Imperative Change

The Head of State, President Paul Biya in his New Year message to the nation on December 31, 2018 and talking about the importance of digitalisation said, “It is necessary for us to do more to incorporate digital progress into the functioning of our public services and our economy.” This is because, as he added, “The developing digital society will not wait for laggards.”
The message of the Head of State had to be translated into government policy, requiring the adherence and active participation of all key actors. Cameroon has no choice but to align to the fast evolving digital world that calls for re-adaptation and complete change of paradigm in the functioning of society.
The dematerialisation of Cameroon’s public service is a must and not a matter of choice. It is now a key action in government policy in order to improve the public service to users. The creation of the Inter-ministerial Committee in charge of the follow up of the modernisation of public administration is the translation of the policy into concrete reality with the watchdog structure. For the dematerialisation to bear the desired fruits, much has to be done to clear challenges and focus on improving the system. The benefits of dematerialisation of the public service are just enormous with the deadline for the processing of files and distances  shortened. Just with the internet connection using the smartphone  or computer, the public service user can tract the evolution of his file, register for examinations and submit files for different purposes online. People do not need to travel distances before getting services.
The benefits therefore, call on urgent action to tackle the challenges. The different public service administrations need to adopt more efficient and aggressive communication methods to first of all let users know the different...