WATER SUPPLY IN CAMEROON : CASE STUDY OF LIMBE TOWN

Water and Urban Services in Africa : Barcelona y Rubi.20 to 22 november 2008.

City

of LIMB

National School of Engineer - Yaoundé

Presented by : Dr Emmanuel NGNIKAM,

ERA – Cameroun, B.P. 3356 Yaoundé. Email : emma_ngnikam@yahoo.fr

Summary

1. Water supply in Cameroon

2. Presentation of LIMBE Town

3. Actors involved in water supply in Limbe

4. Analysed Access to drinking water in the

town of Limbe

5. Examination criticizes networks of

provisioning

6. Constraints and opportunities

7. The implementation of an integrated

managing action plan for the ADW in the

city

City

of LIMB

Keys indicator of Cameroon

City

of LIMB

Area : 474422 km2Population : (2003) 16400 000 inhabitantsDensity : 34 inh/km2Main cities :Yaoundé (Capital) : 1 700 000 inhabitantsDouala : 2 000 000 inhabitants Towns of more than 300 000 inhabitants : Garaoua , Maroua, Bafoussam , BamendaPopulation growth rate (2004) : 2,07 %GNP (2003) : 10,3 billon of Us $GNP per inhabitants (2003) : 640 Us $Rate of growth of the GNP (2000) : 4,1 %Rate of inflation (2003) : 4.5 %Balance of trade (2003, Us $ Billon)Exportations: 2,240Importation: 1,788

City

of LIMB

WATER SUPPLY IN CAMEROON (1).

General situation : March 2008, privatisation of the public corporation (SNEC)

and creation of the CDE (private corporation responsible of the water supply in town of Cameroon).

In December 2006, the creation of CAM Water, this public corporation have the responsibility of the public investment on water supply in the town of Cameroon;

Cameroon has 103 urban stations of drinking water and more than 3,000 stations and rural water points.

The urban stations are managed by CDE meanwhile the management of the stations and rural water points rest on the users (village committees) under the supervision of the MINEE (Ministry of Energy and Water Resources).

City

of LIMB

WATER SUPPLY IN CAMEROON (2).

Water service in the municipalities : Before 1968, the large cities municipalities as well as

those of the small urban centers were ensuring the management and distribution of drinking water in a direct connection system.

In September 1968, a 40 year concession convention was signed between the State of Cameroon and “SNEC” for the supply of Douala and Yaounde as well as some other towns.

From this convention, in all the localities where “SNEC” is located, the municipality henceforth is considered as an ordinary subscriber.

From 1990, with the economic crisis, the unpaid bills, led the “SNEC” to close the municipal public fountains.

City

of LIMB

WATER SUPPLY IN CAMEROON (3).

Water service in the municipalities :There are many problems that exist. The supply of the

areas where the networks do not exist is a serious problem.

The buffer areas inside the cities especially the condensed quarters with spontaneous habitation 1, as well as the periurban areas are mainly concerned with these difficulties.

In the municipalities, on the contrary, we observe the emergence of non governmental partners: like associations and local development committees which, all invest in the supply of drinking water.

City

of LIMB

WATER SUPPLY IN CAMEROON (4).

Supply of drinking water :the rate of coverage is inferior to 30 % and the

needs to be covered are too high even in the cities that are supplied.

The development of the water sector in Cameroon has numerous obstacles; the most important ones are:

• the problems of the institutional environment ;• the lack of précised objectives ;• the lack of autonomy to decide and to take

responsibility• financial problems (mastering the cost of

production and distribution) ;• The difficulty in mastering urban expansion.

City

of LIMB

PRESENTATION OF LIMBE (1).

The population is about 120 000 inhabitants in 2005;

Two heavy corporations occupy the primary sector, the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC) and the National refinery corporation (SONARA).

CDC was created in 1964 and exploits plantations having almost 15000 palm trees and 22000 rubber plants. CDC has 15 000 employees.

The construction of a deep sea port as a project and of the national shipyard corporation constitute the best opportunities for the development of this city;

The wildlife centre and Mount Cameroon, an active volcanic mountain of more than 4095 metres, attract various types of tourists.

