective mechanism of the first; this is what is called administrative
deconcentration or devolution of powers.
B. Administrative Deconcentration or Devolution of powers
7
This is what Dean Maurice HAURIOU calls “participation in public power” or “the
delegation of public power”.
According to Maurice Hauriou, administrative devolution consists of “imagining that the
powers of each agent have been devolved to him by the head of State or by ministers and have
been acquired by the agents from a sort of common reservoir of powers, which is the reservoir of
public power or state power”.
Precisely, deconcentration means the creation of structures either at the geographical level
(geographical deconcentration) or at the technical level (technical deconcentration or
deconcentration by service) within the state where deconcentrated entities are in charge of passing
on the instructions of the central power to ensure their proper enforcement and to give account to
the central power. As written by Odilon BARROT, “it is the same harmer that hits but the handle
has simply been rendered short”.
In fact, although deconcentration is a remedy or a corrective mechanism of centralization,
and being part of centralization, merely ends up by creating non-autonomous administrative
structures, that is to say, mere organs of representation of the central power, notably at the central
level. This is why there is a hierarchical control put in place to make sure that the dependence of
deconcentrated entities or organs and structures is maintained.
Para 2: Hierarchical Power or Control
Administrative centralization is the creation of a hierarchical relationship in the
organization of administrative personnel and services. This implies the setting up of a type of
administrative superposition and an authoritarian organization of inferior agents and services in a
way that the agents and services assume their functions not under the direct and unique obligations
of the respect of the law, but under the obligation to obey administrative authorities interposing
between them and the law.
There are three characteristics of hierarchical control:
Firstly, hierarchical power exists as of right and it is exercised as such by the superior authority.
To the administrative judge, this characteristic of hierarchical control is a general principle of law
Secondly, it may be exercised either spontaneously or at the request of the administered through a
petition, notably through an application for settlement to a superior authority “recours
hiérarchique”
Thirdly and lastly, a subordinate or inferior authority cannot bring an action against an act taken
by a superior authority within the framework of hierarchical power even when he feels that his
prerogatives have been violated. Thus, a Governor or a Senior Divisional Officer (SDO) cannot
apply for a remedy of ultra vires or abuse of office (recours pour excès de pouvoir) against the
decision of a minister intervening in a matter in which they would have been the right person to
act.
But what are the modalities of hierarchical power or control?
8
B. Modalities of Hierarchical Power

This power may be summarized by looking at the authority that a superior has over his subordinates
with regards the execution of functions wherein the superior is vicariously liable for all the faults
committed by his subordinates. The superior authority gives orders or instructions to his
subordinates, and the latter must follow them to the latter. The subordinates thus execute acts that
the hierarchical superior cannot personally accomplish.
Legally, hierarchical power is broken down into several pieces;
We have the power of appointment. In administrative hierarchy, agents are appointed by a superior
authority who is so habilitated. In Cameroon, we have a list of such authorities running from the
President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, and Ministers.
We equally have the power of instructions, qualified as the procurement of actions, that is to say,
the act of a superior authority commissioning his subordinates by giving them detail instructions
to follow.
Furthermore, there is hierarchical control on acts accomplished by subordinates; this control is
analyzed in relation to the power of supervision, reformation, approval or cancellation.
It should be specified that hierarchical control is exercised on the acts of the agents and not on his
persons.
There is also a disciplinary power that the superior authority has on the person of his subordinates.
This power is translated through sanctions imposed on the subordinates.
Lastly, there is hierarchical advancement which enables subordinates or inferior agents to upgrade
their ranks in the administrative hierarchy.
Our next bone of contention would be to dwell on the other directing principle of the administrative
organization known as the administrative decentralization.
SECTION II
ADMINISTRATIVE DECENTRALISATION
Administrative decentralization is the opposite of centralization. It is a technique that has
as aim the creation of a center of public administration which enjoys legal personality and where
the choice of organs come from the electorate and where its organs are, according to Dean Maurice
HAURIOU, “collective agencies or Assemblies participating in the executive power”.
Decentralization may be understood following a certain number of criteria and it takes
several forms.
Para 1: The Criteria of Administrative Decentralization
9
Theories of decentralization are based on four criteria that are separately or simultaneously
used by legal writers:
- The first criteria is making a distinction between local affairs and national affairs
- The second criteria is legal and financial autonomy of decentralized entities
- The third is the election of decentralized organs
- The fourth is the independence
A. The Distinction between National and Local Affairs
Distinguishing national from local affairs raises a certain number of issues which are to know what
affairs are reserved for local and regional authorities and what other affairs are reserved for the
handling of the central authorities. With respect to this, Alexis Tocqueville wrote that; “certain
interests are common to all the people of a nation such as the making of general laws and the
relations between the people and foreigners while other interests are special or specific to certain
parties of the nation such as local enterprises” and the author precised that “to concentrate the
power to manage the latter is setting up what I shall term administrative centralization”.
B. Legal and Financial Autonomy of the Decentralized Entities
It is an essential criterion and it enables decentralized organs to legally and financially assert
themselves in relation to the central power. The generalization of this criterion has led legal
theorists since the beginning of the 20th century to concur or agree that territorial decentralization
was not as it had up till then been admitted to be the only type of decentralization, and that besides
it; a second type should be added: decentralization by service or functional or technical or vertical
or special decentralization.
C. Election of the Decentralized Organs
This is a public policy device that helps to construct a definition for decentralization by basing it
on the election of certain decentralized agents or organs. Thus, according to Georges Vedel,
“decentralization has a democratic value since it leads to the management of a greater part of
affairs by the interested parties themselves or by their representatives”.
As a result, the attribution of competences to non-central and autonomous organs is not sufficient
to characterize decentralization. These organs also need to be elected. According to Charles Roig,
“election constitutes at the same time the expression and guarantee of their autonomy”.
Para 2: Forms of Administrative Decentralization

