Water crisis persists in Cameroon’s capital city

Inhabitants in the capital of Cameroon, Yaounde, are finding themselves in a very precarious situation as taps are running dry. Several areas of the capital have experienced a severe water scarcity, going for months without a drop. The situation is described to be fast becoming a crisis. Each day, before a majority of the inhabitants wake up in the morning, taps have already stopped flowing and water returns only at about 9:00 p.m. This is when the situation is good. At times water may start flowing again only after midnight. The population therefore must wake-up late at night or before 4:00 a.m. to fill containers with water. "But the quantity of water stored is hardly enough for a day in a big family", Ivana B complains. But the situation is getting worst in other neighbourhoods as some people have gone for weeks and even months without potable water flowing from their taps. As a result, an interminable row of buckets is usually seen near certain taps in town. "This is only one of the daily manners in which citizens express their difficulties having water", Beatrice O, an inhabitant of the Obili neighbourhood in Yaounde recounts. In a desperate need for water, Beatrice says she and her neighbours, each day make a line in front of a tap where water runs in drops. In the Nkolbisson neighbourhood, the water situation is more difficult. It is almost one year that there is no water in the area. The inhabitants depend on wells for water to carry out their daily chores. People in Nkolbission say they are forced to incur extra expenditure to buy drinking water. The problem is more serious because there are people in Nkolbisson who have paid and deposited documents for potable water connection two years ago but there are no results. In offices, toilets and some corridors are "no go" areas because of the stench that comes out due to lack of water. In trying to put themselves at ease, certain workers take refuge in neighbouring hotels around their offices where special water provision has been made. Even posh "residential" quarters in Yaounde such as Bastos, Odza, Messamendongo also have water problems. The government is trying to deal with the situation and has instructed some specialised bodies to save the city dwellers. Fire fighters brigade, the police and the city council, are reported to having been sent out to supply water to the neediest neighbourhoods.