CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
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Gabon |
SOCIAL CONDIT.
From the economic point of view, there’s a great difference between the
towns
— where most of Gabon’s people live — and the countryside.
This has
caused both old and young to emigrate to the urban centres from the countryside
— resulting in major housing problems, so much so, that estate agents are
reaping the benefits
Gabon’s population is very unevenly spread. This poses major development problems, and requires the setting up of a genuine regional planning policy. More than half the country’s population lives in the capital, Libreville, and it would seem there’s a shortfall of some 110,000 dwellings for the capital’s 400,000 inhabitants.
To get to grips with the housing problem, the Ministry of Housing undertook a fact-finding study on the true situation. The results were confirmed by the city hall authorities. Yes. It is correct to say that at least 100,000 dwellings are needed to adequately house Libreville’s population. So what’s been going on? The absence of any adequate town planning means that private individuals have been building houses on abandoned plots or plots, which have been suitably «acquired» for building purposes. Gabon’s citizens became accustomed to «squat» on open spaces until the authorities asked them to leave. Then an appropriate sum of money changed hands.
The Housing Department’s General Manager, Vincent Ntoutoume Emane, puts it this way: «We’ve been allocated 200 million CFA francs to build 350 residences». If the average citizen wants to buy some property then he’s going to have to borrow, but here a prospective home-owner runs up against the rigidity of the local banking structure. «So», says Chil Mbika-Mbonguila, an official with Gabon’s Housing Finance Department, «to get round this difficulty, President Omar Bongo, with the financial help of the French Development Agency, has set up a mechanism intended to relax the loan conditions and so make necessary funding available».
Lack of a system
Most of Gabon’s citizens have, until now, been excluded from the possibility of home-ownership, because there seems to be no proper mechanism to finance housing. Recently, so as to ease the situation, the government removed the necessity for the borrower to find 10% of the total required. With the help of bilateral and multilateral backers, Gabon’s government has underlined the importance of state-run housing schemes which should be made available to the general population. Up to now, the ordinary citizen hasn’t been able to profit from such schemes. Gabon has been directing enormous sums of money into the social sector, but hoped-for results have not been attained.
Paradoxically, it’s the well-heeled section of the population who seems to profit from state-run housing. Certain important personages buy up several of the dwellings and then rent them out, thus depriving those in need from getting adequate housing.
Mrs Marie Angoué is a mother. She says: «The slogan — “Housing for all”, remains a hollow slogan. Even before a building has been completed, it’s already been “allocated” to important individuals». Although great efforts have been made to ensure that those in need can be adequately housed, there still remains a large gap to be filled in the housing situation.
In spite of what the State is trying to achieve in the housing sector, the high cost of building materials means that many Gabonese cannot become home owners. Also, the way in which property is «allocated», means that there’s serious inequalities in the «system». Most of Libreville’s citizens are not home-owners but tenants in the housing schemes. Today, the cost of a plot of land and a simple house can be anything in the region of 19 million CFA francs for basic housing, and anyone wanting to build such a house must prove he’s got a monthly salary of 750,000 CFA francs.
Estate agents on the make
Today, it’s expensive and extremely difficult to become a private home owner. Estate agencies benefit from this situation and go out of their way to ensure that vacant residences are made available to those who have the cash and who are able to offer the best financial guarantees. The agencies rent out the smallest studio accommodation at 200,000 CFA francs and a single room at 120,000 CFA francs. They can «up the price» so that a two-room flat can be anything between 250,000 CFA francs and 400,000 CFA francs, depending where it’s situated and how comfortable it is. It often happens that those seeking accommodation simply give up because they can’t afford the prices. The government is trying to find the necessary funding to maintain public housing schemes. In spite of the 20 billion CFA francs already allocated to Gabon by the French Development Agency, the problem of how to improve existing housing and how to find additional housing remains unsolved.
Go around the city and you’ll see a crowd of homeless people, perusing posters stuck to the walls of public buildings. The posters advertise housing possibilities. This shows what the real problem is. This scene is a familiar one at a time of economic crisis and in a vastly overpopulated capital. The fact is, it’s a real struggle to find suitable housing in the city. But what’s happened to cause this situation? People have left the rural areas and gone into the towns and cities to improve their circumstances and look for work. All this has caused unemployment in the towns and made the housing problem even worse.
One trade union member, says: «The government first and foremost must provide for needy families, so they can be housed decently and get out of the “road to nowhere” situation in which they find themselves».
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