From the different forms of decentralization that exist, we shall only focus on two main
ones: the first is the formal decentralization and the second is the material decentralization.
A. The Formal Decentralization
10
There exist at least two forms of decentralization; Territorial decentralization and Service
decentralization
1.Territorial decentralization
It is referred to as “geographical” because it rests on a well-defined portion of the State. In the
Cameroonian context, local communities generally follow the contours of deconcentrated
administrative districts. This is why it is important to qualify these two elements in order to
determine their specificities. It is therefore important to understand that unlike the deconcentrated
structure that comes simply from the work of administrative organization, territorial
decentralization goes beyond the framework of a simple administrative technique and has a
political connotation for two reasons:
Firstly, the municipality takes the form of a true local government which although not complete,
reflects an embryo of democracy. Alexis de TOCQUEVILLE said in this regard that “the council
is for democracy what the primary schools are for education”.
Secondly, the existence of these local democracies matters to the political democracy which are
naturally linked. "The reasons for decentralization are not administrative but constitutional.
2. Technical decentralization
Also referred to as service or vertical decentralization, it is applied to institutions that have

recognized a certain human substratum. It implies allowing a set of people to manage the affairs
corresponding to the specialty of the institution through their representative. But it should be noted
that, contrary to territorial decentralization, technical decentralization has a very strong
administrative character, especially in the context of developing countries in general, and
particularly Cameroon. It follows that the decentralized authorities in technical decentralization
are not necessarily elected, but rather are appointed by the central government which, in addition
provides almost entirely for their financial needs through subsidies. But whether territorial or
technical, decentralization necessarily produces the same effects.
Para 3: The Submission of Decentralization to the Control of the State

