Elisabeth Benkam, VoicesofAfrica mobile reporter in Yaounde, Cameroon
The artificially-made 6.2 ha Yaounde municipal lake has since long ceased to be a place for recreation to become a huge pond of highly polluted and dangerous water. Dating back to the colonial period, the lake was meant for water sports and other relaxing activities.
According to Jean Tchoutezo, a director in the urban development ministry, purification work started in 2002, but this has not changed the water quality. The nearby official buildings, hospitals and residences keeping pouring their toxic wastes into the lake.
Municipal authorities have not only forbidden all fishing activities but have also started putting forward other ideas. One of them is to dry the lake out and turn it into commercial space for business, hotels, restaurants, and exhibition centres for approximately 14 billions of FCA (¤2.1 million)
Before that could happen, the Urban development Ministry has scheduled a water clean-up study with the support of UNO-HABITAT. At the same time, the Ministry of energy is studying possibilities of draining that water without causing environmental damages.
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