CFA 50BN fund to tackle rising youth unemployment is possible and realistic

The president issued the controversial appeal yesterday while addressing the Cameroonian youth and unveiled his long awaited speech and deal with the youth.

He acknowledged the total failure of its policy and its idea of a big society. Completely out off touch with the youth.

Paul Biya is completely out off touch with the youth. Mr Biya told the youth <..I am aware, please believe me, what are your concerns about your future. I can imagine the disappointment of those who, after long years of studies, struggle to find employment corresponding to qualifications. Discouragement of those who, without qualifications, have, at best, such as perspective, of precarious employment. Feelings of injustice to those who, deprived of any hope feel rejected by society...>.

After 28 years in power,  Paul Biya still want the youth to believe in him and to continue to trust him as he appeared to be the only one who can give them a better future. Nothing in that political speech yesterday showed that Mr Biya is ready to boost the economy and to give the youth a chance that they have been expecting for so long.

Gicam members awaiting Biya`s signal for
job creation

 Right as a politician he promised so many things and projects that are still on the way and many more that are still only on papers. To reduce the unemployment amount the youth, he ordered a recruitment of 25,000 more Young's graduates from the universities to join the public services and add to the over 125,000 public servants working for the government.

Those new recruits are just going to join Biya`s army of voters in public services and help grow the rank of voters.

In others countries where youth unemployment is rising, ideas of revolution and economy boosted are being discussed. Biya  for example could have ordered the creation of a national fund to help reduce or fight youth unemployment. At the moment there are 52 government spending`s budget and only 2 departments with less than CFA1billion.

So the national fund to boost job creation for the youth will have already CFA50 billion for this financial year with any single government department injecting CFA1billion in that special fund. Also government could after agreement encourage banks to lend money to struggling small businesses. They can create more jobs for the youth and just need government support.

CFA billions have been waisted by those former government ministers that have been arrested and put in jail and accused of embezzlment for more than CFA1000 billion. There is no way Paul Biya will say that there is no money available for that particular fund for job creation for the youth. The money is there. The money can be found in the government expenditures pocket for this financial year and before the election.

There is already a national employment fund that has been created by the government and whose activities are not well understood and even the World Bank has encouraged long time ago the government to privatise that fund in order to avoid any clash between the chief executive officer and the minister of labor who is the chairman of the national executive council. and to become more effective and also competitive as an agency with aims to create jobs and not just acting as job placement for his clients.

All are been appointed by the president and sometimes they have different point of view on how to create jobs and to encourage the youth. Biya deal with the youth is a head versus heart.

Your head tells you that Paul Biya is probably right to ask young people to put their trust in him for their future and you heart says we have heard this for so long and nothing has changed since.

The truth is Paul Biya is out of touch with the youth even still has the power to make things happen. The more longer he stays in power and more corrupted his regime became and there will be no chance and no future for the youth.

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.

Biya bids to challenge fears over reforms and youth massive unemployment

After 29 unbroken years as President of Cameroon with 27 unchallenged  years as national president of the Cameroon People Democratic Movement CPDM, Paul Biya who has just back in Yaounde from a respite in Switzerland according to sources, will launch ahead of the national youth day on February 11 a major charm offensive aimed at corporate Cameroon and youth, which are yet to be persuaded by the president`s plan to stimulate growth.

Every significant decision affecting Cameroon`s over 19 million people is first discussed and approved by a handful of men who sit on the party's political bureau (politburo), the nexus of all power in Cameroon and Biya has been chairing that for over 27 years.

How the politburo operates is secret and unclear. But its meetings are thought to be regular and frequent, often characterised by blunt speaking and disagreement and there are no places for the youth inside that special think-tank for the moment.

 It will be a huge political challenge for Paul Biya, who is preparing to give his own political vision and perception of the future of Cameroon  with the youth leading reforms and development with  the irreversible transition of power amid fears within the government that it is failing to sell its reforms and promises to the youth specially and the public in general.

