To enhance financial management: SW regional, local authorities undergo coaching on updated SIMba Software.

The workshop took place from March 26 to 28, 2026 in Buea. The coaching session, led by SIMba experts, was aimed at supporting the effective implementation of public finance and accounting reforms at the regional and local levels.

SIMba, the French acronym of Système Intégré de Management Budgétaire et Comptable des Collectivités Territoriales Décentralisées, is a software supported by the government of Cameroon and international partners for the project, Financial Governance Support Programme Phase 3, PAGFI 3. 

The updated version aligns with the 2021 financial nomenclature, incorporating functions for specialised finance controllers, generating key statements such as balance sheets, and links with Treasurepay for seamless state-level financial management. 

The workshop focused on building hands-on skills in using the modernised software for day-to-day financial transactions, budget importation, revenue and expenditure tracking, and the production of quality, timely financial reports. 

Organisers expect participants to provide feedback on challenges encountered since the software’s installation, helping to refine the system for better performance nationwide.

Mayeka Clifford, Chief of Bureau for Analysis of Summary Statements at the South West Regional Treasury in Buea, described the initiative as a continuation of last year’s pilot phase. 

He added that the coaching session was crucial to enable experts know the challenges encountered by users to make possible upgrades.

The project was introduced in the region with five pilot councils: the Regional Assembly, Limbe, Kumba City Councils; Tiko, and Buea Councils, where initial implementation showed promise despite some challenges. This year, all 34 councils in the Region are transitioning to the updated version. 

Mayeka highlighted key benefits of the shift from manual reporting to the digital platform.

“With the software, one can easily know where the money is going to, to which bank, and for what particular purpose,” he said. 

He noted improvements in revenue and expenditure management among the pilot councils, along with better traceability of funds and users. 

Soja Terence, a SIMba expert involved in the implementation of financial reforms for regional and local authorities, outlined the workshop’s objectives.

“For three days we are going to be looking at the functionalities of the updated version of the software that Regional and Local authorities are expected to use in the implementation of the finance and accounting reforms in their institutions,” he explained. 

“The software will enable them to prepare quality and timely financial reports as expected and to present consolidated data at the national level for financial analysis,” he added. 

Mokube Kingsley, Municipal Treasurer of Kombo Abedimmo Council, emphasised the practical focus of the sessions.

“We are here today to be fine-tuned with the new methodologies on how to enter information into the council management and administrative issues with the SIMba software. We want to abreast ourselves with the new challenges because this one is not like the previous one, which was done manually. So, we need to be updated to be able to enter information very accurately and to give out exactly what is expected of us at the end of the day,” Mokube said. 

He described the workshop as an evaluation opportunity for accountants to present their worries and receive direct answers on coping with the platform.

Njaba Martin, a member of the technical secretariat of the Financial Governance Support Programme Phase 3, said the workshop gave members of the technical team an opportunity to work more closely with the stakeholders using the software, insisting that executing the budget involves both a theoretical phase and a practical phase.

Experts believe that by digitising and standardising financial operations at the local level, can enhance transparency, reduce inefficiencies, improve revenue mobilisation, and ensure better accountability in the use of public resources.

Participants are expected to return to their institutions better equipped to handle budget execution and reporting, contributing to more efficient and traceable management of public funds across the region’s councils and Regional Assembly.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3746 of Monday March 30, 2026