Ministry of Public Service and Administrative Reforms (MINFOPRA) Cameroon. In Cameroon, The Ministry of Public Service and Administrative Reform is placed under the authority of a Minister.

The Minister of Civil Service and Administrative Reform is responsible for the formulation, implementation and evaluation of Government policy in the area of civil service and administrative reform.

As such, he is responsible for:

Missions of the Ministry of Public Service and Administrative Reforms – MINFOPRA Cameroon

– the management of civil servants and agents of the State, with the exception of agents of the National Security and the Armed Forces, Magistrates and personnel of the Penitentiary Administration, subject to the devolved attributions to other heads of ministerial departments;
– the preparation of legislative or regulatory measures relating to the status of State agents;
– coordination of training actions for State agents and civil servants;

– the diligence of disciplinary actions against civil servants and agents of the State under the conditions determined by the regulatory texts;
– all the studies relating to the evolution of the needs and resources in State agents, subject to the attributions devolved to the other heads of ministerial departments;
– civil service litigation.

(3) He advises the Government on matters of administrative organization and reform. As such, it studies and proposes to it any measure aimed at improving the cost-performance ratio in public services and accelerating the process of handling administrative files.

(4) It oversees the National School of Administration and Magistracy and the Higher Institute of Public Management.

For the accomplishment of his missions, the Minister of Public Service and Administrative Reform has:

- a Private Secretariat;
- two (2) Technical Advisors;
- a Permanent Secretariat for Administrative Reform;
- a General Inspectorate;
- a Central Administration;
- Deconcentrated Services.

Website: https://www.minfopra.gov.cm/

Administrative reformS

The effectiveness and efficiency of public administrations and consequently administrative reforms are a major concern to all modern States. For this reason, they put in place, depending on their specific context, mechanisms and institutions to address the issue. Cameroon for example decided to create the Permanent Secretariat for Administrative Reform (PSAR).

This study focuses on its historical evolution, its missions, its structures, its human resources, its methods of intervention, its customers, its achievements, and its challenges.

HISTORICAL EVOLUTION

From the early years of Cameroon’s independence in 1960, officials became aware of the need to improve the methods of administrative work; the cost of running the administration was almost consuming the entire budget of the State.

Two structures were then put in place to solve the problem of improving State management: the Ministry of Economy, Plan and Regional Development (preparation of the development plan and its implementation in terms of regional development); the General State Inspectorate (Supreme State Audit of public services from the administrative and financial point of view).

On February 25, 1969, «the Central Service for Organization and Methods (SCOM)», a real forerunner of the PSAR, was created by decree n ° 69/ DF / 45 of February 25, 1969. The SCOM, attached to the Presidency of the Republic, was then a body charged with the study and the rationalization of administrative work making it possible to render the management more economical and administrative services more effective

Initially placed under the authority of the Deputy Minister Delegate for the Federal Public Service, given the many difficulties relating to that attachment, the SCOM was placed by Decree No.75/467 of 28 June 1975 under the authority of the Minister delegate to the General Inspection of the State and Administrative Reform. (IGERA). As a service attached to the Presidency of the Republic, it as the mission to determine the principles and means of implementation of the administrative reform policy enacted by the national development plan.

The provisions of Decree No.78/954 of 21 April 1978 on the organization of the services of IGERA enshrined the substitution of the Division of Administrative Reform (DRA) for SCOM, which will later become the Division of Research and Administrative Reform (DERA) by Decree No.88/1051 of August 21, 1988, on the organization of the Ministry of Public Service and State Control to which the DERA was attached.

During the 5^th National Development Plan, the Administrative Reform Division continued the follow-up and development of the major actions undertaken in the modernization of the administration; thanks to the increased personnel and material resources.

Beyond the prompt interventions, the Administrative Reform had to carry out a general and permanent prospection of the organizational difficulties and the problems of reform faced by the ministries and the public organizations in accordance with the missions devolved to the National Committee of the administrative reform, (CNRA), created by Decree No. 78/361 of 24 August 1978.

By the provisions of Decree No. 94/160 of 16 August, 1994 on the organization of the Ministry of Public Service and Administrative Reform (MINFOPRA), the Permanent Secretariat for Administrative Reform (PSAR) replaced DERA, its missions and its structuring was defined.

