AMID RISING CONCERN, YAOUNDE GOV'T TO RAZE 13 MORE

UNCLAS YAOUNDE 000941

SIPDIS, SENSITIVE

STATE ALSO FOR AF/C AND DRL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL CM
SUBJECT: AMID RISING CONCERN, YAOUNDE GOV'T TO RAZE 13 MORE
NEIGHBORHOODS


1. (SBU) Summary: Embassy contacts have expressed concern that
the Yaounde City Council's (CUY) plan to demolish thirteen more
neighborhoods as part of an urban renewal plan will render homeless
thousands of residents, threatening to foster criminality and
unrest. The demolitions initially garnered broad support from a
public that had grown frustrated with Yaounde's anarchic sprawl, and
the CUY insists its actions are entirely legal and proper. We
welcome the initiative to enforce city regulations, but worry about
unintended consequences on Yaounde's social fabric. End summary.


2. (U) The CUY has announced it will bulldoze 13 more
neighborhoods as part of a controversial program to "beautify"
Cameroon's capital city. Government Delegate Tsimi Evouna has
undertaken an ambitious program to tackle Yaounde's uncontrolled
sprawl, constructing parks, rebuilding roads, and demolishing
illegal and unlicensed buildings. Press reports indicate that the
CUY has demolished 15 neighborhoods in Yaounde since 2005. Fritz
Ntone Ntone, the Government Delegate for Douala, has recently
undertaken a similar campaign of demolitions in the name of urban
renewal (septel).


3. (U) In Yaounde, Tsimi Evouna's aggressive demolitions were
initially met with approval by a population frustrated with the
anarchic sprawl of Yaounde's development. The demolitions are not
haphazard; the occupants of the houses to be destroyed are alerted
well in advance. The demolitions fall under five broad categories:
structures built on public land, structures built on land deemed
uninhabitable (e.g., on a flood plain),structures built without
legal permits, structures appropriated by the state for public
works, and structures built without permits. Tsimi Evouna has
earned a reputation for being unsympathetic to displaced households;
his tendency to notify neighborhoods with a strict 24-hour warning
has earned him the nickname "Jack Bauer" among Yaounde residents, in
allusion to the star character on the popular TV show "24," which
features a 24-hour ticking clock.


4. (U) Many observers express trepidation about the plan to
demolish 13 more neighborhoods, pointing out that thousands of
residents will be rendered homeless, just six months after Yaounde
and 30 other cities erupted in social unrest over rising
socio-economic frustrations. As Government Delegate, Tsimi Evouna
was appointed by President Paul Biya and rules essentially unchecked
over the entire city of Yaounde and the seven publicly-elected
mayors who head the city's sub-districts. Some critics have alleged
an ethnic dimension to the demolitions; Tsimi Evouna is a native of
the region and blamed violence in Yaounde in February on people who
had migrated to Yaounde; the communities living the demolished
neighborhoods are largely composed of ethnic groups who have
migrated to Yaounde.


5. (SBU) In a September 18 meeting with the Ambassador, Tsimi
Evouna was confident in his mandate from Biya (without saying
whether Biya had explicitly ordered or approved the demolitions) and
determined to continue ahead despite rising criticism. As for those
rendered homeless by the demolitions, Tsimi Evouna said they are the
responsibility of the Ministry of Social Affairs, not his concern.
Tsimi Evouna insisted that the City Council always compensates
property owners who had legally built their structures, but noted
that most landowners undervalue their assets on official paperwork
(in order to avoid taxes),thereby undercutting their claims for
compensation.


6. (SBU) Comment: In many ways, Tsimi Evouna's aggressive
enforcement of city regulations is a welcome contrast to the
lethargy and negligence that typifies many officials, but his
blinkered blitz comes at a cost, most clearly to the thousands of
Cameroonians displaced by the demolitions. We do not yet know
whether the demolition of the illegal settlements will reduce
insecurity (as Tsimi Evouna asserts) or create a class of citizens
with no choice but to turn to criminality (as his critics fear),and
the uncertainty underlines the inextricable link between internal
stability and the lifting of living standards through stronger
economic growth.

FOX.