MISSIONS, OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES OF THE CAON-FED

Missions of the CAON-FED

The NAO Support Unit is intended to help the NAO in all their missions in order to improve on the quality of European assistance to Cameroon.
Support to the National Authorizing Officer (NAO) is an objective clearly stated in the addendum to the 9th EDF Cooperation Strategic Framework concluded between Cameroon and the European Union. This is justified by the important role of the NAO (cf art 57 of APC, art 2 of appendix 4) who represents Cameroon in all the activities funded by the Fund resources managed by the Commission and the Bank (art 35 of appendix 4), and the need for a strong and qualified local leadership, to improve the efficiency of assistance (cf the Paris Declaration). The role of the NAO includes, pursuant to ACP-CE Partnership Agreement signed in Cotonou and amended in Luxembourg, a great number of functions in two categories: political functions and technical functions. All these functions are carried out in close coordination with the EC delegation. At the political level, Planning (Cooperation Strategy and NIP development, selection of objectives, progress review,…) should be prepared by the ACP country concerned and the EU after consultations with a wide range of actors involved in the development process, and by leaning on experience acquired and best practices (Article 57 of Cotonou and article 2 of appendix 4). At the technical level, the functions are detailed in article 35 of appendix IV of Cotonou.

The NAO, through their Support Unit:

• Gives instructions about projects and programmes in close collaboration with the Head of Delegation;
• Issues, in close cooperation with the Head of Delegation (who shall approve the dossier and the award), invitations to tender; Supervises bid opening, signs contracts, and approves expenditures;
• Settles and authorizes expenditures on the resources allocated to them and takes necessary measures during implementation, while informing the Head of Delegation.

The NAO Support Unit (CAON-FED), among other things, assists the National Authorizing Officer and the Government in the development of a national institutional mechanism for the coordination and follow-up of the assistance and external cooperation, at general sectional or thematic levels. It is somehow the "secular arm" of the NAO: All the documents of the Cameroon-European Union Cooperation pass through the CAON-FED, whether in or out.
The CAON-FED acts as a facilitator and an interface between the European Commission Delegation and the Cameroonian Government.

Objectives of the CAON-FED

The overall objective is to improve the effectiveness of foreign assistance in Cameroon in its contribution to poverty alleviation.
The specific objective of the current programme is to improve on the quality of European assistance management and use in Cameroon (relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, viability, impact).

Expected Outcome

The expected results are the improvement of the NAO performances in:

• planning of financial and technical cooperation (result 1);
• identifying and developing interventions (result 2);
• implementing and following up community help (result 3);
• evaluating and auditing community help (result 4).

These results will be achieved through activities (cf the above) carried out by the NAO Support Unit in close collaboration with the ECD, with, if need be, a resort to punctual expertise, and by involving the government and non-government actors concerned. CAON brings together the various technical competences needed for the proper management of all the phases of EU-Cameroon cooperation (see the attached organisation chart). The main activities to be carried out by the project are generic activities (affecting all the results), and activities specific to the various expected results.

Activities of CAON-FED

The generic activities of the EDF National Authorizing Officer Support Unit can be summarised as follows:

• Project identification and planning;
• Projects implementation follow-up;
• Creation and maintenance of a website for the CAON, in order to make of it a tool for the management of assistance effectiveness and for the development of capacities. Facilitate the circulation of information and feedback from stakeholders;
• Organisation of trainings using generic tools: i) management of the project cycle, the use of accounting software, the logical framework approach and methodological tools (EC "check-list", PCM guide), ii) management tools (productive use of office automation software and of Internet services, development of procedures manual), iii) integration of side questions. This information shall be organised and implemented by the CAON and shall relate to a maximum of actors involved in EDF management: Not only CAON staff, but also concerned persons, in technical ministries and projects management units, and of the Delegation, if necessary;
• Informational intelligence and regular interaction with stakeholders. Documentary reviews of best practices and of lessons from local (studies, evaluations, etc.) and international experience, and synthesis of achievements relative to the set objectives;
• Elaboration and follow-up of performance indicators;
• Technical, administrative and financial management of the Unit;
• Archiving of project records and documents;
• Consultation of a wide range of government and non-government actors involved in the development process;
• • Contribution to the elaboration of a plan of action for the implementation of an institutional mechanism in charge of the coordination of all foreign assistance (context analysis, especially of current rules of cooperation between the Government and donors, of problems to be solved and of best practices, consultation between the NAO and the Government, etc.).