Located 25 km from the capital Yaoundé, Okola, with a population of 65,000, is one of the municipalities in the Lekié department. The town faces challenges in terms of road infrastructure, education, hotel services, healthcare, potable water, training centers, housing, and employment opportunities. These issues justify the selection of Okola for the citizen budget awareness and dissemination campaign organized by AfroLeadership in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance.
This meeting, supervised by the Mayor’s representative, Mrs. EYOUNGUE Christine, mobilized numerous participants, including municipal staff, representatives of civil society organizations (CSOs), municipal councilors, traditional leaders, and citizens of Okola.
On March 21, 2024, the Okola Cultural House hosted this half-day event aimed at presenting a document that reorganizes the information of the finance law. The Citizen Budget, as it is called, is a document that simplifies and summarizes the information from the finance law into a version accessible to all citizens. The government, through the Ministry of Finance, provides this tool to facilitate citizen understanding and engagement, with the aim of encouraging the monitoring of public action.
At the end of the event, participants expressed their satisfaction and hope that this activity, which took place for the first time in Okola, could be continued to raise awareness among the population regarding their responsibilities in the local development process.