Paul Biya today is concerned that some of its keys ideas such allowing the youth to take control of many keys areas in politic and in government are becoming confused in the minds of Young's voters with the rise of unemployment amount Young's graduates from state universities and colleges..

Some government ministers who are afraid to publicly express themselves think that decisions they have made are not always acted upon, and also feel that some initiatives are being quietly dropped when the youth think that ministers have forgotten them

 Mr Biya is thought to be planning to express some of these frustrations in his speech on the national youth day eve on February the 10th. He is likely to argue reforms are vital for the growth and the development of the Cameroon economy.

But there is anger and frustration amount the youth and in the government.

Youth in Cameroon, 13 years of disappointment from the CPDM

Young people in Cameroon today are growing up in an environment of increasing corruption in the public services and education. They are experiencing today mass unemployment and poverty.

For some, the only available alternative is to join the armed forces for the luckiest to secure their future or to try with a major risk of life wasted  the rough way of going on exile or on adventure in Europe.

 Having experienced 13 years of disappointment from the Cameroon People Democratic Movement, the main political party in power in Cameroon for more than 28 years and with less power sharing with some of those who have been in government and lost their confidence from Paul Biya and joint the opposition to create political parties, young people are not at all optimistic about the CPDM.

 Biya administration has abolished many grants and opportunities for young people in secondary school and universities. There is no financial stimulus to encourage young people to create their own business or to access high level of studies abroad. Only a minority with government help is able to do that.

The criticism here is that, that minority is within the secular group of those who collude with the government. Biya administration has trimmed many other opportunities for young people through cuts in funding for training services.

 For the next presidential election, members of  the same political party and ideology will soon go out again and try to attract more and more young people with false ideas and promises for a better future in case they voted for them again  and give them  more time ( 7 more years of disappointment)  to fix the economy and the country financial situation. ( What they have not been able  to  do earlier for the past 13 years). 

 This will be another huge and enormous lie from the government ministers and Paul Biya. What they have promised to young people in 1997 to do has not been done and they are now preparing to do the same for the next coming elections. Their free schools policy does not work around the entire country.

Some areas are experiencing problems receiving government help while others are just abusing the system.  Could Biya`s political party  offers anything different after 13 years of disappointment? 

In his recent address to the youth, Biya said <.....we must revisit this issue altogether, develop rice and maize farming, revive plantain farming and foster the growing of other food crops. In that way, we would not only be able to feed our population, but also to sell our surplus produce to neighbouring countries. This, of course, will require opening up farm-to-market roads in some parts of our country, where farmers find it difficult to market their produce. We can easily imagine the incidence of such a policy on employment and the standard of living in our rural areas. Many of you could play a key role in this policy....>

But how much money have been put in youth projects to encourage them to return to farming? It is very hard and even because of a poor communication and information government policy to have a single idea of where and when the money has been sent.

Since day one at the  Etoudi palace, the only issue Biya government has wanted to tackle was the fight against corruption and embezzlement.

 But unfortunately nothing was done since then and many members of the close family of the president have found themselves infected by corruption and embezzlement.

 More than £2000 millions have been distracted in Cameroon in the last 10 years by members of previous and actual government  acting in different ministerial departments with the help in some how by the head of state and his allies according to, a recent report from Prescriptor, a leading independent economic and  financial analyst and engineering on economy agency based in Yaounde in  Cameroon and many Non governmental organisations working in Cameroon and specially in these poorest areas.

 There can be no doubt these distractions of public funds and fake government policies have and will continue to  make young people`s live more difficult and even  miserable.

 And there are more bad news to come before the presidential election in Cameroon that will be held next October 2011 or before that period.

 Young people now have the ability to say that,  they want the change and a real change and not the renewal of the previous ideology and fake promises.

More than 65% of Young people in Cameroon have lost public confidence while a minority is still following Biya`s political program to rebuild the country financial and economic system. They do not trust any more the government.

That minority is part of those who strongly believe that with Biya again,  they can or (..might..) overcome poverty and corruption through a stronger and sustained commitment...