Resettlement site for Douala wood dealers disclosed

The Platform for the Fight Against Urban Disorder visited 'Pont Blanchisseur' on January 28, 2015.

'Pont Blanchisseur were at the Dakar neighbourhood, Douala III Council, the site where some wood dealers of Marché Congo and traders from an area known as 'Ancien Dalip,' will soon be relocated. The two-hectare land, which is presently used as a football field by locals, was on January 28, 2015, inspected by the Committee in charge of the Fight Against Urban Disorder, known in French as "Plateforme de lutte contre le désordre urbain," during its 15th edition.

On the site, the Government Delegate to the Douala City Council, Dr. Fritz Ntone Ntone, presented the piece of land to the Committee President, Naseri Paul Bea. Construction is expected to begin soon. The second stopover took the Committee to the famous Ndokoti Junction, where traders share the carriageway with heavy-duty vehicles, bikes and taxis. The area is also noted for frequent ghastly motor accidents and robbery.

As at the time of the visit, the carriageway was empty as the traders got a hint on the operation. The situation is expected to be much different after the departure of the Committee members, a shop owner revealed.

At the Ahmadou Ahidjo Boulevard, the inspection team, led by Naseri Paul Bea, trekked for over one km, with the Municipal Police and security forces sending away recalcitrant traders.

A day before the field inspection, the Government Delegate led a team to Hotel le Nde area in Akwa where car dealers occupy part of the road, with parked vehicles for sale making movement difficult. The dealers pleaded to be given till February 1, 2015, to quit. The Municipal Police are now adequately equipped to carry out their work despite this week's sad incident where a trader was beaten mercilessly for refusing to leave the street and later died in hospital.

Hence, joint patrols by security forces and the Municipal Police in five priority zone where urban disorder is at its peak will soon begin. During a working session after the field inspection, sub committees, including Communication, Hygiene and Sanitation and the Fire Fighting Brigade, gave their monthly reports.