Barely 48.6 percent of councils in the North West Region currently operate a functional website, and their social media presence remains largely timid. This digital gap is particularly concerning in an era where digital proximity increasingly determines the effectiveness of governance. Local administrative institutions in the region are therefore being urged, as a matter of urgency, to integrate Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) into their daily operations in order to enhance service delivery and curb revenue leakages.
The Director General of the National Agency for Information and Communication Technologies (ANTIC), Professor Ebot Ebot Enaw, made the appeal while presiding over the opening of a three-day capacity-building seminar on ICTs for municipal councils in the region. Held under the theme "Local Development in the Era of Digital Transformation," the workshop has brought together mayors and IT administrators from councils across the region's seven divisions.
According to Prof. Ebot Ebot Enaw, the initiative is part of ANTIC's contribution to the decentralisation efforts undertaken by government and seeks to equip municipal IT administrators with 21st-century digital skills that will fundamentally transform how councils interact with the public. Instead of citizens travelling long distances to council chambers simply to check on the status of a document, modernised digital portals would soon bring such services directly to residents' smartphones and other digital devices.
Beyond communication, the drive towards digitalisation also seeks to address critical structural challenges, notably the modernisation of civil status registries and the automation of local revenue collection. By automating the establishment of birth certificates and digitising market tolls, councils would be better placed to boost their internal revenue streams and close the manual leakages that have historically plagued local treasuries, while ensuring taxpayers are not unfairly overburdened.
ANTIC's national track record shows that this digital shift is achievable. To date, the agency has supported 230 councils, representing 64 percent of all councils nationwide, in deploying digital solutions across their operations. Notable successes include securing the National Civil Status Registry platforms in pilot councils such as Diamaré Division in the Far North Region and Wouri Division in the Littoral Region, using ANTIC's Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). The agency has also designed comprehensive IT Master Plans for major decentralised bodies, including the East Regional Council and the councils of Bafoussam, Ngoumou, Meiganga, Mfou, and Atok.
Over the course of the three-day seminar, participants are being intensively trained on five core pillars: the strategic importance of developing an IT Master Plan, building highly secure information systems to guard against cyber threats, digitalising the civil status register, navigating the process of seeking funding for ICT projects, and mastering change management within historically conservative local administrations.
As part of the workshop, ANTIC is also conducting a hands-on assessment of the specific ICT needs of North West councils through targeted questionnaires. The feedback gathered from municipal administrators will establish a clear diagnostic map of tech penetration across the region, allowing ANTIC to tailor its future technical assistance and interventions to the region's realities.
ANTIC is organising the seminar in close collaboration with key institutional stakeholders, including the Ministry of Decentralisation and Local Development (MINDDEVEL), the Special Council Support Fund for Mutual Assistance (FEICOM), the National Civil Status Registration Office (BUNEC), and the Public Contracts Regulatory Agency (ARMP).
