ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the implications for socio-economic development, of the institutional planning framework for urban and spatial policy administration in the country. Colonial public administration structures in French Cameroun can be best understood within the larger context of French colonial government in Africa. The manner in which administrative organization by geographic area is employed in the Cameroonian context is not exactly what Gullick and Urwick had in mind when they proposed their four alternative bases of public administrative structuring. The plethora of organizational bodies constituting Cameroon's bureaucracy is only one of the myriad of problems plaguing the country's administrative machinery. The Lands Department within the Ministry of Town Planning and Housing is responsible for ensuring the effective mobilization and management of resources for urban and rural development purposes throughout the country. The role of the Health Department in the urban and spatial development policy field can hardly be exaggerated.