By Administrative decentralization we mean the transfer or delegation of certain powers,
competences or attributions to certain autonomous entities by the state. These autonomous entities
are however not absolutely autonomous. More so, the purpose of the autonomy is not to jeopardize
the territorial integrity of the state. It is for this reason that certain legal mechanisms are put in
place to enable the state to ensure that this autonomy is used for the wellbeing of the people and
not to weaken or violate national unity. However, the state must also respect the laws that are in
force while exercising its control over the decentralized entities.
A. Forms of Control
11
There are two forms of control in matters of decentralization: administrative control and
jurisdictional control or control by the courts.
1. Administrative control/power of tutelage
By the Administrative control or the supervisory control or the administrative supervision or the
power of tutelage; we refer to that control that the administration carries out on the decentralized
entities as prescribed by certain texts. This means that unlike hierarchical power, administrative
supervision does not exist as of right, and is therefore not exercised ex nihilo [for nothing]
following the adage “no supervision beyond the provisions of the law”. In the same way, this
supervision or guardianship has a certain number of characteristics and is exercised following
certain procedures.
a. Characteristics
- This control is an administrative policy. As such, it is only carried out by certain
administrative agents and organs of the state and not by the courts.
- This control aims at safeguarding the general interest. It is carried out to ensure that the
general interest of the collectivity is satisfied. This helps to confine the decentralized
administrations within their normal functions.
- The guardianship control is carried out in the interest of the administered in order to avoid
abuses and especially local tyrannies.
- This supervisory control is principally carried out by the central power. However, for
practical reasons, and for the purpose of efficiency and security, it may also be carried out by
certain deconcentrated authorities such as the SDOs and Governors. What is the procedure of this
control?
b. Procedure
Administrative control or supervisory control is done on the person managing the
decentralized organs as well as on his actions.
The Control on the persons may be done through appointments and substitution in case of
failure or refusal of the authority to conform to the regulation in force; the supervisory authority
may stand in for her and act in her place and on her behalf.
Lastly, the control is also ensured by the use of sanctions that are meted on an authority
who commits a serious fault or an unacceptable failure. The sanctions here include suspension,
dismissal (for the executive organ) or dissolution (for the deliberating organ).
control of acts or actions.
The actions or measures of the decentralized organs may also be controlled. This is known
as the control of legality and expediency of the acts. When can this control be carried out; a priori
or a posteriori?
12
- The a priori control: this simply means approval. This control deals with the decisions
that have already been taken by the decentralized administrative authorities but needs to be
submitted for control before being enforced. The control at this level requires that the supervisory
authority should approve of it. This approval is done in two ways: - explicitly and tacitly [expressly
and impliedly].
- The a posteriori control: this is simply annulment or cancellation. This control permits
the supervisory authority to retrospectively cancel or annul certain decisions that are taken by a
decentralized authority. It is to be noted that the two controls we have just mentioned are done
through acts by the supervisory authorities. The state does not only carry out an administrative
control over the decentralized entities, there is also what is known as a jurisdictional control that
particularly affects the territorial decentralization.
2. Jurisdictional control
Acts of administrative authorities over local and regional councils may be submitted before
the administrative judge for control at the request of the deconcentrated administrative authorities.
Where such acts violate certain rights and freedoms of the authority or where they are simply
illegal or unlawful. This authority may seize the administrative judge through a petition or an
application for a stay of execution of the contested act (recours aux fin de sursis à exécution), and
simultaneously or after, requesting the annulment of the said act we have what is known as urgent
administrative applications known in French as du référé administratif. Any administrative control
by the State has certain limitations. This means that the submission of the decentralized entities to
the control of the state is not total.
B. Limitations to the Control of the state over the decentralized territories:
- The first limitation of the State in the control of the decentralized entities is that, such
control cannot be carried out in disregard of the law or beyond the provisions of the law. The
objective is to prevent or to sanction cases of misuse or abuse of power (action ultra vires) by the
State administrative authorities. This is the reason why these decentralized territories are given the
opportunity to contest the legality of such acts of the administrative authorities of the state before
the administrative judge. The mechanisms that have been put in place may be studied in two ways;
i. Firstly, the decentralized authorities have been given the right to seize a competent minister
through an administrative petition (recours administratif) in order to invite the supervisory
authority to review its decision. If the minister does not yield to this demand, then the decentralized
authority may seize the competent administrative judge; this is the second step of the mechanism.
ii. Thus, if the decentralized authority is not satisfied with the decision of the State
administrative authority, he may within the time limit that is provided for administrative litigations
seize the competent administrative judge by filing an application to the court (recours contentieux
ou juridictionnel), asking for the cancellation or annulment of the contested illegal act of
administrative authority of the state, under the canopy of exercising the supervisory control.
13
From what is mentioned above, it can be said that the administration is a composite and complex
entity. This composite and complex character of the administration may be analyzed and
understood by studying its structure.
TOPIC II
THE STRUCTURING OF THE ADMINISTRATION
The basic rules that govern the organization of the administration are largely found in its
structure or articulations. This is why we shall be studying the administration of the state in chapter
1 and the decentralized administration in chapter 2.
CHAPTER 1 THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE STATE
The administration of the State is found nationwide. Some of its structures are situated at
the political capital of the State meanwhile others are found in the remote administrative areas.
Those found at the political capital are known as the central administration meanwhile the others
that are found in the remote areas are called the decentralized administration as shall be seen in
full details.
SECTION I
THE CENTRAL ADMINISTRATION
The central administration is usually said to be the secular arm of the executive. It is within
this central administration that major administrative decisions are taken. The central administration
is made up of three organs, namely; the presidency of the Republic, the prime ministry and the
ministries.
Para 1: The Presidency of the Republic
The presidency of the Republic is the seat of the executive power, the place where governmental
policies are conceived and the actual place where statutory authority is manifested or derives. In
other words, the Presidency is the place from where the general powers that organizes and
determines the rules of the functioning of the State come from. In brief, this may be considered as
the “heart or pumping force” of the administration as concerns its organization as well as its
functioning.
A. The President of the Republic
As per article 5 [1] of the constitution of Cameroon, the President of the Republic shall be
the Head of State. He has a term of office and well-defined or specified functions.
14
1. The Mandate of the President