City

of LIMB

PRESENTATION OF LIMBE (2).

Rainfall : 6000 mm/year.

Located near the Mount Cameroon, a volcanic mountain

City

of LIMB

ACTORS INVOLVED IN WATER SUPPLY (1).

The National Water Corporation.

“CDE” in Limbe, has 3155 particular subscribers, 116 for

the State. This represents a monthly consumption of almost

110 000m3.

The rate of supply is 27 % if we consider that each

subscription supplies 10 persons. It network supplies the

entire urban Centre.

The national corporation (CDE and CAMWATER ) is the

actor that has best expertise as far as production, supply of

drinking water through a network is concerned.

It staff is qualified, it network can supply almost 50 % of the

urban territory.

City

of LIMB

ACTORS INVOLVED IN WATER SUPPLY (2).

LIMBE URBAN COUNCIL (LUC)The executive of the formal council with a special regime brought in the course of the 2002 – 2007 mandate, financial and technical support to the different community networks of the city. The actions lead to the realization of the studies for the extension of the Mile 4 community network, the partial financing of the Mokoundange construction network. The Limbe Urban council which replaces the council with a special regime has a long cooperation experience with communities in the actions of improving the access to drinking water. The LUC is one of the rare average councils having a technical service capable of accompanying the council executive in implementing the council’s strategy development.

City

of LIMB

ACTORS INVOLVED IN WATER SUPPLY (3).The Mile 4 network managing committee

The creation of this committee comes as a response to the problems of water supply in those periphery localities located at the North-East of the city; and which partially only benefit from the urban water supply network. The Community network was constructed in 1972. this network has been extend in the new sector in 2002.The rate of increasing of the subscribers to the community network is almost 27 new connections per year (2007).The quarter has a population of 10 000 inhabitants; it is supplied in parts by the SNEC network having 6 subscribers. The rest of the quarter is supplied by the community network that has put in place a subscription system of almost 1000 subscribers and 25 fountains.

City

of LIMB

The Batoke network managing committee

The Batoke locality had a captation point constructed in 1960. The quarter is supplied by the community network which has put in place a subscription system of almost 200 subscribers and 20 non payable fountains.

The Mokoundange network managing committee

Conscious of the demands of drinking water by the village inhabitants, the idea of a drinking water project came out. The firsts steps of such a project were elaborated in 2000 by a committee put in place by the inhabitants of the quarter. The community development services were contacted in 2006. The LUC engaged a CFA 5 000 000 subvention; this amount permitted to acquire and the laying down of 110mm diameter pipes on a distance of almost one kilometre. The shipyard industrial corporation brought a support to the project. The population of the quarter is estimated at 6,000 inhabitants. The quarter is supplied partly by the SNEC network.

City

of LIMB

The Water sellers

The access to a connection is expensive for the majority of the populations of the city. Some people, for commercial reasons, put their connection at the disposal of the population with the aim of selling water. Many water sellers exist in Limbe. The price of an m3 of water to informal subscribers is always superior to the price that is practiced by SNEC,

The CDC Network

CDC has been the first corporation to construct drinking water

equipment in the city.

It puts in place three networks for the supply of its three

housing estate created for its staff.

The construction that has been put in place before the 1960s,

functions and is well maintained

City

of LIMB

Diagnostic of the existing management systems

The ADW equipment

Name of the corporation

Managing structure

Human resources System of financing

Method of acceding to the network

CAMWATER Network

State corporation

The management delegated by the management to a local agency

Connection : be nearer to the network and pay the bills fee of water service 364F/m2

CDC network

Private development corporation

The management delegated by the management of the corporation to a service

Chief of agency technical staff having salaries

Proper funds State subventions

Connection : reside in the CDC housing and no bills service of water paid by the corporation

Mile 4 network

Community organization

The management is delegated by the members of the community to a managing committee

The members of the committee are elected and do not have salaries, but the technical staff have salaries

Proper funds, various aids

Connection : be a member of the community and pay (100000 F) fees of the service of water : 5000 F/year

