Optimizing community-driven development through sage tradition in Cameroon

Powering community development requires a re-invention of traditional authority. This paper interrogates this proposition: how does sage tradition engender social resilience and what is the impact of traditional authority on the modern governance architecture? Sage tradition construed culturally as elder-led authority is anchored on wisdom and respect for elders—a pivotal asset in community development transactions. Informed by indigenous knowledge, social capital and asset-based concepts, an empirical account of strategic leadership by the elderly is proffered, uncovering indigenous governance in the North West Region, Cameroon. A pyramidal power structure validates village elders as key players in advancing social justice. They offer counsel and arbitrate in community affairs and mobilise community members for infrastructure provision—community halls, equipping schools, digging roads, building bridges and supply of fresh water. Though elder esteemed traditions prove perfunctory, findings show communities are benefiting from the accumulated, incremental cultural assets factored into local development. The paper concludes that thriving cultural assets should be amalgamated through a policy drive that taps into the utility of traditional authority, in synergy with modern state institutions to bolster social development, address poverty and social inequality

Breaking the Foreign Pot: Mainline Churches and the Burden of Democratization in Cameroon

This paper is a critical reflection on the role traditional mainline Christianchurches in Cameroon such as the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) and thePresbyterian Church in Cameroon (PCC) could play in democratizingpolitical and social life in Cameroon. It argues that for these churches toplay this role effectively, they need to go beyond parochial considerations inthe exercise of their Christian mission. Drawing from broad historical data,local Christian literature, and local press reports, the current failure bythese churches to contribute to the democratization process effectively inCameroon is attributed to a combination of both historical andcontemporary factors. This paper argues that the continuous reliance bythese churches on their inherited colonial roots and the failure to reformtheir own internal administrative workings in a liberal-democratic spirit areserious handicaps in any endeavour towards influencing desired change inCameroon. Questioning their historical roots in view of effectingthoroughgoing reforms within their own administrative and theologicalstructure is deemed necessary if these mainline Christian churches hope tobe credible players in current efforts at political and social transformationin Cameroon.Key words: Democratization, Mission by translation, Mission by diffusion,Change, Theolog