Following article 6(1) and (2) of the constitution, the president of the republic shall be
elected by a majority of votes casted through a direct, equal and secret universal suffrage. He shall
be elected for a term of office of seven (7) years renewable.
2. The competence
Besides these statutory powers or considerations, there are other considerations dealing with the
competence of the president, especially when looking at it from the level of the administration.
The laws that are in force give the President very important and varied administrative powers. We
shall study the scope and extent of these administrative powers of the President.
i. The Extent of the Administrative powers of the President:
It is almost undoubted that the administrative powers that have been given to the president are
found in articles 8 and 9 of the 1996 constitution. These include;
- Statutory authority (article 8(8));
- The power of setting up and organizing the administrative services of the State (article
8(9));
- The powers exercised within the framework of the state of emergency and the state of siege
(article 9(1) and (2);
- The power to take individual acts, notably acts of appointment to civil and military posts
of the State (article 8(10)).
- Lastly, the powers to make rules and regulations in matters not reserved for the legislative
power as provided by article 27 of the constitution.
ii. The scope of these powers:
We shall be looking at the scope of the administrative powers of the president from three different
angles;
- Firstly, the acts of the President are not subject to being countersigned by any other official
for them to enter into force.
- Secondly, the President may delegate some of his powers to the Prime Minister (PM), other
members of government and to senior administrative officials of the State, within the framework
of their respective duties (article 10(2) of the constitution).
- Thirdly, the importance of the powers of the President is such that the government instead
has a “secondary” role to play in the administration of the state. This is possibly in favour of the
general secretariat of the presidency of the republic which is part of the organizational framework
of the presidency of the republic.
B. The Organization of the Presidency of the Republic
15
Some preliminary observations can be made with regards this organization. As such, most of the
structures of the state have their corresponding equivalence at the presidency of the republic. This
permits the President to be able to do without the organs that are situated out of the presidency in
case of any emergency or necessity. This equally permits him to have more information and a
general view on matters that he has to treat urgently and, in all celerity, and efficiency.
At the presidency, we have an internal administration and other attached services.
1. The internal administration of the presidency of the republic
This internal administration is governed by decree no 98/273 of 22nd October 1998 modified and
completed by that of 2011 on the reorganization of the presidency of the republic.
- The composition of the presidency:
It comprises of the general secretariat, the civil cabinet, services in charge of relations with
parliament, placed under the administration of a minister delegate at the presidency, the ministry
of defence placed under the authority of a minister delegate at the presidency, ministers in charge
of special duties, ministers without portfolio, special advisers, roving ambassadors, special chief
security officer of the President, the communication unit of the presidency of the republic, the
private secretariat of the President, the department of presidential security and the presidential
guard.
Of all these structures, those that draw much of our attention and which are most concerned with
the administrative law are the general secretariat and to a lesser extent, the civil cabinet.
a. The general secretariat at the presidency of the republic
Besides legal considerations, the general secretariat has been an object of controversy. The person
directing it is often seen as a vice president or a de facto president, and this is why questions are
often asked as to its real place in the organic hierarchy of the State administration.
i. The Composition of the General Secretariat at the Presidency [GSP]:
The general secretariat of the presidency of the republic is placed under the authority of a secretary
general having the rank of minister of State, assisted by two assistant secretary’s generals having
the rank of a minister.
The general secretariat comprises of technical advisers, chargés des mission, attachés, private
secretaries of the secretary general, and secretary generals of the internal services etc.
ii. The Functions of the GSP
At the level of its functions, the general secretariat is in charge of relations between the PR and
the government. It assures the liaison between the executive and the different institutions of the
state, particularly the parliament, the economic and social council, the constitutional council, the
Supreme Court and the Higher State Control.
The secretariat general has a central organ [head] who is the secretary general.
16
- The secretary general:

