Map 2: Main cities
2.2.4 Community development problems in Bangui
On the one hand the policy of some CAR's political and military leaders mainly consists of satisfying their own interests, diverting public goods, favoring their own relatives and their kindred as well as their own region instead of answering to the real needs in community development. Some actions of the government are almost at the expense of the well-being of all (Aristide 2016). Only the policy of destruction is visible in the country.
Poor governance is visible in the country accompanied by strong social injustice. There are nominations by usurpation of positions. Qualified graduates are not appointed while people who are poorly educated and the illiterate occupy juicy and noble functions for political reasons; and injustice
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appears more vivid (Sabone 2015: 38). On the other hand, the government lacks a good vision and development policy. The issue of development is only theoretical and not practical. The unemployment rate is increasingly growing. The country is continuously moving backwards. Human rights and democracy are not respected because the management of the country does not suit everybody; some people are forced to resort to arms which often generate hostilities in the country (Aristide 2016). It is for this reason that peace is missing in most of the country and the rate of unemployment, sickness, mortality, illiteracy, poverty and total economic underdevelopment continually increases (Blanche 2015:69).
In a country where insecurity reigns, peace is nearly non-existent and the population lives in almost a permanent fear, it is difficult to promote communal development programs. Concerning insecurity, Nfumu (2012:37) affirms that “almost without exception every leader of the Central African Republic came into power and always ended up being toppled by a military coup” (Own translation from French). While writing this survey, the military and political conflicts that were created by the armed rebel coalition are currently developing. Thanks to the mediation efforts of the presidents of the central African countries, the government, political parties’ objectors and armed rebel coalition representatives have been brought to a negotiation table to restore peace and social stability in Central African Republic. The social peace is a main requirement for development. According to Boute-Mbamba (2013)’s research work entitled “Bangui is it our future? 26 June 1889-26 June 2010: Hundred and twenty-one years”, presents an analysis of
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the development problems of the city of Bangui under the following 13 points with their supporting statistics:
(1) Energy
91,7% of the energy needs of the Bangui households are met with wood as a heat source.
8% of Bangui households use coal compared to wood.
0,3% of Bangui households use other resources namely oil, gas and electricity.
(2) Water
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Central African Water Distribution Company (SODECA) work together to ensure access to safe drinking water to over 240,000 people in the city of Bangui and Bimbo commune after a long period of shortage. On 31 December 2015, they completed the repairs of two main pipelines that were cracked and not operational because of the war. The ICRC provided spare parts, equipment, and technical and logistical support to SODECA for the operation of the entire water system of the city of Bangui, as well as in other parts of the country (Jonathan 2016).
The ICRC regularly provides technical and material support to the cities of Bangui and Ndele, in order to ensure the entire population access to clean water. They also works for the rehabilitation of wells and hand pumps in Birao. Finally, they supply daily drinking water to IDPs (internally displaced persons) on the site of Bangui M'Poko airport and in the towns of Bambari and Kaga Bandoro (Jonathan 2016).
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75% of Bangui households get water supply from the SODECA boundary-marks with an estimated 30 minute middle journey delay;
8% of Bangui households possess an individual branching to the current water supply; 2% of Bangui households use the so-called
“protected wells” with an average of one well for every eight households.
5% of Bangui households get water supply from non-protected sources.
Most use water without precaution: water from tap, traditional wells and rain.
Absence of local politics influence access to drinking water.
Insufficiency of the Boundary-mark affects water supply
System of treatment and distribution not very reliable.
(3) Electricity
The energy company ENERCA is the only company in the CAR that manages the two largest hydraulic electric power plants of the country, which are in Boali 1 and 2. They provide Bangui with power up to 18.65 MW. The provinces are electrified through thermal power plants whose operation depends on the supply of fuel (Sabone 2015:28). But the Central African Republic has been experiencing a serious electricity crisis and repeated cuts in Bangui since 2012 to date (Blanche 2015:14).
85,5% of Bangui households use gas lamps
10% of Bangui households have arranged access to electricity.
Low district electrification.
Permanent diversion.
