The Housing Predicament in Cameroon

Kijem Joseph Yuh

Housing issues are part of the important aspects of life in a country, etc.^[1] They involve a lot of material, human, financial and other resources. If they are not well handled, they give rise to a series of problems. In Cameroon, these problems are noticeable in financial matters, land development and equipment issues, town planning, housing investments, communication matters, hygienic conditions, the role of regional and municipal council authorities, legal matters, etc.

The Cameroonian Government does not satisfy the financial needs of civil servants, etc who intend to build personal or family houses. Despite the setting-up of Crdit Foncier du Cameroun (a government bank meant to handle the funding of personal housing projects) in May 1977, a good number of the clients of this bank find it very difficult to conveniently obtain housing loans from the said bank. Just a few of its clients succeed in obtaining such loans.

Worse still, the Cameroon Government does not bother to put in place a meticulous or serious monitoring mechanism aimed at guiding and assisting those who obtain housing loans from Crdit Foncier du Cameroun. They are left to their own devices in terms of their housing expenditures derived from these loans. It is in this light that a good number of them end up squandering or not judiciously spending their loans.

Cameroon’s educational system has not been, and is still not, attaching much importance to the construction of houses and related fields.^[2] This statement is partially justified by the fact that there are not enough secondary schools or colleges which offer courses in the said domains. Furthermore, a good number of the secondary schools which offer these courses are ill-equipped in terms of human, material and financial resources.

The said lack of importance is also observable in the courses dealing with the construction of houses and related fields. Just like many courses in Cameroon’s schools, they are not sufficiently and regularly reviewed pedagogically and didactically. They do not make enough use of much needed foreign materials or contributions. They are not constantly adapted to field realities in the building sites of Cameroon’s villages, towns, etc.

Land development and equipment for the purpose of building houses in Cameroon is quite problematic. It is officially carried out by a structure (MAETUR – The Urban and Rural Land Development and Equipment Authority) which is not sufficiently present in the field in the entire country.^[3] In other words, its activities are limited to some parts of Cameroon, especially urban areas.

Its activities in the field leave much to be desired. In this connection, some of the pieces of land developed by it for building purposes are poorly equipped. The lack of good and enough access roads in a good number of pieces of land developed by MAETUR is quite illustrative of this deplorable situation. Some of these roads are poorly paved or not paved all at, leaving those who buy plots accessed by these roads in a state of dissatisfaction or discontent.

The Cameroon Government has not made available (through its real estate corporation) a substantial number of apartments or houses to Cameroonians with low incomes.^[4] It has constructed an insignificant number of such apartments or houses mostly in big towns (Buea, Yaounde, Douala, etc). Furthermore, these structures, which are meant for middle-class Cameroonians, are occupied, to some extent, by upper-class Cameroonians. Most of them are very dirty and poorly maintained.

Many Cameroonians with low incomes find it difficult to rent decent houses or apartments in Cameroon’s villages, cities, etc. Most of the houses or apartments which could be rented by them are sub-standard structures. They do not reflect the worth of Cameroonians (see Banjul Charter).^[5] They have poor toilet facilities, unacceptable ventilation possibilities, unreliable roofs, dirty walls, poor kitchen conditions, very limited playgrounds for children, very small rooms, poorly maintained floors, etc.

The haphazard construction of houses or apartments in Cameroon has seriously affected town planning in its neighbourhoods, towns, villages, etc. To this end, many houses have been built without taking into consideration the need for the construction of drainage facilities, access roads, etc. Furthermore, a good number of houses have been built in violation of many environmental requirements.

Town planning experts or specialists are not adequately consulted by the Cameroon Government and Cameroonians prior to the construction of houses. Many Cameroonians believe that consulting the said experts or specialists is unnecessary, expensive and a waste of time. That is partially why the deplorable town planning situation described above prevails. It is quite regrettable!

A good number of Cameroonians live in shanty towns or slums. Houses in these areas do not resemble human dwellings. They were constructed without taking into account architectural requirements and Article 25 (1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.^[6] They have poor or no toilet facilities. Many of them cannot withstand very harsh weather conditions (some downpours, erosions, floods, strong winds, etc).They are eyesores in Cameroon’s urban areas.

The Cameroon Government does not have any promising or convincing policy concerning the development of these shanty towns or slums and the resettlement of their inhabitants. It does not make concrete efforts to provide residents of these areas with a regular and permanent supply of water, electricity, etc. In case of any destruction of their houses, there are usually no promising resettlement activities for the victims of this destruction.

