AFREETECH PROPOSES A NORMATIVE FRAMEWORK FOR THE HARMONIZED DEMATERIALIZATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES IN CAMEROON

With a view to building a high-performance administration, the government of Cameroon embarked in 2008 on a vast program to modernize the administration by introducing results-based management (PROMAGAR). Of all public action modernization strategies, the dematerialization of administrative procedures is a decisive and necessary step towards simplifying these procedures, improving the quality of public service offered to users and reducing public expenditure.

The harmonized dematerialization of procedures is fully in line with SND 30 (Stratégie National de Développement 2020-2030), the new development strategy presented in November 2020 in Yaoundé by the Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development under the patronage of the Prime Minister, Head of Government. All the more so as SND 30 prescribes reforms that will enable the country to achieve an average economic growth rate of 8.1% over the period 2020-2030.

Harmonized dematerialization is also fully in line with the Cameroon Digital 2020 strategic plan of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, which focuses on digital development of the region, and increased use of ICT services.

In light of these findings, MINPOSTEL requested the support of the World Bank to carry out a study aimed at setting up a normative framework for harmonized dematerialization of all administrative procedures in Cameroon.

Dematerialization involves replacing physical information media with digital files, or directly creating digital documents and integrating them into a process. Harmonized dematerialization of administrative procedures is a coordinated, standardized dematerialization administrative procedures both within a public administration and between administrations.

As part of this study project, AFREETECH carried out the following activities:

• an assessment of the current state of dematerialization of procedures, covering legislative, regulatory and institutional aspects;
• international benchmarking: France, Quebec, Mauritius, Tunisia; 
• proposal for a best practice guide ;
• proposed draft legislation ;
• proposing a normative framework ;
• production of restitution workshops ;

All these results are now available from PATNUC, ready for implementation by the Cameroon administration. We are very satisfied with these results and with the collaboration we have had with all the stakeholders to produce a quality work that takes into account all the specificities of the Cameroonian administration. At the end of this study, the implementation of these results will enable us to achieve the following objectives:

• Efficient data processing thanks to greater availability and the absence of multiple inputs;
• Safety thanks to electronic prescription validation (verification of side effects and interactions);
• Treatment quality through, for example, electronic decision support, warning functions when threshold values are exceeded, monitoring and support for compliance with treatment instructions, suggestion of emergency medication in the event of critical monitor data, and electronic evaluation of final data from a reference population;
• Awareness of opportunities and risks for data protection and security, individual competence ;
• Development of new business and financing models;
• Research for the benefit of all ;
• Self-determined, independent right to interoperable data via declaration of consent.

However, it is clear that the implementation of this Framework presupposes the continuation of the reflexion initiated in collaboration with Cameroonian administration officials and, if need be, actors associated with the drafting of the normative framework for the harmonized dematerialization of procedures in Cameroon.

With a heightened awareness of the urgency of this vision and the stakes for Cameroon's administration, it's important to exploit the results of this study as quickly as possible. In this context, and more than ever, AFREETECH remains the strategic consulting partner to support Cameroon's administration in its development.