Order of urban disorder in Buea, a threat to life
By Nchendzengang Tatah
In the calm of the Sunday afternoon, a dirt carriage truck drives through the quarter corridors of Buea, the regional capital of the South West. The joy of the unusual visit is cut short by the seizure of electricity in some households due to the movement of the truck in the neighborhood.
Like many more, an electricity cable line crisscrossed over the street has been cut. The truck occupants only halted to push away the live wires by the side to drive past as this reporter watched.
Two brave men from around tried to contain the live cables around an electric pole. Five meters away is a primary school with almost a thousand kids attending classes on weekdays. Electric and satellite cables cloud various areas of the town in a hazardous manner. Urban disorder is seemingly becoming the order of the day.
About 100 meters away is UB South, a student residential area, now called “dirty south” due to its dirt-dumbed streets. Inviting mosquitoes and generating stench to the thousands who live there. Severally, municipal and national authorities have discussed the issues of urban disorder, but evidently, little has been done.
Development experts blame the lack of town planning, and the fast-growing nature of such a town especially as it cradles relative peace in an eight-year-running socio-political conflict in the English-speaking regions.
Tata Emmanuel Sunjo in the article; “Addressing Urban Governance and Environmental Challenges in Buea: A Policy Brief for the Local Community”, recommends sustainable waste management practices like recycling and composting.
Moreso, capacity-building seminars for local and community leaders on town planning. To that, allocating sufficient resources and funding for the implementation of existing policy.
