Contingency and Management Control Tools for Municipal Public Services of Cameroonian Cities: Interpretation of Practices

This research aims to examine the perceptions of both the elected officials and the department managers of the contingent determinants likely to influence the performance of the municipal public services of Cameroonian cities. Moreover, it presents the types of control exercised by the municipalities and their frequency. To reach these objectives, we conducted a survey involving 102 Cameroonian municipalities. More specifically, 102 (one per municipality) and 148 quantitative questionnaires were sent to elected officials and department managers, respectively. From this, 50 usable questionnaires were returned by elected officials and 60 by department managers, for an overall response rate of 44%. Among the core results of the study, we found positive relationships between the degree of decentralization of the municipal structure and both the size and the performance of the municipal public services of the Cameroonian cities. We also observed that the larger the size of a municipal service,the more the performance is likely to be better (improved). On the other hand, we do not found any relationship between the use of control panels and the size of the municipal service.