Female Mayors return from Brussels summit

Cameroonian female mayors under the aegis of the REFELA-Cam association made brilliant inputs at the Committee of Regions of the European Union (EU) from 1st to 2nd June, 2015 in Brussels, Belgium. It was during the 4th Session of Decentralised Cooperation for Development.

Speaking to Cameroon Tribune after, the President of REFELA-Cam and Mayor of Bangante, Célestine Ketcha Courtès, said their presence was mostly felt in two of the five parallel thematic roundtables that held on June 1, 2015.

The Secretary General of REFELA-Cam, Elise Meka Mballa, contributed at the roundtable on “Networking and Experience-sharing in Decentralised Cooperation” while Célestine Ketcha Courtès was present during another roundtable on the “New Approach of Support from the European to Associations of Local and Regional Authorities.”

At the end of this important meeting, which held on the eve of the adoption of the Post-2015 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, mayors are now seen as key actors for success in the fight against poverty, Mayor Ketcha Courtès explained.

The Cameroonian delegation comprised the Director of Decentralised Local Government in the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation, Etienne Owono Owono and the Mayors of Dschang, Baham, Bokito and Akono, amongst others.

The European Union Decentralised Cooperation for Development session represents a unique opportunity to bring together local and regional authorities' representatives from Europe and developing countries to discuss development cooperation. The goal is to reinforce development aid in order to build genuine EU partnerships with different development stakeholders.