The Minister of Youth Affairs yesterday traced the genesis of the Cameroon National Youth Council in a press conference.
All seems set for the first election of officials of the governing bodies of the Cameroon National Youth Council abbreviated CNYC. Within the government communication framework, the Minister of Youth Affairs, Adoum Garoua, yesterday in Yaounde granted a press conference during which he elaborated the practical modalities for organising the election of officials of the governing bodies of CNYC. Speaking in the presence of the Minister of Communication, Issa Tchiroma Bakary and the Minister of Sports and Physical Education, Michel Zoah, the Minister of Youth Affairs said the conditions for participation in the election, the candidate's file and electoral fee have been set up following recommendations made by youth organisations and other stakeholders of the electoral process with the aim of easing certain procedures and putting in place appropriate measures to facilitate the holding of the maiden elections.
Youth organisations concerned by the elections are those recognised according to the rules and regulations in force and duly enrolled in the voter's registration record. Voters should be Cameroonian citizens of over 15 years of age or aged 35 years maximum, appointed by a youth organisation. The text requires that each voter shall present a mandate legalised by an administrator, police or gendarmerie authority.
According to the constitution, any youth organisation willing to present candidates in the election must declare its candidacy at the sub-division or divisional delegation of the Ministry of Youth Affairs with a photocopy of a legal document of recognition, photocopy of the national identity card of the candidate, a certificate of non-conviction of less than three months old among other documents. With regard to electoral fee, Adoum Garoua said candidates shall be relieved from paying any fee as it is stipulated in Article 19 of the Electoral Code for the first elections within the CNYC.
While throwing light on what the CNYC is all about, the Minister of Youth Affairs said it is a national platform for youth associations and movements with the aim of empowering Cameroonians youths through a consultative, proactive and representative role within the national and international institutions acting on youth issues. While noting that the CNYC is a forum for free and responsible expression of youths' preoccupations, Adoum Garoua stressed that the CNYC is neither for political training nor a trade union.
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Some problems faced by the South West In spite of the policy and programmes of enhancing the welfare of the youth, a number of problems, which have assumed greater dimensions over the years, have emerged. In education section, the wide expansion of school facilities and enrolments have been matched with high drop-out rate, alarming decline of enrolment in Secondary and Tertiary institution, inadequate equipment and laboratory facilities, and the deplorable performance and high failures/neglect of core areas of knowledge (Mathematics, Science and Languages).
The labour market is saturated. This contrast the almost automatic absorption of Secondary School leavers and University Graduates into the labour market in the 1980s. Unemployment among school leavers and university graduates has now assumed crisis proportions with many youths disenchanted about few openings in the labour market. Other youth problems, which call for serious concern, include the growing incidence of teenage pregnancy, illegal abortion, early parenthood and sexual promiscuity with attendant growth in the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases.
Recently the phenomenon of rape, drug abuse, cultism, street youth (area boys malaise) and the proliferation of militant youth organizations pose a serious danger to our national survival.
The policy on youth development has not been stable over the years even when viewed in the context of the framework adopted in 1983. there have been frequent changes in policy with each successive government adopting the policy to suit its political programmes. This has resulted in policy slippages and thus undermining the effective implementation of the youth policies.
Besides, there is the obvious situation of lack of any autonomous national institution to co-ordinate youth development policy and programmes. For instance, youth matters have been put as an appendage of diverse Ministries over time with resultant effect that youth matters are given only residual attention with low and varying degrees of importance and funding.
In 1951 Government organized the Man O war course for young and newly recruited Officers at Victoria in Cameroon. In 1960, the Jos Citizenship and Leadership Training center was established to provide training in social and community development for Man O war clubs and Youth Associations in Secondary and Higher institutions of learning. In 1964, the National Youth Council of Nigeria was established by an Act of Parliament to co-ordinate the activities of various voluntary Youth Associations in the country.