Younde City Reminiscent to Coketown

Coketown evokes black dust and coal rocks. The name is apt in Hard Times, a book authored by Charles Dickens. Soot coats are in every surface of the town, turning buildings black as smoke hangs heavy in the sky. The river that runs through the town is black with coal dust and dyes used in making textiles in the mills. The people of Coketown are oppressed by the factories just as the air and water are tainted by them. The physical pollution of the town reflects the pollution present in the residents' minds and spirits. Workers live in filthy conditions that rob them of the possibility to pursue better lives or even entertain their own thoughts. People die alone in the streets of Coketown like Stephen Blackpool who falls into a mining pit called Old Hell Shaft.

???????????Yaounde, the Capital City of Cameroon is reminiscent to Coketown. The only difference of the two cities is that Coketown is a figurative industrialized town whereas Yaounde is a political citadel. The Mfoundi river that run through Yaounde is full with debris of waste dumped by denizens. ‘The city council, with its partners, is making efforts to keep the city clean. We ask our populations to know that they are the ones who produce the garbage and they have to manage it responsibly, instead of getting rid of it by depositing it either on the public highway, on the sides of the roads, or even in the yards of their neighbors," the Lord Mayor of Yaounde Luc Messi Atangana cried out.

???????????????The physical pollution of Yaounde reflects the political pollution caused by the power that be in the resident’s minds and spirits. The proclamation of Senatorial election results?by the President Constitutional Court, Clement Atangana on March 24, 2023 and the drama staged by the ruling party in electing officials of the Low and Upper House of the National Assembly is the type of pollution we are talking about. Yaounde city dwellers are robbed of the hard-earned monies by hoodlums. Destitutes lie along in the streets of Yaounde like Stephen Blackpool who falls into a mining pit in Coketown.

???????????????Yaounde like most towns and cities in Cameroon exhibit the burdens of waste management which characterize so many African cities. Several factors including inadequate financial resources, low levels of enforcement of regulations and poor governance often lead to poor solid waste management services. Results indicate that solid waste management services are rudimentary; essentially collect and dump. Current regulations do not adequately address waste handling or disposal. There are inefficiencies in the implementation of waste management policy due to the devolved responsibilities between several governmental agencies and the local councils.

???????????????It is in this light that the Lord Mayor of Yaounde Luc Messi Atangana announced at Yaoundé City Hall recently the hiring of?a new waste management company, to assist,?the Cameroon Hygiene and Sanitation Company- Hysacam. Hysacam has been struggling for several months to ensure the collection service. As a result, many neighborhoods are dealing with uncollected waste. According to the officials of the company, this is the consequence of the irregularity of the payment of its services by the State, which previously led to the recent social movements within the company.

???????????????The new company is called Thychlof Sarl.?According to the Chief Executive Officer?of Thychlof Sarl, Charles Onana Mvondo the company will contribute its know-how to improve upon the filthy nature of the capital city. It started executing its task?in the Yaoundé 3 municipality with a first fleet of five refuse collection vehicles. It also has plans to expand in other municipalities for greater efficiency. The deployment of a new operator is a response to the current waste crisis in Yaoundé.

???????????????Yaounde may recall us of the image of?Coketown but is not the only city that faces?challenges in the rising amount of generated waste and littering. Cities around the world are facing great challenges managing?trash?due to increasing urbanization, and the?high demand for food products and other essentials. Public waste bins are filling up faster than ever and inevitably many of the bins end up overflowing before collected, causing not only cluttered streets and bad odors but also negative health and environmental impacts.

???????????????Overflowing waste bins are an ideal breeding ground for bacteria, insects and vermin. The flies that visit the garbage are also the same flies that roam around our?lunch buffet and drop their offspring on our plates. By doing so, they increase the risk of city dwellers contracting with salmonella, which causes typhoid fever, food poisoning, enteric fever, gastroenteritis, cholera, and other major illnesses. Besides flies, other animals that thrive from the garbage in and around the containers include rats, foxes and stray dogs. Direct contact with waste can result in skin and blood infections through infected wounds, various illnesses resulting from the bites of animals feeding on the waste, and intestinal infections transmitted by flies feeding on the waste. Picking up overflowing garbage is also risky due to sharp objects, needles and potentially hazardous waste. Besides causing all sorts of health and environmental issues, overflowing garbage is a public nuisance and eyesore. Everyone wants to live and visit places that are fresh, clean and healthy. A smelly city with poor sanitation and trash all over the place does not attract people or tourists, let alone investments. Cities keep losing money, and they also miss out on the revenue and job opportunities coming from proper waste control and recycling.

By Livinus Njume Esambe (PhD)