SPEECH BY MR. MOUNOUNA FOUTSOU, MINISTER OF YOUTH AND CIVIC EDUCATION ON THE OCCASION OF THE CLUSTER OPERATIONALIZATION CEREMONY, COUPLED WITH THE HANGOUT BETWEEN THE YOUTH OF THE FAR NORTH AND THE MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNMENT MAROUA, JANUARY 30, 2021

Mr. Minister of Employment and Vocational Training ;

Mr. Governor of the Far North Region

The Rector of the University of Maroua

The Prefect of the Department of Diamaré

The President of the Regional Council

The Mayor of the city of Maroua

The Sub-Prefects of the Arrondissements of Maroua 1, 2 and 3

The Mayors of Maroua 1, 2 and 3;

Madam President of the Executive Bureau of the National Youth Council of Cameroon;

Mr. Ambassador of the Youth Connekt;

Mr. President of the Regional Office of the National Youth Council of Cameroon;

Dear collaborators of the central and deconcentrated services;

Ladies and Gentlemen in charge of the organizations and clubs of the University of Maroua;

Dear young people.

It is a great pleasure and an honor for me to be here today at the KONGOLA DJOULGOUF campus of the University of Maroua, to preside over the double ceremony of operationalization of the youth clusters coupled with the special Hangout with the youth of the Far North Region.

On this occasion, I would like to thank my counterpart and dear big brother Mr. Issa Tchiroma Bakary, for his constant availability and his effective presence at this meeting with the youth of the Far North Region. I cannot forget to address my thanks to the Governor of the Far North Region and all his collaborators for all the arrangements made to welcome me to the Region.

Thank you Mr. Governor. I would also like to express my gratitude to the Rector of the University of Maroua, Mr. IDRISSOU ALIOUM, and all his collaborators, not only for having accepted to host the event but also for his personal involvement in the organization and success of this ceremony.

Mr. Rector, thank you for your availability and your kind words to me. Finally, to all of you present here, I address my sincere thanks to you, for having sacrificed your time and for many of you, for having traveled long distances to participate in this exchange and thus contribute to enhancing the brilliance of this event.

➢ Distinguished guests;

➢ Ladies and Gentlemen;

➢ Dear young people,

On December 8, 2004, the President of the Republic, His Excellency Mr. Paul Biya took an important decision in favor of Cameroonian youth: that of creating a ministry specifically in charge of the supervision and promotion of youth.

This is an important act that reflected a vision shared by the vast majority of Cameroonians, to make the youth the engine of development of Cameroon.

In this perspective, the government’s entrepreneurship development policy is translated into a set of programs and structures placed under the supervision of the various ministerial departments. Specifically for the Ministry of Youth and Civic Education, several projects and programs are implemented to promote entrepreneurship.

These include

• the National Civic Service Agency for Participation in Development (ASCNPD); – the National Youth Observatory ;
• the Rural and Urban Youth Support Program (PAJER-U)
• the Project for the Socio-Economic Integration of Youth through the Creation of Micro-enterprises for the Manufacture of Sports Equipment (PIFMAS);
• the Program of Support for the Return and Integration of Young People from the Diaspora (PARI-JEDI);
• the Support Project for the Socio-Economic Resilience of Vulnerable Youth (PARSE);
• the Program for the Promotion of Youth Entrepreneurship (PPEJ) developed in partnership with the Conference of Ministers of Youth and Sports of the Francophonie (CONFEJES);
• the National Youth Integration Fund (FONIJ)
• and the Business Incubator Development Program in the Multifunctional Youth Promotion Centers, called “CMPJ incubator”, to name a few.

➢ Distinguished guests;

➢ Ladies and Gentlemen;

➢ Dear Youth,

After the announcement of the Triennial Special Youth Plan on February 10, 2016, by the President of the Republic, His Excellency Mr. Paul BIYA, the ministerial department I am in charge of immediately got into gear. Projects and programs were restructured to meet the requirements of this vast and unprecedented program. It is in this perspective that PAJER-U has seen the creation of 17 innovative fields for the majority.

Following all these reforms, MINJEC launched a call for applications which resulted in the selection of 464 “Junior Entrepreneurs Consultants” set up in activity and employment cooperatives within the business incubators of the Multifunctional Youth Promotion Centers (CMPJ) of the CMPJ-INCUBATOR Program.

Also, in order to optimize the deployment of the STP-Youth, MINJEC has developed and implemented a set of priority and innovative economic clusters. It is within this framework that some young innovative project leaders from the incubators of ministerial departments and partner structures have been identified.

As you will have noticed, support has just been given to the Junior Entrepreneurs – Consultants of the “Cabinets Conseils”, to the “Renewable Energies” and “Computer Maintenance” clusters.

The objective is to allow the beneficiaries to start their activities, then, communicate on these new sectors in order to popularize them to other young people in a context where the Coronavirus pandemic imposes on companies and start-ups, a reinvention in order to adapt to the constraints imposed by the disease, including resilience.

➢ To you who have just received this material, I urge you to make good use of it while keeping in mind that it is public property. Get to work immediately because, from now on, the proper conduct of the activities of the youth financed under the Youth STP on the ground depends on you.

To this end, I urge you to take ownership of this plan in order to have a perfect knowledge of its mechanism, a guarantee of your efficiency in the execution of your roadmap. You have here, the opportunity to prove your commitment to contributing to the development of your country; your determination to accompany the policy of Great Opportunities of the Head of State, HE Paul BIYA; your sense of creativity to move the lines; your vigor as young people and finally your patriotism.

Cameroon is counting on you, be up to the task that awaits you. Turning to the supervisors, and the experts, I will say that another step has been taken in accelerating the operationalization of the Triennial Special Youth Plan. It is to be encouraged and congratulated.

But as you also know, there are still many steps to be taken. With a little more will and optimism, we will succeed. In any case, we must succeed, the President of the Republic, HE Paul BIYA, prescriber of this Plan is firmly committed to it. It is on this note of commitment that I wish full success to the young people who have just received their support.

➢ Ladies and Gentlemen,

➢ Dear young people,

This is also the place for me to call the attention of the audience here, on the exchanges that will follow with the leaders of associations and youth movements of the Far North Region.

Indeed, this special Hangout of the Youth Connekt Cameroon initiative has been organized in order to pursue, in a dynamic, interactive, and interconnected approach, the consideration of your concerns. 6 With this, I declare open the exchange session of the members of the Government with the youth of the Far North.

➢ Long live the Cameroon Youth!

➢ Long live the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Civic Education!

➢ Long live Cameroon and Her illustrious Head of State, His Excellency Paul BIYA, President of the Republic!

Thank you for your kind attention.