The Cameroon Government is not satisfactorily promoting local building materials. Despite the presence of a structure meant for that purpose (MIPROMALO – Local Materials Promotion Authority), there is not enough government promotion or investment in terms of the availability and affordability of local building materials.^[7] This promotion or investment is felt just in big towns. Rural areas are abandoned to their own devices.

Cameroonians (workers, investors, etc) and Cameroonian institutions involved in the promotion of local building materials are not well treated by MIPROMALO in particular and the Cameroon Government in general. In other words, their technical needs (in terms of training, retraining, etc) and financial requirements (in terms of allowances, salaries, loans for investment purposes, etc) are not fairly or judiciously handled by MIPROMALO and the Cameroon Government.

Banks in Cameroon do not encourage low-income or poor Cameroonians to build decent houses for themselves.^[8] In other words, they do not take into consideration the financial and social situation of these Cameroonians when they offer housing loans to them. These loans are granted with high interests. The said loans and interests are strenuously paid by these low-income or poor Cameroonians.

Crédit Foncier du Cameroun (CFC), a bank whose capital partly comes from civil servants, does not take the right of these civil servants to live in decent houses seriously. A good number of these civil servants do not have easy access to housing loans from this bank. It is a giant financial or banking structure which does not take its funding role in Cameroon’s housing sector seriously in terms of a good number of aspects.

The hygienic conditions of houses in Cameroon leave much to be desired.^[9] There is a lot of laxity or nonchalance as far as compliance with these conditions is concerned. In this vein, the Cameroon Government has stubbornly refused to emulate good sanitary supervision examples such as the worthy activities of sanitary inspectors of former West Cameroon, inspectors who ensured that the environment around houses was clean, toilets in houses were clean, etc.

This lack of monitoring or supervision of hygienic conditions in Cameroonian houses or homes has considerably exposed them to poor hygienic life. It is in this light that a good number of houses in Cameroon’s big towns randomly dispose of their sewage and other types of waste. This deplorable situation renders the environment or atmosphere very unhealthy; it stinks in an unbearable manner.

Many Cameroonians (business persons, family heads, school proprietors, etc) do not regularly and frequently consult housing experts or specialists (building technicians, architects, etc) within the confines of their housing projects. They unfortunately believe that they can carry out all their building projects in neighbourhoods, villages, towns, etc without relying on scientific parameters or factors.

This regrettable situation has led to the destruction (cases of collapse, cracks, damage to roofs, etc) of a good number of apartments, multiple-storeyed buildings, market shops, hostels, etc. Some of these cases of destruction have caused enormous human, material, psychological and financial loss. Some of the victims of these losses in particular and Cameroonians in general do not sufficiently learn from them and their causes.

A substantial number of municipal council authorities issue building permits in a fraudulent and corrupt manner (they collect bribes from those in need of these permits).^[10] Some of these building permits deal with building projects in areas not meant for building or housing projects (for instance, marshy or swampy areas; risk zones; industrial zones as far as human dwellings are concerned; areas reserved for government projects; etc).

The consequences of the aforementioned fraudulent and corrupt practice are quite disastrous. Some of them are the haphazard construction of buildings in neighbourhoods, villages, towns, etc; the lack of serious municipal council supervision of some building or housing projects; the possibility of human and material damage from buildings constructed with fraudulent permits; etc. Many courts in Cameroon have handled, and are still handling, many legal issues pertaining to the sale of building plots; the sale of residential structures (apartments, etc); the validity of building permits; inheritance issues relating to houses; etc. Precisely speaking, some of these issues concern the double sale of building plots and residential structures; the fraudulent transfer of family houses to some family members, etc.

The said issues have ruined a good number of Cameroonians materially, financially, psychologically, morally, socially, etc. In this connection, some Cameroonians who have rightfully invested in some housing or building projects have been unjustly deprived of their investments by some court verdicts. Furthermore, some Cameroonians have been unjustly stripped of their family inheritance by some judges or magistrates.

