It was launched with the traditional press conference recently in Yaounde.
http://www.cameroon-tribune.cm/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=94712:guinness-mount-cameroon-race-countdown-begins&catid=6:sport&Itemid=3

Key Challenges Awaiting Touadéra

The President-elect of the Central African Republic will almost be rebuilding every aspect of the country.

Faustin-Archange Touadéra who won 62.71 per cent in the second round of the presidential election in the Central African Republic, represents hope for the country that had almost fallen apart since the start of sectarian fighting in 2013. The National Elections Authority (ANE) declared Touadéra winner of the February 14, 2016 presidential runoff, beating his rival Anicet-Georges Dologuélé who scored 37.29 per cent of the votes cast.
Before the Transition Constitutional Court officially proclaims the election results, Faustin-Archange Touadéra should already be on the political drawing board, mapping out strategies on how to surmount the various challenges the country is facing.
Reconciliation
Mr Touadéra is aware of the challenges of his future government when he declared after being declared winner of the presidential poll, "These elections are important but they are not the only step out of this crisis," BBC quoted him as saying. He said, "We have to create the conditions for dialogue between the two communities. We will do everything we can so that Central Africans can live together in Central African Republic."
His major daunting challenge is therefore obtaining national reconciliation and inculcating the sense of patriotism and belonging to one fatherland in the population. Considering that the fighting between the Muslim- dominated Seleka armed group and the Christian-dominated Anti-balaka rebel group tore the country into pieces and rendered it ungovernable, reconciling the Muslims, Christians, political and other ethnic factions would be a kicker in the return to normal life in the country.
French President François Hollande while congratulating Touadéra on his election, advised him to bring together the people of the Central African Republic for reconciliation and development. Anicet-Georges Dologuélé, the loser in the spirit of peace and reconciliation accepted his defeat for the sake of peace and congratulated his rival.
Reconstituting National Army
The President-elect Touadéra will have to work in synergy with the international community to reconstitute the national army that will take over the protection of the national territory and maintain peace and security. Peace and security in the country during the crisis period have essentially been assured by the UN Peacekeeping mission (MINUSCA) and the French forces of the operation “Sangaris.”
The need to reconstitute the national army is expressed by the transition Defence Minister Joseph Bindoumi who said the rehabilitation of the army (FACA) was necessary. In this connection, he has called on the United Nations Security Council, to lift the arms embargo slammed on the country to last until 2017. A well constituted army will embark on disarming all armed groups and there will equally be provisions for the reintegration of former rebels into the army.
Tackling Refugees Problems
As of August 2015, the Central African Republic had 369,500 internally displaced people and also 419,000 refugees originating from the country as of November 2014. These figures from the international organization, Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre are telling of the enormous task ahead of Touadéra to bring social peace and comfort to the population. Another report from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs indicate that the past two years of the conflict in the country has left some 2.7 million people, over half the population, in dire need of assistance.
http://www.cameroon-tribune.cm/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=94714:key-challenges-awaiting-touadera&catid=39:politique&Itemid=5#contenu

Under the agreement, Camtel will provide residents of State estates with quality optic fibre Internet, telephone, television and video services.
http://www.cameroon-tribune.cm/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=94709:state-housing-estates-government-camtel-sign-ict-connection-deal&catid=4:societe&Itemid=3

Many more youths in the region are due for PIAASI sponsorship this year.
http://www.cameroon-tribune.cm/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=94706:littoral-over-1600-jobs-created-in-2015&catid=2:economie&Itemid=3

The young female artiste was notified in a letter by the Director General of the Festival, Prof. Yacouba Konate.
http://www.cameroon-tribune.cm/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=94701:arts-culture-denise-naafa-invited-to-masa-festival&catid=1:politique&Itemid=3

The Japanese Ambassador to Cameroon, His Excellency Kunio Okamura, recently concluded a trip to Lake Nyos area in the North West Region to visit the degassing project funded by his government.
http://www.cameroon-tribune.cm/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=94697:wooing-japanese-investors-to-cameroon&catid=2:economie&Itemid=3

On January 24, 2016, a soldier from the 126 Mechanised Infantry Battalion, BIM, Wum, in Menchum Division of the North West Region, stabbed to death a commercial motor bike rider after a dispute over a girl friend.
http://www.cameroon-tribune.cm/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=94694:coping-with-the-peculiarities-of-menchum&catid=1:politique&Itemid=3

31st Women's Day: Interesting Sub-themes Proposed

The proposals were disclosed during the launch in Douala on Thursday, February 18, 2016.