As a whole, the secretary general of the presidency of the republic has three main functions:
Coordination; Legal adviser and; Collaboration
He is the principal collaborator of the President. He assists the latter in the accomplishment of his
mission. In this respect, he receives from the PR, all directives relating to the definition of the
policies of the nation, he follows up the execution of decisions taken by the PR.
He coordinates the activities of the services attached to the presidency of the republic. He gives
instructions on the documents entrusted to him by the President and follows up the execution of
the said instructions. He submits to the President for signature; all types of action plans either of
the PM or of services attached to the presidency of the republic. He assures the preparation of
presidential correspondences relating to the filing of bills to the bureau of the national assembly,
the senate and the economic and social council, as concerns requests for opinion or the study draft
texts with economic and social character, as well as the Higher State Control.
He sees into it that action plans approved by the President and confided into the hands of the heads
of ministerial departments and services that fall under the presidency of the republic are realized.
He plays the role of a technical adviser to the President and the attached services.
In the exercise of his duties, he receives a delegation of signature from the President who so
empowers him to sign on his behalf as the case may warrant.
b. The civil cabinet
The civil cabinet is in charge of matters reserved to the State protocol, stewardship of the palace,
residences and the presidential pavilion. It is placed under the direct authority of a director having
the rank of a minister, possibly assisted by an assistant director. It comprises of technical advisers,
chargés des missions, attachés, private secretariat of the director and internal services.
2. Attached services of the administration
These are services that are attached to the presidency of the republic. These among others include:
the services of the higher State control, the grand chancellor of national orders, the general
delegation of national security as concerns its administration, the general direction of external
research [DGRE]. Concerning its administration and the programme of bilingual training; all
attached services take part in the exercise of administrative prerogatives confided to the secretary
general.
Besides this administration, there are other services that equally have administrative missions. This
is the case of the prime minister’s office.
Para 2: The Prime Minister’s Office
The administrative functions are exercised in chief by the PM who, is aided in his task by
a number of well-organized structures.
A. The Prime Minister (PM)
17
Following article 12[1] of the constitution, the PM shall be the Head of government. His
prerogatives and duties are determined by article 12 of the constitution and further specified by
decree no 092/089 of 4th May 1992.
- Ascension to power
Article 10[1] of the constitution provides that; the President shall appoint the PM and define his
duties and terminate his appointment.
1. Duties of the PM
The duties of the PM are contained in the constitution of 18 January 1996 and specified by
presidential decree.
- Generally speaking, following article 12[3] of the constitution, the PM exercises statutory
authority (regulatory power),
- Article 12[2] gives him the powers to take individual acts and shall be responsible for the
enforcement of laws.
These different duties are specified by decree. The regulatory text defining the duties of
the PM came about after the amendment of the Constitutional provision on the 23 April 1991;
decree n0 91/282 of 14 June 1991. It was repealed and replaced by decree no 92/089 of 4 May
1992, which was later amended and supplemented by decree no 95/145-bis of 14 August 1995.
Decree no 92/089 is marked by a seal of influence of the PR over the PM. One has even been
tempted to question on its constitutionality, even if the constitution indicates in its article 10 that
the duties of the PM shall be defined by the PR.
Following this decree;
- The PM shall be in charge of impulsion, animation, coordination and supervision of the
services placed under his authority.
- He shall see into it that the action plans of ministers approved by him and by the heads of
the ministerial departments are realized.
- He shall coordinate the preparation of regulatory administrative acts to be submitted to the
PR for ratification.
- He animates and coordinates communication policies of the different ministerial
departments.
The PM exercises statutory authority through decrees, orders, circulars, general instructions and
directives.
- He may, when need arises, sign decrees of enforcement of laws voted by the National
Assembly (a formulation compared with that of article 12(2) of the constitution).
18
- He equally takes individual acts in the form of decrees or orders concerning in particular,
integration, demotion of rank, class or grade as well as revocation of functions of category A of
the public service.
- The PM also takes acts relating to the expulsion from the national territory, authorization
for forest exploiters, the grant of licenses for forest exploitation, authorization for change of name,
dispensation of age, expropriation and incorporation into national land, compensation of victims
of expropriation for public utility, approval of building plots for a housing development and town
planning, allocation of national land (after approval by the PR), approval of the transfer of private
educational institutions to the State, approval of the work placement of bailiffs, appointment of
first class chiefs (after approval by the PR).
Furthermore, and following the 1992 decree,
- The PM shall appoint the following to civil posts: directors and those ranking as such in
the central administration, placed under his authority (after the approval of the PR).
2. The scope of the Duties of the PM
The scope of the duties of the PM may be divided into three.
- Firstly, the PM receives instructions from the PR as a subordinate authority by virtue of
the rules and principles governing the exercise of hierarchical power.
- Equally, most of the acts of the PM are submitted to the President for approval. Here
equally, we find a manifestation of hierarchical control that the PR exercises on the acts of the PM.
In effect, following article 5 of the 1992 decree cited above, approval by the PR shall be express
and by way of a visa.
- Lastly, there is the practice of delegation provided for by article 12(5) of the constitution
and article 8 of the 1992 decree. Thus, the PM may delegate some of his powers to members of
government and to senior State officials.
B. Organization of the PM’S Office
The PM’s office comprises among others: a general secretariat, a cabinet and a private
secretariat. Here, we are going to lay emphasis on the general secretariat and to a lesser extent, the
cabinet.
1. The general secretariat at the PM’s office
The general secretariat assists the PM in the accomplishment of his mission. It receives directives
from the PM in relation to the organization of the government and the implementation of the
objectives of the government in sectors under his competence.
- Under the authority of the PM, the general secretariat makes sure that the action plan of
government that is approved by the PM and devolved to the head of ministerial departments is
realized, except for those falling under the presidency of the republic.
19
- It follows up the execution of decisions taken by the PM.

