Government Ministries
The Government of Cameroon has over 30 ministries, each of which is headed by a political and presidential appointee entitled “minister” or “minister of state” (a more senior level). All ministries are broken down further into directorates and departments. In line with the constitution the position of minister or minister of state should be exclusive and cannot be taken with any other form of employment – this also means MPs and senators cannot be ministers. Ministers, however, have access to parliament and can participate in deliberations. Within each ministry one may find a “delegated minister” (French “ministre délégué”) – which is a third-ranking political appointee after minister of state and minister. The secretary-general in each ministry is the highest ranking civil servant.