Hunting for tonnage: waste workers' incentives in a public-private partnership in Bafoussam, Cameroon

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Serval ID
serval:BIB_CC46B36E3CE9
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Publication sub-type
Case report (case report): feedback on an observation with a short commentary.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Hunting for tonnage: waste workers' incentives in a public-private partnership in Bafoussam, Cameroon
Journal
International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development
Author(s)
Makamté Kakeu - Tardy Rolande Christelle, Véron René
ISSN
1946-3138
1946-3146
Publication state
Published
Issued date
22/04/2019
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Pages
1-18
Language
english
Notes
International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development
Abstract
Public-private partnerships are often depicted as an effective institutional arrangement to improve urban services towards sustainable development. In sub-Saharan Africa, the involvement of private parties in municipal solid waste management is believed to bring in technical, managerial and financial capabilities, which municipalities generally lack. However, several studies revealed that access to privatised waste collection services is often unequal and disfavouring unplanned settlements. This research contributes to an understanding of the production of such socio-spatial inequalities and injustices through public-private partnerships by specifically looking at the everyday collection practices of formal waste workers employed by Hysacam, the private company in charge of waste management services in the medium-sized city of Bafoussam and elsewhere in Cameroon. Drawing primarily upon qualitative data, including participant observation, the paper shows how the weight-based collection target, prescribed in the tripartite partnership contract between the central government, the municipality and Hysacam that theoretically should cover the whole urban area, produced perverse incentives at various scales for uneven garbage collection in Bafoussam. More generally, this case study points to the importance of considering workers and their everyday practices, as well as incentives and accountabilities, for the design of sustainable and socially just solid waste management.
Keywords
Geography, Planning and Development, Development, Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law, Urban Studies
Create date
22/09/2018 11:44
Last modification date
21/11/2022 8:20
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