Batoke network

Community organization

The management is delegated by the members of the community to a managing committee

The members of the committee are elected and do not have salaries, but the technical staff have salaries

Proper funds, various aids

Connection : be a member of the community and pay (10 to 15000 F for native and 40 to 50 000 f for others) fees of the service of water : 5000 F/year

The access to drinking water in Limbe

City

of LIMB

Access to water in the city

Offer out of water in the city

The rate of access to drinking water in the quarters of the city is evaluated in 2008 to 74% for the whole of the urban perimeter, being divided into 40% of access by Stand taps and 34% of access by particular connection. Progress is necessary to improve (i) the rate of access which is weak in the new quarters or allotments, and (ii) the average specific consumption which remains modest because of the prevalence of the access by Stand taps. There exists in the city several Community networks self-managed by the quarters or villages, Bonadikombo, Batoké. With these networks the private boreholes carried out by industrialists are added: •SONARA: 2 boreholes for the dwellings of the personnel (1 500 people) with a flow of 30 m3/heure

•SONARA Refinery: 4 boreholes of the same importance

•CDC: a treatment plant of a flow of almost 45m3/h, a storage tank of 400 m3

Examination criticizes network of provisioning

City

of LIMB

Technical aspects

Financial aspect

In the field of the production: Regular breakdowns ; frequent ruptures on principal control coming from Mile 4; an insufficient quality control of water at exit of the factories. In the field of the distribution: very poor yield of the network (45%); significant pressure drops in certain quarters of the city

The price of the service of water practised by the SNEC is expensive for the populations, have regard to the conditions, similar to those of the Community networks of the city, in which this water is distributed gravitationally starting from the Moline river. This has an impact on the rate of connection to this network.

Examination criticizes network of provisioning

City

of LIMB

Organisational aspects The relations of the CAMWATER with the municipality of Limbé improve gradually but note that the long years of noncollaboration made take a delay in some of the actions. Because hitherto the municipality was sufficiently implied in the management of drinking water whereas it falls on to him this responsibility. It is essential thus that it is equipped in the future with the human means necessary. On the other hand the Community networks showed their effectiveness like their determination in the management of the distribution of water in their village or quarter.

City

of LIMB

Assets and handicaps

Examination criticizes network of provisioning

The principal identified assets are: •A respring abundant water and overflowing related to a strong pluviometry

•A population engaged to solve the problems of access to water

•The possibility of carrying out Community networks

The principal identified constraints are: •the relatively high demographic growth of the population, constant in the urban and semi-urban zones where the SNEC has intervened for several years do not reinforce any more its outputs and of distribution, anticipation and of intervention misses;

•the urban development, not easily controlled and dependent on the weakness of the average income of the populations.

City

of LIMB

Constraints of access to water

Constraints and opportunities

•The council: a weak actor in spite of decentralization •Key actors and lack of coordination • Boards of management of the Community networks evil prepared • When the natural constraints are interfered

Opportunities

• An offer of service varied and diversified

• A significant economic potential • Committed and motivated actors

• An average territorial cover in network

• A request available and solvent

City

of LIMB

The implementation of an integrated managing action plan for the ADW in the city (1)

The State policy as far as the matter is concerned, has

defined the following normative management principles:

guarantee the continuity of the public service as far as the ADW

is concerned:

guarantee the economy efficiency of the investments (best

quality / price of the proposed service);

guarantee the equity of the citizens in the access to public

service

mobilizing local financial resources (users and councils) to

finance the exploitation of the equipment.

City

of LIMB

The implementation of an integrated managing action plan for the ADW in the city (2)

In order to realize this, the integrated managing plan of the ADW equipment must be put in place at two levels;

1.at the level of the council:an organization must be put in place at the urban council, having a staff who shall be trained for a satisfying output. .2.At the level of the water point:of the community equipments exist. Managing equipments should be put at the disposal of the managing committees in order to permit them to improve their productivity.

3. A concerting environment shall be put in place to permit collaboration between the local services and the managing committee.

City

of LIMB Thank you for your attention