Cote d’Ivoire’s Demolition Campaigns

In 2022, the Ivorian Ministry of Hydraulics, Sanitation and Hygiene launched a demolition operation called “To Save My Life, I Leave The Risk Areas” in areas prone to climate disasters, mainly flooding. This demolition initiative has not been fair to the victims left unsheltered in its aftermath and forced to rebuild their lives over again. While the attempt to ensure there is no loss of lives in the instance of inevitable natural disasters is plausible, the lack of compensatory benefits and inadequate alternative housing options for the victims of the demolition has made the situation more unsavoury. According to the Ivorian government, the demolition campaign is to protect the lives of Ivorians who live in areas that are vulnerable to climate disasters, moving them to safer destinations to prevent loss of lives, hence, the name of the campaign.

Despite the government’s claims that alternative housing options are available for demolition victims, dissatisfaction and despair have perpetuated the media and the walls of Cote d’Ivoire’s capital, Abidjan, where most demolitions occur. The inability to afford this “alternative housing” has left thousands of Ivorians without shelter. The recent demolitions that happened in April 2024 are said to have left thousands of Ivorians with nowhere to sleep and no compensation, leaving them stranded and vulnerable to the dangers that accompany homelessness. Issues of internal displacement among Cote d’Ivoire’s populace are not new. From violent conflicts to demolition campaigns, seeking shelter has been an ongoing issue in the country.

At various times in the history of Abidjan, the government of Cote d’Ivoire has carried out demolition operations in multiple slums in the city. The reasons for these operations range from building international airports to the alleged protection of its citizenry. Abidjan is a fast-developing capital in one of Africa’s “richest” countries. The imperative to demolish slums and enhance the capital’s infrastructure rings past Cote d’Ivoire to numerous other African countries. However, the demolition of these slums creates grimmer realities for their residents. Left with no economic reprieves or prospects, their options are limited to building new slums in other parts of the capital or migrating to the rural parts of the country.

According to the Harmonised Survey on Household Living Conditions in 2018-2019, monetary poverty in Cote d’Ivoire stands at 39.4%. The demolition campaigns do nothing to reduce the poverty rate in the country. Instead, it hinders the ability of low-income persons to climb social and economic ladders, holding them in a never-ending cycle of poverty. Slums emerge for various reasons, but the most prominent is the search for better economic and social conditions. Opportunities required to thrive are few in rural parts of the country, which are usually underdeveloped compared to their capitals.

Victims of the demolition, in efforts to find shelter, might migrate to obscure, less secure parts of the country. Cote d’Ivoire, a member of the Sahel region of Africa, is prone to violent conflicts from non-state actors and insurgent groups. To the North of the country, where the borders meet Mali and Burkina Faso, citizens suffer exposure to violent conflicts and border communities are interrupted by non-state armed groups. These groups have plagued the border regions for a while and are motivated by the presence of junta leaders in neighbouring states. According to a report by the Institute of Security Studies, militants thrive in the border regions of Cote d’Ivoire because there is little state presence in those areas, accompanied by poor economic social prospects and limited healthcare and education.

Rampant demolition campaigns, for whatever reasons, will not stop the proliferation of slums. Governments need to examine the economic and social factors that motivate the unending creation of slums. Fundamental issues need to be addressed, such as access to economic opportunities, education, and healthcare, and an overall improvement in the standard of living of Ivorian citizens. The government should make the accommodation options for demolition victims affordable to cater to low-income earners. Rural development initiatives must also be implemented to make rural areas as habitable as urban zones to limit rural-urban migration within the country. The road to ending the proliferation of slums and shanties in Cote d’Ivoire is far from solved. Fundamental problems must be solved, requiring complex answers that could take time to implement adequately. Nevertheless, demolition victims should be provided for to lessen the effects of losing their homes.  

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