Douala: More than twenty houses destroyed yesterday

The demolition operation around drainages in the city of Douala began Monday, July 6, 2015 at the district of Makepe-Missokè, in the district of Douala 5.

Beginning 6:30, the Douala Metropolitan guards and fifty gendarmes were already positioned on the edge of the bridge on Tongo A Bassa. The arrival of the government delegate of the Cud, Fritz Ntone Ntone, Jean-Marie Tchakui, sub-prefect of Douala 5 and Mayor Gustave Ebanda, set the tone for the exercise.

The bulldozer broke down houses one after the other as owners cried and screamed with their children but that changed nothing.

The area is muddy and difficult to ply suggesting the kind of conditions the people in the area were living in.

The drain, three meters away, serves spillway, there are no amenities (shower, septic tanks). Some residents on the other side of the drain, seeing the work ahead of them believed it was a serious exercise and started packing their belongings.

Germaine, a resident, said, "the work that the Metropolitan assembly is doing is good and we hope water won't get into our houses again. But we hoped for it to be completed.”

Marjolaine is one of the occupants of the demolished houses. A mother of five children, the young lady said she was safe living in such a place which has a pig breeding area close to her bedroom.

The question on everyone's lips is how these people lived in such a difficult condition.

For the mayor Gustave Ebanda, it is the duty of the urban community and municipalities to protect populations, hence this action. More than twenty homes have already been destroyed.