Yaounde – Modern Houses Planned For Mokolo

22 June 2011

It is a neighbourhood notorious for repeated tense stand offs between security forces, bandits, inhabitants and businessmen. The situation is favoured by anarchy in the construction of houses, sources say. The reported upsurge in banditry in the area, promoted by its haphazard nature, has prompted reaction from the Yaounde City Council.

“We realised that houses were built in total disorder and we decided to step in and instil some order by restructuring the entire area to make it more habitable and beautiful,” an official told Cameroon Tribune.

The City Council intends to give the neighbourhood a facelift, a source at the City Council said. The 2020 master plan of the Council envisages complete renovation of the neighbourhood.

The project has taken off the ground with a recent launch of tenders for feasibility studies. The studies, according to officials of the council, are expected to last some three months followed by the award of contract.

The project to renovate the neighbourhood, it was revealed, will be carried out in two phases and the tenders recently launched take into account the first part of the project which is expected to cover a surface area of 35 hectares.

This first phase is intended to transform the area from the market right to Pharmacie Tsinga Elobi before the second phase takes off the ground. It is estimated to cost some FCFA 40 billion. Measures have been taken to make sure that studies begin in a month’s time.

The project falls within the framework of efforts by the council to renovate shanties. The council also envisages transforming other neighbourhoods like Mvog-Ada, Mvog-Mbi, Nkol-Ndongo and Etam-Bafia, just to list the few, into modern residential areas.

Though heavy, authorities assured that it was a gradual and sure process to transform shanty neighbourhoods into modern ones. Meanwhile, similar studies have been ongoing in the Ntaba and Briqueterie neighbourhoods for the same purpose.

On Monday June 20, 2011, residents of the Mokolo neighbourhood were out on their usual chores. Most of them were indifferent to the plan to make the area modern. They are already used to their environment which to first-time visitors might look strange. The flow of household waste, overfilled septic tanks and standing water seems to be friends to some of the residents.

As if that was not enough, getting to a neighbour’s house in some of the areas of the neighbourhood, especially the marshy ones, requires some skills. One needs to mingle through in drainages and filth.

Sitting in front of his shop in a seemingly polluted environment, Thierry Atangana questioned Cameroon Tribune on the possibility of displacing local people to rebuild their homes for the sake of modernisation.

On the contrary, Pierre Paul E. was rather optimistic about the project which to him might reduce the rate of insecurity in the neighbourhood. He also lauded the initiative but prayed it is finally implemented and on time for the good of both parties.

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