Cameroon's Parliament Effectiveness Questioned Amid Calls for Longer Sessions

The effectiveness of Cameroon's National Assembly is under scrutiny, with questions raised about its ability to serve the nation. Guibai Gatama, director of the publication "L'Oeil du Sahel," argues that the current parliamentary structure is disconnected from the country's daily realities.

Cameroon's parliament holds three 30-day sessions annually, with only about 15 days dedicated to lawmaking and government oversight. This amounts to just 1.5 months of parliamentary debate per year. Gatama questions how the assembly can effectively tackle national challenges and represent the public's ongoing concerns with such limited time.

He advocates for longer sessions, drawing comparisons with neighboring African countries. Chad holds nearly year-round sessions, Côte d'Ivoire has about 8.5 months, Senegal has around nine months, and Nigeria functions almost year-round. Gatama believes extending Cameroon's sessions would allow lawmakers to better understand and address the nation's daily issues.

Beyond session length, the article points to the assembly's political composition as another factor affecting its work. With a strong majority from the ruling RDPC party, balanced debate on critical national issues is reportedly stifled. The silence surrounding five proposed laws introduced by the SDF party during a recent session is cited as an example of how the ruling party's alignment with the executive can overshadow public concerns.