- It gives instructions on documents confided to it by the PR.
- It assures the liaison with the general secretariat of the presidency of the republic as
concerns the preparation of ministerial councils.
- It performs the role of legal adviser of the government in sectors under the competence of
the PM.
- The general secretariat assures the supervision and coordination of attached services, the
preparation of arbitrations of the PM, and the efficiency of government action.
In the accomplishment of this mission, the secretary general of the PM’s office receives a
delegation of signature from the PM.
The internal services of the secretary general include among others the private secretary of the
secretary general, an assistant to the secretary general’s private secretary, the department of
regulatory and legislative affairs, the administrative and petitions affairs department, the general
affairs department, the translations and interpretations department.
2. The Cabinet
The cabinet is placed under the authority of a director having the rank and prerogatives of
a minister. He is in charge of matters reserved to; the audiences of the PM, service equipment and
the PM’s residence, protocol and official outings.
3. The private secretariat
The private secretariat is placed under the authority of a private secretary having the rank and
prerogatives of a director in the general administration. Administratively, the private secretary falls
under the PM’s cabinet.
Apart from these different structures, there are other services attached to the PM’s office
like the higher authority of public service of the State and the National Communication Council.
The PM’s office just like the presidency of the republic cannot carry out all the tasks of the central
administration. This is the reason why there are ministers whose mission is to assist these different
services within the framework of the competences vested on the President.
Para 3: The Ministries
The ministry is one of the secular arms of government. It is a structure which is at the same
time political and administrative. However, it is on the administrative plan that we are going to
study them.
Ministries play a very important role in the conception and realization of governmental
policies, as well as the enforcement of rules and regulations of the state. The number of ministries
is not determined in advance by a text. In the same way, there is no legal hierarchy among
ministries. All of them are formally the same. The number of ministries that exist depend on the
functions that they play: these could be cyclical or structural, political, economic or social. As an
20
example, political factors may favour the proliferation of ministries, just like socio economic
factors may on the contrary influence the reduction of ministries. Whatever be the case, only the
person who holds the power to appoint has the competence to determine the number of ministries
that the government of his country should have. However, we are going to classify ministries and
subsequently determine their internal organizations.
A. The Classification of ministries
In Cameroon, it is decree no 2004/326 of 04 December 2004, modified and completed by
decree no 2007/268 and that of 2011 that deals with the organization of the government. While
reading through these decrees, one may classify ministries into three categories.
i. In the first category, we have ministries that deal with state sovereignty (ministry of
external relations, ministry of justice, ministry of defence, ministry of territorial administration
and decentralization).
ii. In the second category we have ministries with an economic vocation. We may cite the
ministry of finance, ministry of economy, planning and regional development, ministry of
commerce etc.
iii. The third category is made up of technical ministries. Here, we may cite the ministry of
Housing and Urban Development, ministry of higher education, ministry of communication,
ministry of culture, ministry of transport etc.
B. Internal organization
The internal organization of ministries is fixed by presidential decree. It is done in function with
the particularities of each ministry. As a whole, we have at the head of each ministry, a minister,
a political authority appointed by the President of the Republic (on the proposal of the Prime
Minister, as per the constitution).
As an administrative authority, the minister hierarchically comes under the authority of the PM.
He is in charge of executing and following up the decisions taken by the PR and the PM.
Furthermore, he is holder of a delegated regulatory power and a power of appointment which he
exercises under the control of the PM (through Visas). He has direct collaborators such as the
private secretary, technical advisers and inspectors’ general.
Besides these collaborators, there is the central administration of ministries. This generally
comprises the general secretariat headed by a secretary general, principal collaborator of the
minister, appointed by the PR. He is in charge of directing the administration of the ministry. We
equally have general directorates in certain ministries (for example, the ministry of finance and the
ministry of economy) as well as directorates and sometimes divisions.
General directorates are headed by directors general meanwhile directorates are headed by
directors appointed by the PM. Directors have under their authority, heads of divisions, sub
directors and chiefs of services.
21
As a whole, the central administration is a complex and composite organization. It carries out its
administrative tasks at the central level, but its plan can only be efficient if it has branches at the
local level. This is what justifies the existence of a deconcentrated administration.
SECTION II
THE DECONCENTRATED ADMINISTRATION
The deconcentrated administration carries out the mission divulged on the administration of the
State at the local level. It has two essential characteristics:
- Firstly, it does not have a legal personality, and;
- Secondly, it acts at the local level in the name and on behalf of the central administration.
With regard to the regulation in Cameroon, the deconcentrated administration is made up of three
components which are: the administrative units, the external services of ministries and to a certain
extent, traditional chieftaincies.
Para 1: The Administrative Units
Decree No 2008/376 of 12 Nov 2008 (which repeals decree no 72/349 of 24 July 1972), on the
organization of the administration of the Republic of Cameroon, divides administrative units into
regions, divisions and subdivisions. It equally provides that existing districts will continue to
function until their transformation into subdivisions. These administrative units are created by a
decree of the President, who fixes their territorial limits. For the purpose of understanding, we
shall first of all look at the region and then the other administrative units.
A. The Region
The region replaces the province that was instituted by the 1972 decree. Following the 2008 decree,
there are ten regions in Cameroon; the decree provides that other regions may be created by
presidential decree. It is important to specify that following part 10 of the 1996 Constitution, the
region is also a decentralized territorial entity. This means that it has a double status.
The region is placed under the authority of a Governor, appointed by presidential decree, who too
is placed under the authority of the Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralization.
The duties of the Governor and the services and other authorities that assist him are determined by
decree no 2008/377 of 12 Nov 2008 (which repeals decree no 78/485 of 09 Nov 1978).
Following this decree, the Governor is the depository of the authority of the State at the region. He
is at the same time the representative of the President, the government and each of the ministries
at the regions. He carries out general supervision, coordination and control of the activities of the
deconcentrated services of the State in the region under the authority of competent ministries with
the exception of those of justice.
He is in charge of the management of civil servants and State agents working in the deconcentrated
services of the State in the region excluding those of justice, the armed forces and national security.
He may request from any public service installed in his region any information necessary for the
22
accomplishment of his mission. Thus, heads of deconcentrated state services as well as officials of
public establishments and public and semi-public enterprises set up in his region must inform him
of any matter of particular importance.
The Governor renders periodic accounts of his action of coordination in his region to the President
through his hierarchy. The Governor has at his disposal the police forces, the gendarmerie and the
army within the framework of laws and regulations governing the modalities for the employment
of the said forces. He also disposes of all the powers conferred on him by laws and regulations. In
case of any attempt at the internal or external security of the State or to public order, the Governor
may personally carry out or request any agent or competent authority to carry out any acts
necessary for the discovery of crimes and to bring offenders before the competent court under
conditions provided for by the laws in force.
The Governor exercises supervisory authority over the region as a decentralized territorial entity
and over regional public establishments in conformity with the rules and regulations in force.
The following services assist the governor and are placed evidently under his authority: a private
secretariat, a cabinet, a general inspectorate of regional services, a general secretariat of the
Governor’s office.
The general secretariat of the governor’s office is headed by a secretary general who coordinates
an administrative and legal affairs division, a police and administrative organization affairs
division, an economic, social and cultural affairs division and a regional development division.
As concerns the inspectorate general of the regional services, it is placed under the authority of an
inspector general. It is in charge among others of the internal control and of the evaluation of the
functioning of the governor’s office, the SDO’s offices and the D.O’s offices. The inspector
general is assisted by two inspectors.