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Difficulties with provision because of the lack of clear policies.
(4) Accommodation
The city of Bangui consists predominantly of the poor.
34% of Bangui households live in slums and more than 80% of those don't have access to good drinking water.
Only 44,2% of Bangui lodgings have sanitary installation systems.
1,6% of Bangui lodgings have tile roofs/walls
3,2% of Bangui lodgings have straw walls.
9% of Bangui lodgings have clay walls.
79,8% of Bangui lodgings have brick walls.
2,9% of Bangui lodgings have cement walls.
2,5% of Bangui lodgings have baked brick walls.
1,4% of Bangui lodgings have wooden walls.
86,8% of Bangui lodgings have a coating of corrugated iron.
12,3% of Bangui lodgings have a coating of straw of which 24% are in the 7th District.
About 1% of Bangui lodgings have a coating of tiles or cement.
(5) Heath
The main health problems in CAR is the high maternal and infant mortality, high prevalence of communicable diseases including HIV AIDS, the poor performance of the health system and a funding of the sector which is strongly dependent on international aid. In September 2013, the CAR had 7 surgeon doctors for a population of about 5,000,000 inhabitants because of the chaotic socio-political and security situation (WHO 2013).
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The hospital capacity for people of Bangui agglomeration is 1001 beds;
this is 29, 64% of the national hospital capacity of which 25% serves mothers to be.
Unequal distribution of the sanitary education (public and private): 25%
are situated in the 1st District with the two main hospitals whereas the demographic weight places it on the 8th rank of Bangui Districts and is precisely 1,87% of the Bangui population. This District arranges only 458 beds to itself, that is to say 45,75% of the hospital capacity of Bangui and 13,56% of the national hospital capacity distributed between the Communal Hospital (150 beds), the National and Academic Hospitable Centre of Bangui (105 beds) and the Paediatric Complex (203 beds).
There are 50 physicians for the Bangui agglomeration, what amounts to one physician for 20 833 Bangui people.
HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in Bangui is 14%.
Prevalence rate of the Typhoid is 15%.
9,34% of Bangui’s population endures skin disorders.
Malaria is still responsible for the most deaths in Bangui. One in two hospitalisations is due to malaria.
40% of the medical consultations in Bangui have a malarial origin.
Malaria is the mayor cause of children mortality from the age of 0 to 5 years in Bangui.
Bangui is one of the world city with one of the highest infantile death rate: 201%.
27% of births are exercised at home.
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Fertility rate rise among the youth from 14 to 20 years old: about 35%.
Insufficient health staff (physicians, paramedical).
Insufficient specialist physicians.
Insufficient and ageing public sanitary infrastructures.
Insufficient ambulances in the sanitary centres for evacuation of serious cases to hospitals.
Lack of population education on the elementary precautions regarding hygiene and purification.
Absence of hygiene and health strategies in national policies.
Unbridled sexual behaviours among Bangui teenagers.
(6) Hygiene
a) Stagnant water
Waters overflow from road network works.
The anarchical holes throughout districts for the manufacture of bricks.
Restraints of water (larval resting places).
b) The faecal peril
80% of Bangui households use some form of traditional latrines.
89% of Bangui households don't have any adequate hygienic sanitary facilities.
72% of the Bangui toilets don't have tile floors or any roofing to shelter people against rain.
The management of human excretions.
The soil contamination from water dripping/emanating from latrines.
The construction level of latrines to 0° of soil.
Gray water management (bathrooms, sinks, cesspools, etc.)
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c) Environment
Accelerated deforestation of the natural canopy forest and plantations of urban trees, knowingly kept by certain economic structures in Bangui;
Deterioration of soils due to erosion;
No measure to reduce the sandiness of the Oubangui;
Disappearance of certain rivers and water sources for Bangui’s people.
