Youth employment is estimated to rise as infrastructure development improves.

Assistance from the public sector is said to significantly boost youth employment in the country. Most government ministerial departments represented in Douala run well-defined activities and offer some assistance to young people.

With the current infrastructural development projects in the city, more job opportunities for youths are expected to be created. The information was revealed by Ngangue Maukori, the Employment Promotion Officer in the Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training in Douala during discussions at Bépanda on January 10 on the theme, “Government assistance for entrepreneurship in Cameroon.”

According to the Project Director of Junior Chamber International Douala “La Référence”, Christian Ngnize, although at least two out of every five Cameroonians earned less than FCFA 25,000 by 2007, this figure has evolved and the future is brighter with more employment opportunities expected through ongoing infrastructure projects in the country.

He pointed out that in urban areas, poverty dropped from 17.7 per cent to 12.2 per cent and rose from 52.1 per cent to 55 per cent in rural Cameroon in 2007. Unemployment stood at 4.4 per cent, while underemployment was estimated at 75.8 per cent the same year. The inflation rate which is now estimated at 2 per cent, reached 5.1 in 2006 due to high petroleum prices. Economic growth is expected to climb to 5.5 per cent before 2020, following stimulation by government.

In addition to projects included in the “Major Accomplishments” policy, current efforts through the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, MINADER, the National Employment Fund, PIASSI and PARJER-U projects, among others, are expected to help Cameroon become an emerging economy by 2035. The roundtable conference was moderated by staff of the Ministries of Small and Medium-size Enterprises, MINADER, Employment and Vocational Training as well as the Douala City Council.