B. The Other Administrative Units
The other administrative units consecrated by Cameroonian regulation include divisions
and sub divisions.
1. The Division
Actually, there are 58 divisions in Cameroon. The division is placed under the authority of the
Senior Divisional Officer (SDO). He is appointed by a decree of the President [PR] and he is
depository of the authority of the State in his division. He is at the same time the representative of
the PR, the government and each of the ministers. The SDO is placed under the direct authority of
the governor. He is assisted by assistant SDOs.
The SDO is vested with a permanent and general mission of information and coordination in
security, economic, social and cultural matters in his division and on behalf of the government. He
manages all the State personnel in his division with the exclusion of those of justice, the armed
forces and national security.
23
Whatever be the case, he has at his disposal the police forces, the gendarmerie and the army under
conditions fixed by the laws in force. He equally disposes of the powers delegated to him by the
government, the governor and the supervisory authority over councils and local public
establishments in conformity with the laws in force. In addition, the SDO may take necessary
action in case of an attempt at the internal or external security of the State or public order and to
refer offenders before the competent court under the form and time limits provided by the law in
force.
The services in charge of assisting the SDO in his functions include: the private secretariat, the
general affairs services, the administrative, legal and political affairs services, the economic and
financial affairs services and the social and cultural affairs services.
2. The Sub division
The sub division is placed under the authority of the Divisional Officer (D.O), appointed by a
decree of the PR. The D.O is a high ranking official of the State. He is depository of the authority
of the State in the sub division and is placed under the direct authority of the SDO. He is in charge
among other things of the maintenance of order, execution of laws, regulations and government
decisions as well as the coordination and control of the activities of public services set up in the
subdivision with the exclusion of those of justice. He is in charge of the management of the
personnel of State services set up in the sub division.
In the accomplishment of his mission, the DO may make use of the public force within the
framework of laws fixing the modalities of the exercise of these forces.
The DO exercises his regulatory power by way of decision. He is assisted by an assistant DO
whose duties are determined by him and he makes sure the assistant is substituted in case there is
any impediment.
The following are the services of the DO’s Office: the private secretariat, the mail service bureau,
the administrative legal and political affairs bureau, and the local development support bureau.
Within administrative units are found external services of ministries which are also part of the
deconcentration of the State administration.
Para 2: External Services of Ministries
External services of ministries constitute the deconcentrated administration of the said
ministries. These are found at the regional, divisional as well as at the sub divisional levels. The
responsibilities of these services are placed under the hierarchical authority of their minister and
under the authority of heads of administrative units in function with the level to which they belong.
These officials exercise at the local level, functions assigned to them by their ministers in whose
name they act. These, one may say, are the local relays of ministries and ministers.
Their duties are fixed by texts organizing the respective ministries. This means that one
has to refer to these texts in order to sufficiently understand the importance and limits of their
duties.
24
We have other primitive entities that are not normally making up part of the administration,
but have however been integrated into the administration since the colonial times. As such, they
make up a type of deconcentrated administration “sui generis” and they go by the name traditional
chieftaincies.
Para: 3: Traditional chieftaincies, a deconcentrated administration ‘sui generis’[unique or
occupying a class of its own “of its own kind"].
Traditional chieftaincies are governed by the decree no 77/245 of 15 July 1977.
Historically, these have been the initial structures that organized the African societies socially and
politically. In these societies, the rules that were governing the organization and the functioning of
the African societies were not written and were arranged in hierarchy. It was the coming of
colonialism that introduced written laws in these traditional societies. After independence, this
written law system was conserved and re-enforced. These rules are written and at the same time
unwritten or customary laws. This legal hybridism gives the state a strong hold on the traditional
chieftaincies. This is the reason why they are classified under the deconcentrated administration.
Traditional chieftaincies are organized into different categories (A) with chiefs that have a
particular status (B) and attributes (C).
A. Types of traditional chieftaincies
Traditional chieftaincies are territorially organized. They are divided into 3 different
grades: la chefferie de premier degree, deuxieme degree and troisieme degree.
The first-class chieftaincies include those that are found in an area with at least two
chieftaincies of the second grade with its territorial competence not exceeding a division
[department].
The second-grade chieftaincies cover at least a territory in which two chieftaincies of the
3rd grades are found with a territorial limit that does not exceed a subdivision [arrondissement].
The third-degree chieftaincy corresponds to a village in a rural area and a quarter in an
urban area.
This classification is done following a general principle that may be modified. As such a
competent authority can always class a traditional chieftaincy under the first and second categories
depending on its economic and demographic importance.
First degree chieftaincies are appointed by a decree of the prime minister. The second
degree appointed by a decree of the minister of territorial administration and decentralization. The
third degree are created by the arret of the prefect.
B. The status of traditional chiefs
We are going to be looking at the appointment of the chiefs, their rights and obligations
and their disciplinary system.
1. The appointment
25
First degree chiefs are appointed by the prime minister following the approval of the
president of the republic. The second-degree chief is appointed by the minister of territorial
administration and decentralization. The third degree appointed by the prefect. Any objections to
the appointment of a chief must be forwarded before the authority doing the appointment. He
handles all such objections in full capacity both at first instance and appeal.
The functions of a traditional ruler are incompatible with all other public functions. But the
authority appointing may authorize the accumulation of functions, especially where the interested
person resides in the vicinity of the chieftaincy.
2. The rights of traditional rulers
A traditional ruler has two types of rights; material advantages and legal protection.
- Material advantages include: a fixed allocation by virtue of article 22 and 23 of the decree
no 77/247 for the 1 and 2nd class chiefs which has been taken over or are today amended and
supplemented by the decree no 2013/332 of 13 sept 2013 stating that all customary rulers would
from hence collect monthly allocations.
The 1st degree chief has 200.000frs, 2nd degree 100.000frs, 3rd degree 50,000frs. Taxes
are extended to this allocation as provided for by the general tax code.
If a chief accumulates functions in a lawfully manner, then he would opt either for the
maintenance of his [traitement] pay or salary before he is appointed or for the allocations that they
obtain as chiefs.
Traditional rulers have other rights; but these are legal protections. The regulations
in place says that the state must ensure the protection of traditional rulers against threats, [outrages]
flagrant insults, violence, [voie de fait] battery, abuses or defamation during the exercise of their
functions. If he suffers any injury, he would be so compensated. They may be affected by
disciplinary measures as provided by decree.
3. The discipline
The administrative authorities do a yearly evaluation and appreciation of the activities of
the chiefs. This is the counterpart of the advantages and the protection that they get. Wherever
fault are committed by these chiefs in the course of duty, inefficiency, inertia [inertie or exaction]
towards the population, the following sanctions would be meted on them; a call to order, warning,
simple warning, suspension for 3 months, deprivation of allocation and destitution. To secure his
right of defence, he is given a fore warning to forward an explanation of the accusations made
against him. The chief has certain attributes that shows his involvement in the administration.
C. The attributes
The attributes of a traditional ruler may be summarized in three points;
- The traditional ruler seconds the administrative authorities in their mission of governing
the population under the directives of the ministry of territorial administration and decentralization.
26
- As auxiliary to the administration, the chief transmits instructions and directives of the
administration to the population and ensure the execution of such. They also have to give feedbacks
to the administration of traditional happenings. They assist in keeping peace, order, and economic,
social and cultural development of their area.
- They are bound to fulfil any mission so confided them by the local administrative authority.
- They may settle disputes through conciliation and arbitration among the natives where law,
custom and regulations do not provide otherwise.
In summation, traditional chieftaincies and their chiefs are a very important factor of the
state administration in their localities. They help to bring the administration closer to the
population. As such, they are juridically different from other decentralized territorial collectivities
that fall under the decentralized administration.
27

