Yaounde: Minister Orders Demolition of Shops on Waterways to Curb Flooding

The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Celestine Ketcha Courtes, has asked the City Mayor of Yaounde to demolish buildings blocking water channels.

She was speaking recently in Yaounde following a visit to Essos Market, where flooding recently wreaked havoc on properties.

The minister blamed the flooding on infrastructure constructed on waterways and the inability of the sanitation company, Hyssacam, to clear garbage from gutters.

“I saw on social media that this market was flooding, so I came here to see exactly what the problem was. Unfortunately, I have noticed that the flooding was a matter of urban disorder, construction on the drains, and non-organisations,” she said.

City Mayor Asked to Remove Clear Garbage

The minister, after assessing the damage, ordered the city mayor of Yaounde to clear off every piece of garbage on the street.

“I have prescribed to the city mayor to remove all this garbage as of tomorrow (Thursday, April 3).”

She said the Yaounde City Mayor had taken the commitment to ensure every bit of garbage is removed.

Another aspect she hammered on for the flooding was climate change. According to her, the rains came this year unexpectedly.

“Climate change is a reality. They need to clean the market. Before, we knew that rains did come in April, but it came in March instead. That means in April, the rain would be heavy,” she stated.

This fluctuation, she said, calls for enormous preparation by cleaning the garbage on the streets and gutters.

Hysacam Begins Cleaning Yaounde

Blockage of drainage ways is one of the major causes of flooding in urban areas in Cameroon. Most of what is blocking the drainage is garbage.

Meanwhile, for months now, Yaounde has been littered with heaps of garbage. The piles of dirt became a trending topic online, depicting the capital as the dirtiest city in the country.

That prompted the Minister of Housing and Urban Development to launch a three-day cleaning campaign. As a result of that, Hysacam started clearing garbage from the streets.

However, these efforts are yet to yield concrete results.