Pollution of the water table and wells;
Absence of evacuation system and treatment of the worn-out water systems and rain water;
Unsanitary accommodation;
Increase of the alcoholism level;
Insufficient distribution markets and sale conditions of consumable products;
Absence of measures for the management and treatment of familyl and industrial wastes;
Familial garbage incineration;
Bushfires on hills in and around Bangui and the surrounding forests that encourage water drip and aggravate the effect of erosions;
Use of gutters as public discharge ends by individuals;
Cohabitation with polluting industrial units (example of UCATEX and now SAVEX).
(7) Food security, poverty and unemployment
Regarding food supplies, the majority of the Central Africans surveyed feel that they do not have enough to eat because of the war between the Seleka
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and anti-Balaka groups (2012-2015). Some only eat once a day, because of the high cost of living. Konguia (2015) highlights that “it is difficult for us to eat properly because everything is expensive on the market. Therefore, most of the time, we eat only once a day. Contrary to the government’s declaration that Central Africans will now eat three times a day”. Gobou says "at the beginning of May, more than 45 000 people were victims of food crisis in the Vakaga prefecture (northeast). But only about 11 000 people have received food aid from international NGOs and UN agencies" (Interview 2015). The food situation is catastrophic, and poverty and lack of work are real; and the following statistics show how bad the situation is:
52,9% of Bangui’s population cannot afford basic food.
11,29% of Bangui’s population suffer from malnutrition.
12,4% of Bangui’s children are considered gaunt.
37% of Bangui children show delayed growth.
21,5% of Bangui’s children have a ponderable insufficiency,
79% of Bangui’s population endure poverty of which 56% fall in the extreme poverty bracket.
33% of Bangui’s population are poor.
Bangui represents 70% in the grid of the national urban poverty; 7 out of 10 people who are poor in the Central African Republic are mostly Bangui residents compared to the 10 other main cities of the country.
The casual sector constitutes the biggest job supplier with close to 90%
of assets.
The unemployment rate in Bangui is 21%.
The underemployment rate in Bangui is 51%.
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54% of the active working population of Bangui have remuneration lower than the SMIG, meaning less than 35.000 FCFA per month which is less than 53 Euros per month.
60% of job claimants in Bangui are people between 15 and 30 years old.
The military and political crises of 1996 to 2003 entailed the loss of about 7 000 jobs in the casual sector.
60% of the active working people in Bangui don’t complete their studies.
30% of the active people of Bangui have a school level equivalent to primary school.
9% of the active people of Bangui have a school level equivalent to High school.
1% of the active people of Bangui has a school level equivalent to University.
(8) Education
The education system in the Central African Republic is based on the French model. There are disparities in terms of access to education according to social and regional criteria. There is a small percentage of women in the school system. The University of Bangui built during the Bokassa regime is the only one that provides public higher education. School is mandatory since 2008. In September 2013, because of the security situation, 60% of the country's schools were closed (Aristide 2016).
This poses a serious problem of well-trained teachers who could guide the education system towards a good practical and economic intellectual development. The curricula and the program taught are very old-fashioned
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and modeled on the European education system, which is not adapted to the reality of the country and its economic development needs. Many CAR schools lack qualified teachers. Given the general insecurity and long distance of some schools in the hinterland, many teachers refuse to go to those parts.
Schools are also non-existent in some parts of the country. Most of the time when the government wants to trains some professional cadres; they recruit them and train them abroad or in large schools somewhere in West Africa because the country doesn’t have any.
However, the educational situation is a major challenge in CAR because from 2005 to 2015, the education system is crumbling.
Insufficient school infrastructures.
Insufficient teaching staff.
Low percentage of girls in schools.
Insufficient technical teaching establishments.
Plethoric number of pupils by class and in establishments.
The school situation in fundamental Level I:
- 124 schools;
- Global Total: 112 000 pupils by the end of 2009
- Number of classrooms: 1 329 for 60 335 seats expected;
- 1 300 teachers;
- 1 teacher for 86 pupils;
- 53% boys and 47% girls.
The situation in fundamental Level II and general secondary school:
- 21 establishments;
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- Global Total: 35 000 pupils by the end of 2009
- Number of classrooms: 177 for 12 000 seats expected;
- 800 teachers;
- 1 teacher for 4375 people;
- 61% boys and 39% girls.