Pix: globalgiving.org
Drinking water has become an increasingly scarce commodity
in Cameroon's capital since the government introduced rationing in response to
a prolonged drought and inadequate water infrastructure.
The sight of women and children walking long distances to
find drinking water has become a familiar one in Yaounde and in many African
cities, a situation environmental experts blame on increasingly severe dry
seasons, surging urban populations and lack of investment in water
infrastructure.
"When dry periods go longer than usual, sources of
water dry up, as we have seen with the diminishing water volume of the Nyong
River in Yaounde and Lake Chad, and this leads to a water supply
shortage," said Zachee Nzohngadembou, executive director of the Centre for
the Environment and Rural Transformation, a nongovernmental organisation in
Limbe.
The tortuous daily trek of many residents is the result of
temporary rationing measures introduced by the government, with each neighbourhood
taking its turn to receive water once a week. Announcing the measure over state radio and television in
February, the government delegate to the Yaounde city council, Gilbert Tsimi
Evouna, noted that the city's more than 3 million inhabitants require a daily
water supply of over 300,000 cubic metres (about 80 million gallons).
Statistics from the state water company, Camerounaise Des
Eaux, show that Yaounde has a supply gap of about 200,000 cubic metres a day.
The main source, Nkomyanda water treatment station, supplies 100,000 cubic
metres a day, while the Akumnyada treatment centre produces just 100 cubic
metres.
Residents have claimed the rationing is causing more
problems than it solves. They claimed there is no clear calendar, as
distribution is made selectively, sometimes late in the night. This trend tends
to force households to stay up waiting through the night. Those who are
fortunate enough to get water do a brisk business re-selling it to those who
are without.
Only about 30 percent of Cameroon's 20 million inhabitants
have access to piped drinking water, according to government statistics. Many
households resort to water from boreholes, which must be treated before
drinking.
According to said Casimir Youmbi, emergency response manager
for the Cameroon office of Plan,
an international children's charity, "The risk of malaria, fever and water-borne
infections is high. Living conditions are poor (and) unsanitary, and the
over-crowded population makes matters even worse.”
In 2012 over 250 deaths from cholera in Yaounde were
reported by the government. The rapid spread of the epidemic and high mortality
rate were due to poor hygiene conditions and lack of access to clean drinking
water, according to Plan Cameroon. Statistics from the Ministry of Water and
Energy show that have been no major investments in water treatment in Yaounde
over the past 25 years.
The government has blamed this on the country's economic
crisis over the last two decades, which it says led to a freeze in state
spending on major development projects. However, some think it is a matter of
misplaced development priorities. Kah Wallah, leader of the Cameroon People's
Party, one of the main opposition parties, has called on Cameroonians to wear
black every Friday as a sign of protest to force the government address the
water crisis.
The minister of water and energy, Basil Atangana Kouna,
recently announced measures to address the problem, including a new Mefou water
treatment station which is due to become operational by August of this year. "This
project will inject an additional 50,000 cubic metres of water per day into
Yaounde. Though this is not sufficient to fill the shortage, it will narrow the
gap while waiting for bigger projects," he assured.
In 2012, the government approved a water investment
programme worth over 600 million euros ($785 million) as part of a broader
economic development effort.
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