(Business in Cameroon) - The Cameroonian government has announced the disbursement of CFA2.2 billion to implement High Labor Intensive (HIMO) projects across the country. The documents enacting this initiative were signed last February 29 in Yaounde by the Minister of Economy, Alamine Ousmane Mey.

In detail, we learned, the resources will benefit seven regions including the Center, Littoral, South, Adamawa, West, Northwest, and North. They will be used for the construction of social housing and the maintenance or rehabilitation of roads using the HIMO approach.

Experts say the HIMO approach requires the use of local raw materials and labor in the execution of infrastructure projects. This ensures that, according to the Ministry of Economy, 70 to 80% of a HIMO project's budget remains within the local community hosting the project.

The Cameroonian government aims to ramp up such projects across the nation to combat unemployment, especially in rural areas. Specifically, through the HIMO approach, public authorities plan to create about 100,000 jobs between 2020 and 2025, as part of the national program for the integrated development of decentralized local communities (CTD).