• Reference: P-CM-EB0-003
• Approval date: 14/12/2005
• Start date: 26/08/2006
• Appraisal Date: 30/04/2005
• Status: OngoingOnGo
• Location: Ville de Yaoundé
• Implementing Agency: MINISTERE DE LA SANTE PUBLIQUE

Context

Since the early nineties, the population of Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon, has increased by 6% per year and today is close to 1.5 million due to rural-urban migration and the high birth rate. There is a predominance of the so-called squatter areas that cover about 62.4% of  Yaounde city’s area.

The city’s main rainwater drainage systems are regularly blocked by all types of solid waste. As a result, during the rainy season, floods (15 to 20 major floods per year) totally disrupt the town’s socio-economic activities and especially, those in the squatter areas. Indeed, about 53,000 people (or about 9,000 households) are regularly flooded and 243,000 people (or about 40,000 households) occasionally.

Thus, the quality of life is seriously affected during the floods because it is sometimes necessary to move temporarily or  live in  humid, filthy and unhygienic surroundings. 
Concerning the environment, the floods cause the pollution of the Akomnyanda water treatment plant which supplies the town of Yaoundé with drinking water, soil erosion, land subsidence and slides.
With regard to the economy, the floods cause the destruction of houses and businesses,  loss of income for traders, etc. In short, the lack of stormwater drainage in a city like Yaounde, where rainfall is considerable (nearly 2,000 mm per year), has a far-reaching impact on the population most of whom already live in poverty.  In order to control flooding in the city of Yaounde and address the difficulties inherent in its increasing squalor, the Government prepared a Yaounde City Sanitation Master Plan (PDA), which was financed by the Bank Group.

Rationale

The project is in line with the Cameroon strategy framework as set out in the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) approved in July 2003, and focuses on the following main thrusts:

1. providing impetus to the private sector as an engine of growth and partner in the supply of social services;
2. the development of basic infrastructure, natural resources and environmental protection; and
3. strengthening of human resources and the social sector, and the integration of the disadvantaged groups into the economic fabric.

The project is in keeping with Pillar II of the Bank’s strategy in Cameroon as set out in the Results-Based Country Strategy Paper (RBCSP). Indeed,, Pillar II of the Bank’s strategy in Cameroon for the 2005-2009 period focuses on the development of infrastructure in order to support economic growth and promote access to social services. In accordance with this Pillar, the project will help to improve the living conditions of the population through stormwater drainage improvements in Yaounde.

Objective

The specific objectives of the project are: 

1. to contribute to stormwater drainage in Yaounde; 
2. to improve the living environment of the city’s population; and 
3. to build the capacities of the sector’s stakeholders.

 

Description

The project comprises the following three components:

• Sanitation Infrastructure Development. This component aims to resolve the acute stormwater drainage problems facing the city of Yaounde.
• Capacity Building. 
• Project Management. This component concerns all the activities required to facilitate the coordination, monitoring and control of works implementation.

 

Impact

The primary objective of the Yaounde Sanitation Project is to contribute to poverty reduction in urban areas by limiting the effects of the floods that completely disrupt the city’s socio-economic activities and especially in the poor squatter areas that cover about 62.4% of the city’s area.

The project will have a direct and immediate impact on poverty reduction by improving the population’s health, creating about 1,350 direct jobs and 2,350 indirect jobs during the 4-year implementation phase and by reducing the unemployment rate especially among youths.

The actions planned under the project will also bring about increased empowerment of the most vulnerable segments of the population (women and youths) and a better organisation of urban communities as well as the promotion of small operators (jobbers, craftsmen, day labourers, SMEs and NGOs).

TRAORE Ibrahima Amadou - OWAS1

Finance source	Amount
ADF	UAC 25,600,000
Government	UAC 2,890,000
Total	UAC 28,490,000