Yaounde: Housing minister, City Mayor disagree over handling of garbage.

In a letter dated September 3, Minister Ketcha Courtès expressed concerns over the persistent waste problem in Yaounde while reminding Mayor Messi Atangana of the actions that had been discussed in an earlier crisis meeting on July 18, 2024 which are yet to take full force. 

According to the member of government, during the crisis meeting, she had launched the operation “Coup de poing, Yaounde sans poubelles” initiative. 

This, the minister said, was a swift and aggressive operation aimed at cleaning of all the piles of garbage littering around within a short period of time.

According to the minister, the measures proposed included the installation of “No dumping” signs across the city, revising contracts with waste management companies among them Hysacam and Thychlof as well as improving coordination between the municipalities and waste management operators. 

The goal, she explained, was to restore cleanliness to the streets of Yaounde and protect the health of its residents

During the last crisis meeting to address the situation, Minister Ketcha Courtès had stated: “Not a single corner of the city is spared. The filth is visible everywhere”. 

In the crisis meeting, she had stated that the Head of State tin his traditional end-of-year message to the nation on December 31, 2023, instructed the government to find a swift and lasting solution to the waste management problem. 

“Given the worsening situation, I have instructed the government to urgently find a sustainable solution to the problem of household waste collection in our cities, in collaboration with the council and city council,” the president stated.

Mayor Messi Atangana responds 

Responding to the minister’s correspondence, City Mayor, Messi Atangana painted a far different picture of the challenges facing the city. 

He highlighted significant obstacles that were hindering the implementation of the minister’s proposed measures, particularly funding issues for the waste management companies, Hysacam and Thychlof. 

According to the City Mayor, these companies have struggled with limited resources, resulting in irregular waste collection across the city. He also emphasised that budget of the City Council is insufficient to permanently cover the costs of waste management.

He, however, noted that this could be addressed if a special government fund dedicated to waste management was put at their disposal. 

According to him without additional financial support, the city’s efforts would remain unsustainable. 

He also suggested that the procedures for selecting waste management companies needed to be more flexible to allow for quicker and more effective operations.

The City Mayor also criticised delays which were noted in the implementation of some of the key directives issued by the minister. 

He cited among them “No dumping” signs that were intended to deter illegal waste disposal which have not been as effective as they had hoped. He equally lamented the slow recruitment process for new waste management operators, which has left the city in confusion.

According to the City Mayor, the Yaounde City Council on June 5, 2024, launched an international tender, to recruit four contractors to handle the city’s waste collection needs. 

The operation, he said, is estimated to cost 61.8 billion FCFA, with deadline for submission of bids, which was earlier fixed for August 20, 2024 but now extended to September 20, 2024. 

This delay, he regretted, has left Hysacam and Thychlof, whose contracts expired at the end of 2023, in a state of uncertainty as they prepare new bids in hopes of continuing their operations.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post issue N0:3225 of Tuesday September 10, 2024