(Business in Cameroon) - On December 16, 2021, in Yaoundé, Minister of Economy Alamine Ousmane Mey signed funding agreements worth XAF2.4 bln overall with eight communes in Cameroon. The said communes are namely Beka, Mamfé, Tinto, Bamenda 2, Ebebda, Nghan-Ha, Doumé and Nkongsamba 3. Thanks to those contracts, the beneficiaries will implement High labor-intensive (HIMO) public work programs.
According to the government, the works will mainly consist of the rehabilitation of paved roads, the construction of classrooms and social houses using local materials, and urban sanitation programs. The government estimates that about 1750 jobs will be created in beneficiary communes.
The HIMO approach provides for the use of local materials and workforce for the implementation of projects. For Médard Kouatchou, head of the HIMO unit at the Ministry of Economy, because of its specificity, the HIMO approach helps beneficiary regions keep 70 to 80% of budgeted funds.
Given its advantage, the government plans to boost the recourse to the HIMO approach to fight rampant unemployment in Cameroon. Specifically, public authorities plan to create about 100,000 jobs in the country between 2020 and 2025 in the framework of the national integrated program for the development of decentralized territorial units.
BRM