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This paper explores how Cameroonians view the payment of taxes to the Cameroonian state in the backdrop of the pervasive corruption and the dismal levels of social service provision characterising public governance in the country since the early 1990s. It does so by combining a review of secondary literature about the nature of state -society relations in Cameroon and public opinion surveys and citizens' comments in the private press relating to these issues. It concludes that such perceptions about taxation illustrate the challenges confronting African states if they seek to expand their capacity for domestic resource mobilisation through taxation.[Pourquoi le gouvernement ne devrait pas percevoir des impôts: la grande corruption au sein du gouvernement et l'opinion des citoyens sur la fiscalité au Cameroun.] Cet article examine comment les Camerounais considèrent le paiement des impôts à l'É tat camerounais dans le contexte où la corruption est généralisée et les niveaux sombres de la gouvernance des services sociaux caractérisent la gestion publique dans le pays depuis le début des années 1990. Cela se fait par une combinaison de l'examen de la documentation secondaire sur la nature des relations É tat-société au Cameroun, et les sondages d'opinion publique et les commentaires des citoyens dans la presse privée se rapportant à ces questions. Il conclut que la perception des citoyens sur la fiscalité illustre les défis auxquels sont confrontés les Etats africains s'ils cherchent à étendre leur capacité de mobilisation des ressources intérieures par la fiscalité.

The democratic impulse that spurred a wave of political and economic reform policies in Cameroon in the 1990s appears to have witnessed a reversal. This is the case with urban governance policies. The imposition of state-appointed city administrators on locally elected mayors and councillors in contradiction to the aspirations of citizens has not augured well for local democratic practices. This interventionist drive by the state in the process of local democratization effectively excludes a considerable segment of urban residents from local governance proceedings. To understand the effects of these politically motivated policies on city politics in Cameroon, this paper draws from broad historical data, local press reports, and close observation of on-going development initiatives in the city of Kumba. This is done against the backdrop of persistent structural and political problems associated with the failure of city councils in Cameroon to provide meaningful and consistent service delivery such as garbage disposal. This paper concludes that sustainable urban development in Cameroon could be based on trust that embraces and cuts across all stakeholders within urban municipalities.

The African e-Journals Project has digitized full text of articles of eleven social science and humanities journals. This item is from the digital archive maintained by Michigan State University Library.

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