On account of the foregoing presentation, it could be inferred that Cameroon has serious problems in its housing sector and related sectors, problems which considerably retard moves towards Sydney Smith’s commendable perception of a comfortable house.^[11] This seriousness is further highlighted by some problems not discussed in this article (land expropriation issues, high house rents, issues relating to government-owned houses and land, low housing allowances, homelessness, unscrupulous housing agents, etc). There is need to redress this dismal situation.^[12]

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Articles

Cambridge Dictionary, ‘’Housing’’

Available at: dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/housing

Consulted on: 17/6/24

Everyday Old House (Misadventures of an Average Homeowner), ‘’101+Inspiring Quotes about House and Home’’

Available at: everydayoldhouse.com/house-home-inspirational-quotes/

Consulted on: 24/11/23

Mussa, C., ‘’Open Defecation in Cameroon Increases Risk of Cholera’’

Available at: globalpressjournal.com/africa/cameroon/open-defecation-in-cameroon-increases-risk-of-cholera/

Consulted on: 25/6/24

Tsiele, C., ‘’ Enseignement Technique (Une Niche d’Emplois à Découvrir)’’, Cameroun Tribune, Yaounde, 11 March 2020, p.16

Degha, I., ‘’Comment Obtenir un Permis de Bâtir au cameroun

Available at: camerounservices.com/permis-de-batir-au-cameroun/

Consulted on: 27/6/24

B) Legal Instruments

African (Banjul) Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (1981)

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

1. Cambridge Dictionary, ‘’Housing’’Available at: dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/housing

   Consulted on: 17/6/24

   The aforementioned dictionary defines the term housing in the following words:

   Buildings for people to live in (Example: There’s shortage of cheap housing in the region).

   Buildings for people to live in, used especially when talking about their price or condition (Example: Affordable/cheap/low-cost housing: Lack of access to affordable housing is a problem for young people in the area).

   The process of providing places for people to live (Example: The post will suit someone who is currently working in housing or urban planning).

   It should be noted that this work also handles issues related to housing such as land development and equipment, communication dealing with housing, etc. ↑

2. Carine Tsiele, ‘’ Enseignement Technique (Une Niche d’Emplois à Découvrir)’’, Cameroun Tribune, Yaounde, 11 March 2020, p.16Carine Tsiele pinpoints the fact that technical education has, for a long time, been neglected by Cameroonian families (They are an essential part of Cameroon’s educational system). ↑
3. MAETUR was set up in 1977. It experiences the managerial problems which obtain in similar structures in Cameroon (laxity, inertia, poor output, etc). ↑
4. This corporation is known as Cameroon Real Estate Corporation (SIC). It was set up in 1952. ↑
5. Article 5 of the Banjul Charter – this charter is also referred to as the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (1981) – states as follows: Every individual shall have the right to the respect of the dignity inherent in a human being….. ↑
6. Article 25 (1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) stipulates as follows:Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care… ↑
7. MIPROMALO was set up in 1990. It promotes the use of local building materials in Cameroon in order to reduce building costs. ↑
8. This situation is partly due to the fact that low-income or poor Cameroonians cannot enable Cameroonian banks to rapidly generate income from housing loans. ↑
9. Comfort Mussa (Global Press Journal), ‘’Open Defecation in Cameroon Increases Risk of Cholera’’Available at: globalpressjournal.com/africa/cameroon/open-defecation-in-cameroon-increases-risk-of-cholera/

   Consulted on: 25/6/24

   In this article, Comfort Mussa mentions one of the poor hygienic conditions in Cameroon. She states as follows:

   Thousands of residents of Bamenda and other cities in Cameroon don’t have access to toilets because of a lack of public and private facilities. ↑

10. Ismael Degha, ‘’Comment Obtenir un Permis de Bâtir au camerounAvailable at : camerounservices.com/permis-de-batir-au-cameroun/

    Consulted on: 27/6/24

    This article provides a Cameroonian definition of the term building permit. It asserts that it is an authorization for the construction of a building and the realization of any related activity. It aims at ensuring that the construction of a building complies with town planning and construction rules. It has to be issued before any building operation in Cameroon is carried out. It is produced by municipal council authorities. ↑

11. Everyday Old House (Misadventures of an Average Homeowner), ‘’101+Inspiring Quotes about House and Home’’Available at: everydayoldhouse.com/house-home-inspirational-quotes/

    Consulted on: 24/11/23

    In this article, Sydney Smith perceives a comfortable house as a source of great happiness. According to him, it ranks immediately after health and cases of good conscience. ↑

12. Redressing the said situation entails, inter alia, the involvement of, and contribution, from housing experts or specialists, the government, municipal council authorities, banks, the public, etc. ↑

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