Urban Special Employment Program

The Urban Special Employment Program (USEP) is a FNE initiative aimed at combating urban unemployment through labor-intensive public works (HIMO). It creates proximity employment while contributing to sanitation and improving living conditions in Cameroonian cities.

Urban unemployment massively affects young people in major Cameroonian cities. Unemployment rates reach alarming levels:

• 24% in Douala
• 35% in Yaoundé Facing this crisis, FNE designed USEP to create proximity employment through high labor-intensity projects (HIMO) that simultaneously improve urban infrastructure and living conditions.

USEP pursues the following objectives:

• General objective: Create proximity employment through labor-intensive activities in Cameroonian cities, contributing to sanitation and improving living conditions while fighting unemployment. Specific objectives:
• Combat mass unemployment;
• Provide income to beneficiaries and reduce poverty;
• Deliver useful services through labor-intensive activities;
• Train young people in urban sanitation and infrastructure construction trades.

The program targets:

• Job seekers registered with FNE;
• Young people aged 15 to 35 as a priority;
• Persons with the required physical aptitude;
• Residents of municipalities targeted by the program. Beneficiaries are rigorously selected by FNE advisors in partnership with local authorities.

USEP relies on a HIMO (High Labor Intensity) strategy structured around the following activities: Works carried out:

• Construction and maintenance of drainage channels;
• Urban beautification and landscaping;
• Public building rehabilitation;
• Vegetation clearing and tree pruning;
• Waste collection and composting;
• Public garden and recreation area development;
• Monument and public square construction. Implementing partners: MINEFOP, MINHDU, MINEPAT, MINATD, MINTP, MINFOF and the International Labour Organization (ILO).

USEP is jointly financed by:

• The National Employment Fund (state budget);
• Partner ministries (MINHDU, MINTP, MINFOF...);
• Decentralized territorial authorities;
• The International Labour Organization (ILO) and other development partners. Beneficiaries receive daily remuneration during the duration of the works. All registration and guidance services are free.

Expected results and advantages: For beneficiaries:

• Reduced youth unemployment;
• Decreased urban insecurity;
• Increased incomes and poverty reduction;
• Acquisition of professional skills in construction and sanitation trades. For cities:
• Improved aesthetics and urban living conditions;
• Maintenance and development of public infrastructure;
• Reduction of urban poverty. Success conditions: 1. Local government involvement 2. Administrative support 3. Adequate resources 4. Rigorous program monitoring 5. Rigorous beneficiary selection 6. Technical guidance 7. Community engagement