Various sub-committees tasked with the organisation of the 31st International Women’s Day in Douala are at work. Almost three weeks to the celebration, the various sub-committees installed by the Governor of Littoral Region, Samuel Dieudonné Ivaha Diboua, on February 10, 2016, have already come up with interesting sub-themes on women issues.
“Women and Decision-making” and “Women and Leadership” were chosen by the Cultural Committee during its first preparatory meeting. During the launch, the head of the March Past Committee disclosed that 50 squares of 80 persons each will march at the Vallée de Besseke ceremonial grounds while the Sports Sub-Committee spoke of a walk itinerary that will commence at 6 o’clock on February 28, 2016. The same committee disclosed that a female cycling race in three categories, including the physically challenged, will take place while a female football tournament will run from February 2-6, 2016.
The Secretary General in the Governor’s office, Ludovic Ngwba, who chaired the launch, expressed concern about companies using female staff to showcase their products during International Women’s Day celebrations. He therefore appealed that the practice be stopped henceforth.
http://www.cameroon-tribune.cm/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=94707:31st-womens-day-interesting-sub-themes-proposed&catid=4:societe&Itemid=3#contenu

Interview: “Japan Has Growing Interest In Africa”

Kunio Okamura, Japanese Ambassador to Cameroon, talks on the challenges of wooing Japanese businessmen to Cameroon.

What is your impression after visiting Lake Nyos for the first time?
I was so impressed with the progress of cooperation between Cameroonian and Japanese scientists in degassing the lake. The research is to prevent a recurrence of the August 21, 1986 gas disaster in Lake Nyos and August 15, 1984 catastrophe in Lake Monoun.
The SATREPS NyMo degassing project ends in March 2016. Is there anything your government can do to assist Cameroonian scientists to continue monitoring Lake Nyos and survivors of the disaster?
It is up to the Cameroonian side to make another funding request. I understand that the Institute of Geological and Mining Research, IRGM, is preparing another project for consideration by the Japanese government. We are ready to look at it.
Let’s come back to the national level. What is the state of relations and cooperation between Cameroon and Japan?
Relations between our two countries are excellent with a very long and good history. We will strengthen these relations and continue to support Cameroon.
Are there any specific areas in which Cameroon and Japan currently cooperate?
Until now, we have been doing many projects in education by constructing primary schools. We are also active in agriculture, the promotion of small and medium-size industries, health and sanitation, rural development and potable water projects. Our government is involved in major infrastructure projects with a concessional loan agreement recently signed between Cameroon and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency, JICA, for the construction of the Batschenga-Lena Road in the Centre Region. The funding is alongside the African Development Bank, AfDB. We are also examining transport projects for possible funding.
Does your government offer small grants for micro projects?
Yes, there are such opportunities funded directly by the Embassy. In fact, a school was last week handed over to a community in the West Region. Its construction was funded by a small grant from us. There is also an ongoing project for safe water worth about 1 Billion FCFA for 500 people in a community in the Centre Region. We will continue to fund such projects.
How much funding is available in 2016 for micro projects?
It depends on the availability of good projects. We don’t have a prefixed amount. If the applications for project funding are good and are approved by our government, we go ahead in spite of the number. However, small grants are used mainly for rural communities with no restrictions on areas of activity.
Cameroonians patronise a lot of Japanese goods - vehicles, motor-cycles, electronics, etc. But the general impression is that Japanese businesses do not invest in the country.
We try to encourage Japanese investors to set up in Cameroon, but their attention for now is on East Africa and South Africa, rather than Central and West Africa. This is largely because of the geographical distance. It is easier for Japanese investors to get to East African nations because of the shorter distance than travelling to Central and West Africa.
For now, is there any Japanese investor operating in Cameroon?
Some Japanese companies are exploring possibilities of doing business in Cameroon. An electrical tools manufacturer, Makita, in June 2015, started distributing its products in Douala. They are looking forward to spreading to other Cameroonian towns. However, the equipment is manufactured in Morocco. If things go well, Makita might in future consider manufacturing in Cameroon.
Would you encourage Cameroonian authorities to go to Japan to woo investors to the country?

