Brazzaville residents call for better urban management

Management of the urban environment of the city of Brazzaville, capital of the Republic of Congo, is of major concern to its inhabitants, according to the results of a "suggestion box" survey released to IRIN on Wednesday. Of some 435 citizens who submitted complaints from May to August, some 45 percent listed "environmental management" - notably, household waste, open sewers and water treatment - as their primary concern. Suggestions for improvement made by respondents included restarting a municipal solid-waste collection service equipped with suitable transport vehicles; the burial of automotive oil waste under the city's roads; and the provision of food and environmental inspection services. Calls were made for the opening of new health centres and the construction of new schools, as well as for improved road maintenance and the paving of main roads throughout the city. Other than improved management of their urban environment, Brazzaville residents called for improved urban transport - notably a system provided by the government to cover all areas of the capital, as private companies had not managed to do this effectively. The "suggestion box" initiative was launched on 20 May by Brazzaville Mayor Hugues Ngouelondele as a means of keeping his administration in touch with public opinion. "The main objective was to enable citizens to participate in the definition of strategies and actions aimed at the reconstruction of their city," Jean-Francois Apoko, an adviser to the mayor, told IRIN. "The mayor will incorporate residents' concerns into a plan of action, but the implementation of this plan will, of course, depend on funds made available to the mayor's office." Brazzaville was devastated by civil war throughout the 1990s, with major damage still visible throughout the city.