PIC Tamfu Simon launched a three-month campaign in Bamenda on Friday, September 25, challenging regional and local authorities to unlock income from council assets, markets, parking facilities, transport infrastructure, public spaces and other services instead of relying heavily on taxes and central government transfers.
But the revenue drive comes with a familiar PIC demand: collect more, but leave fewer opportunities for the money to disappear.
“We are proposing two things. We are proposing the increase in this revenue, and we are proposing avenues for accountability and fairness,” Tamfu Simon Fai told Hilltopvoices after the launch.
“These are revenues which will be raised, and these are revenues which will be accounted for and audited. We want to make sure that these revenues go for the development of the region.”
The campaign, themed “new sources, new strength: growing council revenue beyond taxes,” marks a shift in emphasis for an office whose previous interventions have focused on service delivery, citizens' rights, participation and governance in regional and local authorities.
Its activities have included monitoring the implementation of free civil status document issuance and examining complaints linked to council revenue collection and management. The office's reports have also highlighted weaknesses in transparency, accountability and revenue mobilisation.
Now, the PIC is offering councils a carrot being new opportunities to strengthen their finances while keeping the stick of financial probity firmly in place.
Tamfu Simon says councils should first examine income opportunities that already exist within their municipalities rather than simply introducing new charges.
“These opportunities exist in our markets, parking lots, transport facilities, council properties including heavy-duty equipment like bulldozers, graders, front-end loaders and trucks, public spaces and business-related services like the rental of canopies and chairs,” he said.
The proposal comes as councils face a changing local revenue environment and continued pressure to finance basic services and development with limited resources.
The PIC says councils have traditionally depended heavily on taxes, market fees and other levies, while disruptions to economic activity in the North-West have further weakened their revenue base.
The office is therefore encouraging councils to explore legitimate non-tax income while making better use of assets already under their control.
The idea is not unique to Cameroon.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development identifies parking charges, user fees, municipal property rentals, administrative charges and concession arrangements among non-tax revenue sources available to local governments.
New York City, for example, reported $271 million in parking-meter revenue in fiscal 2025, while Paris generates income through parking, municipal services and the occupation and use of public property.
The relevance for North-West councils is not the size of these foreign revenues, but the principle that local authorities can generate income from public assets and services without relying entirely on taxation.
The decentralisation framework in Cameroon also provides councils with powers concerning the management of their property and participation in certain economic activities.
For the PIC, however, the bigger issue is what happens after the money is collected.
“Every franc deserves a receipt” is one of the campaign's key messages. Another is “open books, trusted councils.”
Tamfu Simon Fai wants councils to publish revenue and expenditure information, introduce digital payment systems, strengthen citizen oversight and establish feedback and complaint mechanisms.
The office will also undertake a diagnostic assessment of councils to identify existing revenue sources, conflict-related constraints, risks of leakages, bribery and informal payments, and compliance with financial regulations.
The assessment is expected to produce a regional diagnostic report and council-specific action plans.
The PIC says it will track changes in non-tax revenue, the number of revenue streams digitised, reported corruption cases, citizens reached through sensitisation and overall council revenue performance.
For Tamfu Simon, the campaign cannot end with speeches and sensitisation.
It must produce measurable changes in the way councils raise and manage money.
That is particularly important in a region where the prolonged conflict has disrupted economic activity and weakened the financial capacity of local authorities.
But the PIC acknowledges that councils cannot expect citizens to willingly pay legitimate charges if they do not trust the system.
Citizens, the office says, should know what they are paying, how much they should pay, receive receipts and be able to ask how the money is used.
Councils, in turn, must show that legitimate revenue is being collected and properly accounted for.
The three-month campaign will involve mayors and council executives, revenue collectors and finance officers, traditional and community leaders, market associations, transport unions, businesses, civil society organisations and taxpayers.
After over five years of telling councils what they must improve, the PIC is now adding another message that there is more money to be found, but councils must first demonstrate that they can manage it properly.
By Bakah Derick for Hilltopvoices Web
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