In Cameroon, most of the housing is produced and consumed through informal channels, as a significant part of the population lives below the poverty line. Even when the government allocated millions of dollars to build social housing, these units remained unaffordable to 80% of the population. Engaging with the informal housing stock, as well as informal labor, is essential to effectively address housing shortages in Cameroon.
It is common that both formal and informal construction pulls from the same labor pool – and so in Cameroon, the government engaged small-scale informal contractors in their social housing program. However, due to inadequate technical and financial support, along with irregular payments, this initiative has had mixed results, and many of the project sites have stalled construction.
Source:
World Bank Group. (2015) Stocktaking of the Housing Sector in Sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges and Opportunities. World Bank, Washington, DC.