It is increasingly being discussed. The National Transport Office (Onatra) will soon proceed with the destruction of constructions within its facilities. The most targeted sites are the neighborhoods commonly known as "Pakadjuma" in the commune of Limete where, according to witnesses, individuals mainly from certain provinces have settled: Sankuru, Kasai, Equateur.

Thousands of souls live there, in an unhygienic environment, sometimes threatening urban train passengers by throwing stones as it passes. Bars and churches abound in the area.

And sometimes, the women who live in this neighborhood make immoral gestures that offend certain sensitivities.

Numerous makeshift constructions have been erected, some on the railway with no respect for urban planning norms whatsoever. The overcrowding is shocking. To such an extent, according to more than one observer, in the event of a fire or an epidemic, Kinshasa could record dozens of victims.

The hygienic conditions are deplorable. Especially at night, several residents of Pakadjuma defecate in the open and dump fecal matter into the many ponds of stagnant runoff water. These are used to irrigate the vegetable fields consumed by the people of Kinshasa.

Prostitution and banditry are the daily reality of Pakadjuma.

Sex trading women accost men passing through this neighborhood, and any vehicle traveling on Avenue des Poids that is unlucky enough to break down or have an accident near Pakadjuma is immediately swarmed by young people emerging from the surroundings to strip the occupants of their belongings. Several people have had this unfortunate experience. Every day, incidents of violent fights with serious injuries are recorded.

It is time for the State to mobilize and find housing sites for these people. It seems this has been done multiple times before. The government has allocated sites to them and even allotted funds as compensation. But these occupants turn a deaf ear, by selling the lands provided to them to return to the spaces of the Onatra.

Boni Tsala