In Côte d’Ivoire, the authorities of the autonomous district of Abidjan announced, on Saturday January 6, to residents of the precarious district of Boribana who illegally occupy public property, according to the government, that they would be “evicted” on Monday 8 January and chased from this vast area which is located near the Fourth Bridge of Abidjan.
3 mins
With our correspondent in Abidjan, François Hume-Ferkatadji
On Saturday, the approximately 28,000 residents of Boribana gathered the press to announce that they refused the destruction, without compensation, of a precarious neighborhood which has existed for more than 60 years. They suspect the authorities of wanting “ to clean » the city before the launch of the CAN, which is due to start in six days.
In the Boribana sub-district, small houses with tin roofs are now wedged between the Ebrié lagoon and the imposing Fourth Bridge which is due to open to traffic in the coming days. Among the 28,000 inhabitants, many were born, raised and educated there. The announcement by the services of Minister-Governor Cissé Bacongo to destroy the neighborhood in the next 72 hours created a great stir.
“No one decides to be born poor”
“ Humanly speaking, this is not possible. Even an animal, when you want to move it, maintain its enclosure, you have to find a base first. We are humans, we have rights, we are Ivorians, we were born here, no one decides to be born poor. We have no place to go, where are we going to go? That’s the question. We will stay here. If they want to bury us here, they will bury us here. What is certain is that we will stay here », says indignant Ignécin Adama, a 51-year-old father.
“ We tried to explain this to the police. We tried to contact the Abidjan district authorities. No one listened to us and we couldn’t reach anyone », alerts Keïta Moribo, representative of the district.
“It’s the CAN! »
Six hectares out of the twenty-one that form the Boribana district have already been destroyed due to the construction of the Fourth Bridge. The residents were certainly aware that the neighborhood was going to have to change its face again as part of the Project to develop precarious neighborhoods, launched by the government, but, according to them, the expertise of the buildings and the population census were still in progress. to allow fair compensation for the 507 course owners. They accuse the authorities of wanting to destroy precarious neighborhoods before the African Football Cup of Nations (CAN).
“It’s because of the CAN. The CAN is made for the populations, for the Ivorians or who is it made for? We organize the CAN to cheer up the populations and not to mourn the populations, to sadden the populations. We ask the government to review the position. »
The residents repeat that they are not against the development of the country but are demanding rehousing solutions. They say they will not leave the neighborhood, even if it means sleeping on the Boulevard de la Paix or on the Fourth Bridge.