Below is the press release following the cabinet meeting of Thursday July 30, 2009.

«The Prime Minister, Head of Government, Mr Philemon YANG, today (yesterday) Thursday, 30 July 2009, as from 11 :00 a.m. in the main building of the Prime Minister's Office, chaired an important Cabinet Meeting which was attended by the Vice-Prime Minister for Justice, Keeper of the Seals, Ministers of State, Ministers, Ministers Delegate as well as his close aides.

Apart from the special statement of the Head of Government, two items featured on the agenda, namely:

the report by the Minister for Employment and Vocational Training on the implementation of previous instructions prescribing "urgent measures to be taken in the fight against unemployment";

the report by the Minister Delegate at the Presidency of the Republic in charge of the Supreme State Audit on the implementation of previous instructions prescribing the «building of the operational capacities of general inspectorates of ministries".

In his special statement, the Head of Government dwelled on the functioning of the Administration. He noted that the great majority of State employees discharge their daily duties with zeal, devotedness and sacrifice. However, on account of the system effect, these commendable efforts are blighted by the inefficiency and carelessness of a few.

After affirming that administrative inertia so much decried by the President of the Republic is not inevitable, the Prime Minister instructed ministers to take control of their staff by reintroducing in their respective ministries core values of public service such as assiduity, punctuality, respect of procedures as well as speed in the processing of files.

Furthermore, the Head of Government prescribed the actual departure of workers placed on retirement, according to the appropriate procedure; a report should be submitted to him within a fortnight.

Concluding his special statement, the Prime Minister recommended greater discipline in the management of missions abroad for all components of the administrative chain. He also instructed that the number and duration of trips and the size of delegations be limited to the strict minimum necessary.

Reporting on measures taken to combat unemployment, the Minister in charge of employment revealed that the related strategic instruments like the Employment Promotion Priority Investments Programme, the Programme to improve the offer of vocational training for employment (PAMOFPE), the National Youth Employment Action Plans as well as the Vocational Training Strategy are available and have started being implemented. Besides, the objective of improving the output of PIASSI was achieved with the creation of 9,960 direct and indirect jobs in 2008, representing a 60% increase compared to 2007.

The Minister of Employment and Vocational Training pointed out that the reform of Rural Artisan Centres (SAR-SM) will culminate in 2010 in their transformation into Trades Training Centres (TTC) with a diversification of training offer by preparing learners for profitable trades in the agro-pastoral, tourism, timber and building sectors.

Taking cognizance of this report, the Head of Government asked the Minister in charge of employment to finalise the crafting of benchmarks of the agro-pastoral streams in Rural Artisan Centres (SAR-SM), complete the extension of the NEF network in the North-West and North Regions and improve the system of recovery of loans granted by PIASSI in order to replenish its recurrent budget.

Lastly, the floor was given to the Minister Delegate at the Presidency in charge of the Supreme State Audit who reported on the instruction pertaining to the building of the operational capacities of general inspectorates of ministries. He indicated in this regard that efforts have been made to train workers in audit techniques, despite the insufficient human, material and financial resources allocated to the internal audit function in ministries.

He indicated that the number of reports of general inspectorates transmitted to the Prime Minister’s Office increased from 15 to 32 between 2007 and 2008.

The Minister in charge of the Supreme State Audit pointed out prospects nevertheless remain bright for this capacity-building initiative which has been incorporated in the Public Finance Governance and Transparency Enhancement Programme (PAGT/FP) underway and the Internal Audit Reform Support Programme (PARVIC).

At the end of this report, the Prime Minister enjoined the Minister in charge of the Supreme State Audit to conduct a study on the status of internal auditors and submit to him a half-yearly report on the processing of the reports of general inspectorates of ministries, as well as a three-year training schedule for their staff.

The meeting ended at 1:15 p.m./»

Yaounde, 30 July 2009

Jules Doret NDONGO,

Secretary General of the Prime Minister’s Office