It is possible, but I think what is better is to invite Japanese investors to Cameroon. Back in Japan, many delegations from all over the world come to woo investors to their countries. If potential Japanese investors come to Cameroon, they will find out more about local realities. We would like to encourage Japanese investors to come to Cameroon as much as possible.
This year, the Tokyo International Conference on African Development, TICAD, is to hold in August in Africa for the first time in 23 years. The conference will take place in Nairobi, Kenya. This will be an opportunity for Japanese business people to visit Cameroon before or after the conference to explore investment avenues. I will therefore like to invite them to come and discover Cameroon.
Talking about TICAD holding in Africa for the first time, does this suggest growing Japanese interest in the continent?
Japan has growing interest in Africa. We look forward to strengthening cooperation with African countries.
What do you expect of this year’s TICAD conference?
The topics to be discussed at the conference are now under negotiation between the parties concerned. They include the Japanese government and co-organisers such as the African Union, the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, the World Bank, etc. But one topic to be certainly discussed at the meeting is how to promote private-private initiatives between Japanese and African business people.
Prior to the holding of the conference proper, senior officials will meet in Africa next month to prepare it; to be followed in May by a ministerial meeting. In due course, the agenda for the conference will be finalised. Henceforth, the interval of TICAD conferences will be three, and no longer five years as has been the case since its foundation 23 years ago. This is a reflection of rapid changes in Africa and the world in general.
http://www.cameroon-tribune.cm/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=94698:interview-japan-has-growing-interest-in-africa&catid=2:economie&Itemid=3#contenu

Interview: “Lake Nyos Is Quite Secure Now”

Dr Joseph Victor Hell, Director, Institute of Geological and Mining Research, IRGM, talks on the achievements and challenges of degassing of Lake Nyos.

Japanese funding for the monitoring of volcanic activities in Lake Nyos comes to an end in March 2016. Is the Institute of Geological and Mining Research, IRGM, making arrangements for alternative funding?
The situation you present is not exactly true because we are conducting a project with the Japanese. It is intended to enhance our capacity in monitoring such disasters. The current five-year project ends in March 2016. We have been monitoring the lake, training researchers and technicians, equipping our laboratories and reinforcing the embankment on the lake.
At the end of this project, we hope to continue on our own since we now have the manpower, equipment and know-how. However, there is a financial handicap. We are developing another project to source for funding from Japan and other donors. Every year, the State provides about 20 million FCFA seed money for monitoring Lake Nyos in the North West Region and Lake Monoun in the West Region.
This amount is not enough. We need much more not only to continue monitoring the two lakes, but the over 200 crater lakes along the volcanic line of Cameroon. We hope that the Japanese will be willing to look into our new funding proposal.
About 8 Billion FCFA has already been spent in reinforcing the embankment on Lake Nyos. Is this sufficient or more work is required?
We divided the reinforcement into two phases. The first part lasted from 2011 to 2014. The second phase has to do with preventing superficial erosion on the lake outlet by reinforcing the area with mortar. We have already prepared papers to launch the tender for this job.
Do you already have the funding and how much is it worth?
We have funding provided by the European Union. The project will cost at least 1 Billion FCFA and is expected to be carried in 2016. After this, the lake embankment will be okay.
Some people have said that if there is any collapse of the lake embankment and water overflows, it will affect people in neighbouring Nigeria. Is this true?
The lake is 2 km long, 1 km wide and more than 200 metres deep. There will therefore be a huge volume of water in the event of the collapse of the embankment. The water will flow through the Katsina Valley into Nigeria. We made simulations that showed that if the embankment collapses, the water will cause much damage in Nigeria.
Does this impact not include any dangerous gas that might accompany the overflow?
The problem of sudden gas release is almost entirely resolved now. We have completed the degassing of the lake by 90 per cent. There is no longer much gas in the lake, though there is an input every day, but this no longer poses any danger to the public. The danger was from potential water overflow when the lake embankment was not yet reinforced.
What about security around the lake? Soldiers from Nkambe who used to provide such security withdrew last year.
There have been some rearrangements in the army. Soldiers who used to protect the lake came from Nkambe. But with the creation last year of the 126 Mechanised Infantry Battalion, BIM, in Wum, the responsibility has been shifted to it. We are waiting for 126 BIM Wum to settle down, given that they recently had some problems that led to the burning of their barracks. Lake Nyos is a strategic area. It needs to be protected all-round because some ill-intentioned people could decide to break its embankment. Moreover, we have expensive equipment that needs to be safeguarded.
How much longer will it take to complete the degassing of Lake Nyos like it was the case with Lake Monoun in the West Region?

A minimum of 5 billion cubic metres of gas enters the lake every year and we have capacity for extracting more than 10 million cubic metres. I can’t exactly say how much longer it will take to complete the remaining 10 per cent of degassing, but we hope to complete the process in three to four years. We will still have gas accumulating under water, but the pressure has been reduced so much that with time, water will no longer be pumped out of the three installed fountains. This means spending less money on monitoring the lake.
Technically, we have almost ensured the security of the lake with the resolution of problems of weak embankment and sudden gas release. We will continue monitoring since we are dealing with natural phenomena. The public is assured that Lake Nyos is quite secure now. I would like to thank everybody for their support and government for the confidence placed in us to resolve this scientific problem.
http://www.cameroon-tribune.cm/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=94692:interview-lake-nyos-is-quite-secure-now&catid=2:economie&Itemid=3#contenu

