Biya plan causes rising youth unemployment and cracks in government

Rising unemployment  expectations amount the youth are adding pressure on the government to create more and more jobs.

 Youth unemployment has soared since the last decade and even more before that and the confederation of Cameroonian industry or the confederation of employers from the private sector has predicted as well.

The rising unemployment amount the youth today in Cameroon is the biggest political problem and the government is fully aware of this and it will be the most important causes of the crisis tomorrow in Cameroon.

Biya against the peace  

In Cameroon with a population of over 19 million and 64% under 25 years old and most of them graduated from universities and colleges and with no job available, the government has decided just to give CFA 8.136 billion as budget for the government department in charge of youth affairs.

 This represents only 0.31% of the entire financial budget for the year that is CFA 2571 billion. The real challenge here is to know how the government policy will help to create and even boost job creation for the youth.

 Since the beginning of the year the ministry of youth affairs has planned to inject less than CFA 2,6 billion in the market to create jobs for only less than 500 youngsters where there are hundred thousand off jobs and without any job perspective at the moment except some government promises.

In today address to the youth on the conservative government 45th celebration of the national Youth Day, Biya will again encourage the youth to take responsibilities where there are no real intention or will of jobs creation.

What future for this generation? 

According to Adoum Garoua, Minister for Youth Affairs,  Paul Biya, invites his young compatriots to discover or rediscover the rich and dense heritage policy of our country's history. 

He invites young people to be responsible for heirs of this rich heritage. He urges youth to consolidate the gains that make Cameroon a large Nation to know peace, national integration, bilingualism, solidarity, unity in diversity and democracy among others.

 To consolidate these achievements, it is essential for young people to acquire them, grow, share and transmit to future generations. It will enable our country to attain the objectives set by the Document's strategy for growth and employment aims to make Cameroon on the horizon 2035 a country emerging, democratic and united in its diversity.

Minister for Youth Affairs with no means

 But young people have already acquired what it takes to share and to transmit to the future generations. What it needed today its is money, fundings, opportunities, jobs and real democracy and not just words and promises without action.

The rising unemployment amount the youth is a real cause of the crisis that will affect Cameroon in the nearest future. Gicam internal watchdog has criticised the government for failing to spot the growing social crisis about the rising of youth unemployment.

 After 27 years in control, Biya is failing miserably and the opposition has not got yet the right solution about it.

Could Biya shakes off his corrupted political system past for an emerging strong country ?

Next Tuesday 26 October 2010, Transparency International , the leading civil society organisation fighting corruption worldwide, will release its 15th annual Corruption Perception Index.

This year’s index ranks 178 countries by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys. The Corruption Perception Index helps to highlight the propensity of domestic corruption and its damaging influence.


 In the 2009 report, Cameroon scored 2.2 reserved for  these most countries where authorities do really nothing to fight against corruption and was listed 146 out  of 168 countries assessed. This year will its move far from the worst rank to the much better one or.....stuck in the same worst position? The country shared the same position with Zimbabwe.

10 years after the release of the 5th annual Corruption Perceptions Index that has damaged the image of the country because its was listed as the most corrupted country in the world  ( 168 countries ) and one in which authorities do nothing to fight against corruption. 

Huguette Labelle, Transparency International chair

Authorities in Cameroon are anxiously awaiting the publication of the results. 


Its  will show how the country has scored in fighting against corruption and the level of perception of corruption and also if the mechanism itself put in place through decrees by Biya is worth.


 Millions of cfa francs have been spent to operate these ministerial committees and sub-committees and commissions  to fight against corruption. But results are still yet to come. 

10 years after that report, Cameroon still hardly struggling to find his way out of that perception. In the minds of Western investors it is still tainted with heavily corruption while the tentacles of a big state strangle free markets and business.

In Cameroon, corruption is still going on, elections that are faked are still going on. Ethnic discrimination and silent and hidden violence are still going on. Although the country is showing signs of recovery from the damaged face of a corrupted country, signs of a forgotten and unfashionable investment destination, the country`s economic fortunes have not fared much better. 

There are few signs of development recorder ed. Since 1997, Cameroon`s political system has and still struggled to maintain a strong stability. Biya`s grip of the military and armed forces seemed to spell a prolonged of authoritarian rule and power. Paul Biya in Cameroon retains strong ties to the military and armed forces. 

Me Akere Muna leading fighter against corruption

The military is still exerting influence in the backyard of Paul Biya`s rule and their interest in Cameroon are well and sufficiently protected.  And as a whole it is very difficult in that situation to fight against corruption.


There are hopes that the recent commission to fight against corruption created by Biya on the 11 Mars 2010  may be one way to really open up the system and fight against those who steal from the  state. 

Despite having seen a kind of growth on economic with the state financial budget moving far from 1000 billions of cfa francs  to more than 2000 billions of cfa francs in the last 10 years, there are an estimated 65% of Cameroon`s 19.6 millions people live in poverty.


Corruption in Cameroon has lead the country to  a biggest budget deficit of more than 1000 billion cfa francs in the last 10  years according to a leading expert in economic engineering, Babissakana Thomas.

The country`s lack of socioeconomic development was strikingly illustrated at the recent review summit in New-York of the Millennium Development Goals.

Cameroon is completely and significantly off track in achieving any of the goals. Fight against poverty, hunger reduction, improved education and gender equality are the major development challenges and according to data available, Cameroon is far behind his own schedule time programmed by Biya`s administration. 

Jean Marc Bikoko,  leading general secretary of the National Union of Teachers  in Cameroon

France and Britain in Cameroon`s politic failure are on the edge of being targeted as those to blame for the actual state of affairs. 


In today Cameroon`s socio-politic and economic situation, some responsibilities lie with France and Britain that seem not to be very enthusiastic about the various groups that could rule in Cameroon after Paul Biya. 

The publication of the 2010 corruption perception index will show how the country has done since the last one.


Even full of competent and able and skilled people, the country`s economic have not fared much better.

Paul Biya has pledged deep reforms of the way the fight against corruption is held in Cameroon by his own close relatives in an attempt to distance himself from people and practices associated with his political party, the Cameroon People Democratic Movement that needed a real purge of the political system.