VZCZCXRO1863
RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHAB #0147 0391312
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 081312Z FEB 07
FM AMEMBASSY ABIDJAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2570
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS ABIDJAN 000147 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON ENIV PREL IV
SUBJECT: ABIDJAN'S STRUGGLE TO CONTROL GARBAGE SITUATION 
 
REFLECTS DETERIORATION OF FORMERLY GOOD PUBLIC 
INFRASTRUCTURE 
 
REF: 2006 ABIDJAN 1004 
 
¶1.  (U) After more than four weeks, on January 25th, Prime 
Minister Banny brokered an agreement with community groups 
located near Abidjan's municipal dump at Akouedo, permitting 
the resumption of discharge of the city's waste stream. 
Prior to this breakthrough, the city had become increasingly 
fouled by rotting mounds of garbage at nearly every 
intersection and along every major road; a situation made 
worse by the noxious clouds of smoke hanging over much of the 
city emanating from residents' ad hoc efforts at 
incineration.  Traffic flow was severely affected at certain 
chokepoints and no small number of traffic accidents were 
ascribed to the combined effects of thick smoke with narrowed 
passages. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) In the wake of the agreement to reopen the 
150-hectare Akouedo landfill, efforts could be seen all over 
the city removing the mounds of refuse.  On February 2, 
EconOff visited the Director of Abidjan District's Direction 
of Environment and Public Hygiene, technocrat Moyabi KONE to 
get a sense of how the operation is going.  Kone explained 
that Akouedo, in operation since 1965, should be closed 
because of the proximity of nearby settlements, and that a 
city of Abidjan's size should have at least three discharge 
points rather than one.  The accumulating trash had 
scandalized the country's elite and occasioned dire 
commentary from the press, but according to Kone, had not 
resulted in a feared-cholera or other public health crisis. 
Long-term, Kone's office would like to see Akouedo closed and 
another center opened; a new site has been selected and an 
Italian company had placed a $26 million bid to construct, 
operate and eventually turn over the facility to the 
government (complete with modern impermeable lining to 
prevent groundwater contamination).  Kone indicated, however, 
that final approval for the project has been held up at the 
ministerial level for the past two years. 
 
¶3.  (U) Kone explained that Abidjan's refuse is not 
well-suited for incineration, as is often suggested as a 
means of addressing Akouedo's inadequacies. The composition 
of trash is too humid to allow efficient burning.  Similarly, 
modern techniques in use to boost landfill lifespans in the 
West, such as injection of oxygen, would not result in 
meaningful improvement given that tropical temperatures here 
already promote rapid biodegradation.  Kone lamented the 
utter lack of trash separation and recycling, which 
considerably boosts volumes ending up in Akuedo.  Pointing to 
the tendency of rich sections of town to generate up to 1.5 
kg per person of trash daily combined with the sharp increase 
in the city's population since the country was divided in 
2002 (up to 6 million from 4.5), Kone said Akuedo, even fully 
reopened, is not a viable solution for the long term. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Kone arranged for EconOff and LES to visit Akouedo. 
 The computerized operation was surprisingly efficient.  A 
virtual parade of trucks was arriving every two minutes, 
brimming with collected garbage to be rapidly weighed and 
dispatched to the current discharge site.   The private 
companies bill the government CFA 6000 (USD 12) per ton (with 
the average truck bringing in 22 tons of trash), and the 
Akouedo operation's billing system appeared to accurately 
track inflow and accounts payable.  The discharge site, 1 km 
past the site of the most egregious toxic waste dumping 
(reftel), is a beehive of activity.  Two large tractors push 
the trash into a manageable form, where it is instantly 
attacked by perhaps 75-100 well-practiced garbage salvagers 
(both Ivorians and so-called "foreigners") who search for 
plastic bags, cans, glass bottles and other reusables to sell. 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  Comment.  The garbage system, and its problems, 
are emblematic of Cote d'Ivoire's long-term malaise.  The 
infrastructure, while old and fraying, is still in remarkably 
good shape.  But the lack of investment shows.  Perhaps most 
tellingly, public outrage over the prolonged accumulation of 
garbage in the streets was muted.  While even the very 
wealthy and powerful were affected (the Ambassador's street 
hosted a particularly ugly trash pile), no organized response 
was evident.  Perhaps this gradual acceptance of diminished 
circumstances is the worst result of the ongoing crisis.  End 
Comment. 
Hooks