Decree No. 97/205 of 7 December 1997 on the organization of the Government in Article 5, paragraph 17, states that MINFOPRA is, through the PSAR, the Government adviser on organization and administrative reform. The PSAR is, therefore, a consultative body for the modernization of the administrative apparatus, distinct from the tradition of the School of Scientific Organization of work, which is rather focused on the analysis of the structures and procedures within the ministries and State Agencies.

By Decree Nos. 2004/320 of 08 December 2004 and 2011/408 of 09 December 2011, The PSAR plays the role of Government Counsel in matters of administrative reform. The head of the PSAR has the rank and prerogatives of a Secretary General in the central administration.

The senior officials, who have been at the head of the structure from SCOM to PSAR, from its inception to the present day, include:

Mr ATANGANA FUDA Christophe was the first chief of the Central Service «Organization and Methods» (SCOM), of the Division of Administrative Reform from 1969 to It is under his management that the first Counsellors were trained at the Institute of Higher Studies and Organization Techniques (IESTO) of the National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts – CNAM of Paris;
Mr MANGA NENGUE Pascal managed the Division of Studies and Administrative Reform from 1986 until his death He sent a number of Advisers to be trained at the Higher Institute of Economic and Commercial Sciences (ISSEC) and at the International Management and Development of France. The first Assistants Administrative Advisers in Organization were appointed by Presidential decree n ° 87/106 of January 26th, 1987;
MAÏMO Andre managed the Division of Studies and Administrative Reform from 1991 until he retired in It is under his tenure that the first administrative advisers were appointed by Presidential decree No.

92/257 of 27 December 1992;

NGONO Léonard was interim in 1992 ;
Mrs EVEHE Jeannine Angèle Sidonie was interim head of the Division of Studies and Administrative Reform from 1992 to 1994;
Mr NDANGA NDINGA Badel was the very first PSAR from 1994 to 1997;
Mrs EVEHE Jeannine Angèle Sidonie was designated interim PSAR from 1997 to 2000;
Mr. NGOUO Léon Bertrand was PSAR from 2000 to December 08, 2005 ;
Mr OUM Edouard was interim PSAR from December 08, 2005, to January 2007, and on January 07, 2007, he was appointed PSAR; a post he occupied till October 27, during is Tencel, thirteen (13) Civil Servants were appointed by order N°000680/ MINFOPRA of 03rd February 2006. They were trained at the Advanced Institute of Public Management on Organisation Methods and Management in 2006. In 2007 from the study of application files, 20 civil servants were selected and trained in organisation and methods of Administrative Management and were appointed Assistant Advisers in Administrative Management by order No. 008471/MINFOPRA of 28th July 2008;
Mrs EVEHE Jeannine Angèle was PSAR from October 27, 2009, to January 08, 2013; during her reign eight (8) Assistant Advisers in Administrative Management were trained and appointed by Arrêté No.009588 /MINFOPRA of 20th July
Mr AKO TAKEM Chancel is PSAR since January 08, 2013, till date. It is during his tenure that we witness the appointment of twenty(20) Advisers in Administrative Management by prime ministerial decree No.2016/4499 of 23rd September 2016 and ten(10) Assistant Advisers in Administrative Management by order No.005550 /MINFOPRA of 23^rd September 2016.

MINFOPRA – Administrative reform tasks

Decree No. 2012/537 of 19 November 2012 on the organization of MINFOPRA in its Article 5 states that the PSAR is responsible for, inter alia:

drawing up and monitoring the implementation of the master plan for administrative reform;
the elaboration and implementation of the modernization measures of the Cameroonian Public Administration;
monitoring of cooperation in administrative organization and reform;
evaluation of government measures in terms of administrative organization and reform, taken in the various sectors of public administration;
the elaboration and introduction of methods and process of data processing acceleration; streamlining the organization of structures, procedures and management methods;
studies to reduce the cost of equipment acquisition and maintenance;
the involvement of State personnel in the permanent search for ways and means of a more effective administrator

In a bid to meet its objectives, the following activities are carried out:

the development of good governance tools (organizational texts, organizational frameworks, user guides, administrative procedures manuals, mailing cards, operating procedures, organization and staffing plans);
the simplification/rationalization of procedures and administrative formalities;
the promotion of e-government;
the development of performance standards;
the organizational audit;
the support of the administrations;
training of business executives in the sites etc.