DEVELOPMENT-COTE D’IVOIRE: Putting Urban Crime in the Cross Hairs

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Fulgence Zamblé

ABIDJAN, Feb 7 2006 (IPS) - They are published almost daily in the local press: articles that tell of the latest robberies or rapes to be reported in Côte d’Ivoire’s financial capital, Abidjan. From the high-density suburbs of Yopougon and Abobo to the beautiful residences of Cocody and Riviera, few areas seem immune to this urban crime wave.

“The deep feeling of insecurity felt at all levels of society today is fed by the socio-political crisis,” says Albert François Amichia, mayor of Treichville in Abidjan – and president of the Ivorian Forum for Urban Security.

Since a failed coup attempt in September 2002, Côte d’Ivoire has been divided into a rebel-held north and government-controlled south, which are separated by a buffer zone patrolled by United Nations and French troops. Inhabitants of the country’s Muslim north allege discrimination at the hands of mostly Christian southerners, who have traditionally controlled Côte d’Ivoire.

The political crisis sparked by events of 2002 has encouraged the spread of weapons linked to armed attacks. In addition, drug abuse, and the use of knives and fire arms by youths have sparked fears of widespread juvenile delinquency.

“The lack of entrepreneurial spirit amongst the youth remains…a problem,” says Cocody mayor Jean-Baptiste Diagou Gomond. “Perhaps they feel more comfortable being delinquents.”

According to the results of a study on the quality of life in various cities that was issued last month by Mercer Human Resource Consulting, Abidjan is seen as one of the least secure cities in Africa. The town earned a similar ranking to that of Port Harcourt, situated in Nigeria’s troubled Niger Delta region.

Mercer is an international firm which undertakes inquiries into the quality of life in various cities around the world.

“While homicides are decreasing, (other) weapons-related crime is on the rise,” Ivorian Interior Minister Joseph Dja Blé told IPS.

“Hold-ups and robberies often take place at the start of the month,” he said, this being a time when people may still be waiting for their salaries.

Then, “In the middle of the month, thieves think they should get more loot. They (hold-ups) are also common over weekends and on the eve of national holidays. Religious dignatories are targeted – also places of worship.”

A programme called ‘More Secure Cities’ was launched about a month ago to improve the situation.

This follows a meeting of Ivorian mayors last September in Grand-Bassam, a community near Abidjan, where the officials decided to combat urban insecurity in all its forms – this in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Belgian Technical Cooperation (which administers Belgian development aid), and the World Association of the Major Metropolises.

The association is a Barcelona-based grouping that promotes contact between city officials from around the world in an effort to improve urban living standards.

Subtitled the ‘Project for Support of Urban Security in Abidjan’, the ‘More Secure Cities’ initiative has led to crime prevention strategies such as job placement for young men and women who are marginalised – or risk becoming so.

The project has also focused on fitting out recreational areas, providing new school text books and sporting equipment, and introducing school campaigns against unsocial behaviour and violence.

According to Amichia, three local authorities – Adjamé, Treichville and Yopougon – are benefiting from the project at present.

“We plan to extend it to all 13 local authorities in Abidjan before the end of 2006. And, as other municipalities ask for it, the whole country will be catered for,” he told IPS.

“The vulnerable groups targeted by our policies are young girls who have become mothers, in an effort to prevent (them turning to) prostitution and drug use.”

Pupils at risk of violence and alcoholism, and families which need assistance to escape poverty also receive attention, says Amichia – as do the security forces, in a bid to renew the confidence of communities and local authorities in these forces.

Over 500,000 dollars of funding for project activities in Adjamé, Treichville and Yopougon has been provided by the UNDP and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme.

Amichia says the initiative has already produced good results, which is why government and other mayors have asked for it to be extended.

But, Désiré Gilbert Koukoui of the International Catholic Child Bureau, a Geneva-based non-governmental organisation, adopts a more cautious tone.

“All these initiatives should be encouraged, but we think that they are insufficient,” he told IPS, adding: “We must not ignore the fact that security of persons and property requires improved governance and poverty reduction. From there, we will attack the evil (crime) at its root.”

For his part, Gomond has concerns about the financing of efforts to improve urban security.

“We have established a security force in Cocody to fight this trend (crime),” he notes. “However, the state must give us funds for the training of …youths…”

“We’re operating on our own budget, and it isn’t easy,” Gomond adds.