Emplois jeunes: Les nouveaux gisements

Le ministère de l’Emploi et de la Formation professionnelle (MINEFOP) envisage de créer dès cette année et ce jusqu’en 2020, des emplois pour les jeunes.
Le Plan d’action national mis en place, à cet effet, et récemment validé à Yaoundé table sur 380 000 emplois dans des secteurs bien précis : agriculture, tourisme, pisciculture et élevage. Le principal objectif visé étant d’adresser le problème du sous-emploi. Il s’agit du rapport du nombre de chômeurs (selon le Bureau international du Travail) et actifs occupés en situation de sous-emploi (visible ou invisible) à la population en âge de travailler, exprimé en pourcentage. Le sous-emploi visible est le fait pour une personne active occupée de travailler involontairement moins de 40 heures par semaine. Tandis que le sous-emploi invisible traduit le fait qu’un actif occupé, travaille en gagnant moins que le Salaire minimum interprofessionnel garanti (SMIG, 36 270 FCFA) horaire en vigueur
En effet, la dernière enquête camerounaise auprès des ménages (ECAM 4) réalisée par l’Institut national de la statistique (INS) sur la période 2007-2014, révèle que l’économie informelle continue d’être le réceptacle de jeunes chômeurs à la recherche de leur subsistance, en attendant de meilleures opportunités d’insertion dans l’économie moderne. Le taux d’informalité des emplois est passé, selon l’INS, de 90,3% en 2007 à 88,6% en 2014. Une baisse encore jugée insuffisante. Le taux de sous-emploi global chez les jeunes âgés de 15 ans ou plus, se situe à 77,6% en 2014, d’après les données de l’INS.
Sur la structure du marché du travail au Cameroun, on apprend également de l’enquête de l’INS, que le secteur tertiaire (administrations et entreprises publiques) a été le plus dynamique dans la création d’emplois, contrairement au secteur privé, plus hésitant. En effet, la part du tertiaire dans les emplois est passée de moins de 20% en 2007 à 24% en 2014. Par contre, sur la même période, la part de l’agriculture a reculé, passant de 57 à 45%, du fait de la migration des chercheurs d’emplois vers d’autres secteurs d’activités. En plus du tertiaire, la contribution des secteurs de l’agro-alimentaire et des bâtiments et travaux publics (BTP) a considérablement évolué. L’augmentation du volume d’emplois est respectivement de 84% et 40%. Toutefois, l’agriculture reste en tête des secteurs d’activités qui contribuent à la création d’emplois des jeunes de 15 ans ou plus (45,3% en 2014) suivi des services (24,4%) ; le commerce (14,0%) ; l’agro-alimentaire (7,0%) ; les autres industries (4,2%), les BTP (2,8%) ; l’élevage et la pêche ( 2,3%).

Aujourd’hui, la lutte contre le chômage des jeunes, commande, autant pour le gouvernement que pour les jeunes chercheurs d’emplois, d’explorer les nouveaux secteurs qui recrutent. Il s’agit principalement des Technologies de l’information et de la communication (TIC). Dans son message à la Nation le 31 décembre dernier, le chef de l’Etat, Paul Biya, a, à ce propos, souligné le retard du pays dans le développement de l’économie numérique, considérée comme une niche d’emplois nouveaux pour les jeunes. Le commerce électronique, le développement des applications mobiles et autres appareils numériques sont quelques activités où des jeunes s’investissent déjà. Mais pas assez au vu des opportunités que le secteur offre. Le tourisme et l’hôtellerie ne sont pas en reste. L’organisation des Coupes d’Afrique des Nations (CAN) 2016 et 2019 par le Cameroun sont incontestablement des signes précurseurs d’un frémissement dont il faudra savoir tirer profit. Idem pour les filières de l’ingénierie, dont les débouchés restent certains avec les différents chantiers en cours à travers le pays. Il reste encore, pour les jeunes en quête d’un emploi, à saisir les opportunités qu’offrent ces nouveaux filons. Et pour le gouvernement (avec l’aide de ses partenaires au développement), de les y intéresser. Notamment au travers de la multiplication des appuis financiers comme les 33,5 milliards de F investis récemment dans le Programme de promotion de l’entreprenariat agropastoral des jeunes. La sensibilisation des chercheurs d’emplois sur l’existence de ces nouveaux métiers et la formation professionnelle sont également des actions qui pourraient contribuer à atteindre l’objectif visé dans le Document de stratégie pour la croissance et l’emploi (DSCE), qui est de ramener le sous-emploi de 75,8% à moins de 50% à l’horizon 2020.
http://www.cameroon-tribune.cm/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=94652:emplois-jeunes-les-nouveaux-gisements&catid=3:dossier-de-la-redaction#contenu

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