Background and objectives
Following the Habitat II conference, the Government requested the support from UNDP and Habitat to assist the City Authorities in elaborating a city development strategy to combat poverty in low-income settlements.
A project proposal was prepared on two thematics: City Development Strategy through consultation and participatory process, and the Safer Cities component.
The project focus on complementary and inter-related activities, namely a city development strategy formulated through a city consultation and participatory process, and an upgrading program of some existing informal settlements, respectively in Limbe, Bertoua, Yaoundé 6.
In addition, the Safer Cities component aims at the development of a local appraisal of the crime situation in the city of Yaoundé, the establishment of a local crime prevention coalition and the development of initial lines of a crime prevention strategy.
Highlights and Challenges:
Twelve consultants were recruited, introduced to the local authorities and trained on Safer Cities and City Consultation methodologies in April 2001.
A mission was carried out in June 2001 in order to finalize assessments on urban poverty undertaken in Limbe, Bertoua, Yaoundé 6 and to prepare the city consultations which are planned to be held in September 2001.
The activities with regard to the Safer Cities component are carried out by a local team and have started in May 2001. The appraisal is ongoing and is being conducted through collection of Police data, interviews with resource persons, collection of data among the population through questionnaire and the development of a profile of the delinquents in the city. Its findings will be discussed at a city seminar in October 2001. The objective is to achieve a collective understanding of crime in the city, identify the present responses by the justice system, the other authorities and the civil society and to reach a consensus on priorities for preventive interventions involving all local and governmental actors. These related activities were officially launched in July 2001.