Administrative Institutions and The Law of Decentralisation UBa NN

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Administrative Institutions and The Law of Decentralisation UBa NN

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

ADMINISTRATIVE institutions and the law of decentralization uba 2O23/2024

Course Master: Dr. IHIMBRU Barnabas

ADMINISTRATIVE INSTITUTIONS AND THE LAW OF DECENTRALIZATION

A. Functional Point of View

B. Organic Point of View

II. Functions of Public Administration

A. Principal missions of administration

B. Auxiliary Missions of Public Administration

ii. Administration of the Material Resources

iii. Financial Administration

iv. Litigation function

Not surprisingly, Public Administration is an essential generator of information as a producer of

exponential growth in personnel. However, whatever the specificity, public administration is

PART I: THE GENERAL FRAMEWORK OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

THE PRINCIPLES THAT GOVERN THE ORGANISATION OF THE

1. The Concentration of public powers

2. The Concentration of [the choice of] agents;

3. The Concentration of the power of decision making and technical competence.

B. Administrative Deconcentration or Devolution of powers

B. Modalities of Hierarchical Power

Para 2: Forms of Administrative Decentralization

Also referred to as service or vertical decentralization, it is applied to institutions that have

Para 3: The Submission of Decentralization to the Control of the State

CHAPTER 1 THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE STATE

1. The Mandate of the President

- The secretary general:

- It follows up the execution of decisions taken by the PM.

You might also like