CMNT_TITLE

The Committee takes note of the information supplied by the Government in its last report. The Government is asked to provide additional information on the following points:

1. The Committee takes note of the information on the functions of the new National Employment Fund. It would be grateful if the Government would indicate whether the Fund is already operating and, if so, to describe the activities that have already been undertaken or are envisaged, and to state its actual role in formulating and applying an active policy to promote full, productive and freely chosen employment.

2. The Committee notes the information on the promotion of employment of nationals who reportedly held more than 50 per cent of highly skilled jobs in 1990. The Government also indicates that it has not yet been able to take effective measures with regard to vocational training, since the results of the survey to identify enterprises' skilled manpower needs are not yet known. However, it draws attention to the professionalisation of teaching which the University of Yaoundé has undertaken since the beginning of the 1989-90 academic year. Please state the measures that have been taken or are contemplated to promote the employment of skilled nationals, and to match the guidance and training system, particularly technical training, to the manpower needs of the country's economy.

3. The Committee takes note of the information supplied by the Government concerning the promotion of small- and medium-sized enterprises and notes in particular that they made the largest contribution to job creation and that assistance for their development was a fundamental element of employment promotion policy during the Sixth Plan. The Government also indicates that, in addition to the assistance given by the FOGAPE and the CAPME to enterprises, the National Employment Fund will contribute technical and financial assistance to the creation and growth of micro-enterprises. Referring to point 4 of its previous direct request, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to provide information on the jobs offered in these sectors and to indicate whether any measures have been adopted or are contemplated, in consultation with the representatives of the persons concerned, to improve working conditions in small- and medium-sized enterprises and to improve their access to markets, credit, technical expertise and advanced technology.

4. The Committee notes the information on employment in the rural and informal sectors, and particularly that the average annual employment growth rate is approximately 2 per cent in the rural sector and that an average of 3,000 jobs per year are created in the informal sector. The Government again indicates that particular attention is paid in the Sixth Plan to the processing and marketing of agricultural products and the mechanisation of agriculture. Please state the effects of these measures on employment and indicate any measures that have been adopted or are contemplated under the Sixth Plan to promote the development of productive employment in the rural and informal sectors.

5. With reference to point 6 of its previous direct request, the Committee notes that the Government's report does not contain the information requested on how account is taken of the "employment" variable in the planning process, or on general and sectoral development policies. It would be grateful if the Government would provide all available information on these matters, with particular reference to measures that aim at ensuring that there is work for all who are available for and seeking work (Article 1 of the Convention).

6. According to information available at the ILO, in view of the fact that the estimated annual growth rate of the active population in the Cameroon is 2.5 per cent, more than 1 million jobs must be created between 1990 and 2000 if the labour market is to absorb all new jobseekers. Please indicate to what extent these data are or will be decisive in the formulation and application of economic and employment policies. Please also provide, as soon as they are available, the results of the national manpower survey, indicating the measures that have been taken or are contemplated on the basis of these results (Article 2).

7. Please provide particulars on the form of the consultations held with employers' and workers' organisations and with other persons affected by employment policy measures (Article 3).

8. Part V of the report form. The Committee takes note of the information on the "Young Promotors" project launched in 1990 with ILO and UNDP assistance to help young people establish their own enterprises. Please continue to provide information on any activities undertaken as a result of this or any other technical co-operation projects executed by the ILO, in so far as they directly or indirectly affect employment policy measures and the application of the Convention.