On Saturday, February 8, 2025, in Dabou, the Minister of Youth Promotion, Professional Integration, and Civil Service, Mamadou Touré, announced an additional investment of CFA 1.2 billion for 3,080 young people in the Grand Ponts region, in addition to the CFA 1.7 billion invested over the past two years.

He made this announcement at the end of his tour of the region, which includes the departments of Dabou (the capital), Grand-Lahou, and Jacqueville, to assess the impact and effectiveness of youth integration programs and the civil service from February 6 to 8, 2025.

This additional investment will cover qualification internships, school internships, immersion internships, retraining internships, income-generating activities (AGR), driving permits, high-intensity manual labor (THIMO), and civil service centers.

In the region, 280 young people will benefit from qualification internships with CFA 154 million, 310 students will receive CFA 15.5 million for school internships to help them validate their diplomas. For the immersion internships (vacation work), 360 students will be supported with CFA 18 million. Retraining and apprenticeship internships will benefit 100 young people, with an additional 200 youth proposed by the regional council, making a total of 300 young people, for CFA 73 million. For income-generating activities (AGR), 240 young people will be supported with CFA 108 million, and 175 young people will be recruited for high-intensity manual labor (THIMO) for CFA 113 million. Regarding the driving permit project, 100 young people from the region will benefit with CFA 15 million, and 50 young people will have the opportunity to join the civil service centers with CFA 42.5 million.

Under the Delegated Project Management (MOD), the Minister stated that 1,365 young people will be supported with CFA 612.3 million: "This will bring the total to 3,080 young people for CFA 1.2 billion."

Regarding the investments made during the first two years of the government’s youth action under the Government Youth Program (PJGouv), he reminded the audience that the professional integration and civil service outcomes for youth show 5,368 beneficiaries, with 57% being women, for a total investment of CFA 1.793 billion. By department, there are 2,661 beneficiaries in Dabou, with CFA 904.9 million, 1,689 in Grand-Lahou with CFA 606.1 million, and 1,018 in Jacqueville with CFA 282.3 million.

"These visits to Grand-Lahou, Jacqueville, and Dabou allowed us to take stock of the youth initiatives. We were able to visit the young beneficiaries, who shared their testimonies about the effectiveness of the government's action in the Grand Ponts region. We had discussions with the youth, some of whom expressed their satisfaction, while others made requests for improvements to the support mechanisms provided for them. I am very satisfied because the young people of Grand Ponts are working. They are the concrete and visible face of the many actions that President Alassane Ouattara has been deploying for the youth across the entire country for the past fifteen years," Mamadou Touré expressed with satisfaction.