PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES OF THE INNER SLUM

RESIDENTS IN BAHIR DAR CITY OF ETHIOPIA: A QUEST

FOR A CRITICAL LOOK AT THE ‘KOSHEKOSH’

Moges Gebreegziabher Woldu1*

1Department of Anthropology, IPHC, M ekelle University, Ethiopia

*Corres pondi ng a uthor ema i l : moges .gebreegzi a [email protected]

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 Abstract
The research was conducted in the capital of Amhara National Regional State of Ethiopia, Bahir Dar City. The need for the
development of the proposal and conduct this intensive and empirical case study had emanated from multiple justifications. These
rationale include: (1) the 2002 UNESCO cities for prize award to Bahir Dar, that appreciated municipality in the management of
the challenges against the rapid process of urbanization, (2) a traveler featuring article on the Amharic version magazine that
described the paradoxical phenomenon focusing on dark side of Bahir Dar city administration, (3) research findings in the late
2000s revealed against the UNESCO cities for prize award, and finally (4) the researcher’s personal encounters around the slum as
a new arrival during 2009 and the early 2010s. The major objective of the research was to explore and describe the prospects and
challenges of Bahir Dar City Slum-Koshekosh Residents. The approach of the research is exploratory ethnographic design. The
data collection techniques include unstructured in-depth and semi-structured interviews, focus group discussion, observation, and
transect walks including social mapping. The participants of the study were purposely selected to collect the intended rich data.
The data were systematically analyzed to fit with major themes and contextualized to local meanings. The analysis procedure was
focused to address the research objectives. Therefore, the results of the study show that koshekosh is the worst slum (in the local
meanings a restless neighborhood) comparing to the 2002 UNESCO Cities for Prize Award. The number of prostitutes were more
than the reports indicated in the magazine column (400 against over 598). The residents were living under extraordinary frustrating
ward against eviction by the municipality. Koshekosh was women dominated neighborhood. About 60 per cent were women head
households and 76.49 % of the Koshekosh population were females. The sources of livelihood for the women headed households
were piety trade, daily labor, and prostitution for the rural-urban migrated young women and girls. Overall, this research findings
show that women headed households were the most affected, and followed by the elderly and children as a members of the poor
households. Based on the findings, the following strategies are recommended as the way forward to mitigate the challenges of the
Koshekosh residents. The municipality shall redesign a new approach for the urban slum upgrading. Relocating the slum residents
will cost the government in the near future replicating another slum in the new resettlement sites. The interests of women headed
households and the elderly shall be given priority and inclusive approach towards the residents in the slum upgrading shall be given
maximum attention.

Key words: community policing; prostitutes; resettlement; slum upgrading; piety trade; koshekosh, inclusive approach

1. Introduction

1.1 Meaning and Historical Development of the Slums

The word slum has been appeared since the beginning of the nineteen century. However, there is no clearly marked
timeline to the origin of the term ‘slum’. Though the United Nations (UN) did not brief where the slum context used,
it explicitly explained that the term slum begun to appear in the first quarter of the nineteenth century, particularly in
the 1820s (UN-HABITAT, 2007). Lately, the Share the World’s Resources (2010:30), confirmed that the term slum
appeared in the nineteenth century England. Then, both, UN-HABITAT and Share the World’s Resources agreed, the
use of the term slum was with pejorative connotations and some of the defining futures include the highest prevalence
of all aspects of crime, infectious diseases and un-conducive environment for living. Therefore in this sense, a slum
is defined as a building or/and group of buildings, and area characterized by overcrowding, deterioration in sanitary
conditions or absence of facilities and amenities . Then, these conditions or any of them endanger the health, safety or
morals of its inhabitants or the community. Local conditions, however, should be taken into account while defining
the term slum and crafting the meaning before generalizing the contexts (UN-HABITAT, 2007; Share the World’s
Resources, 2010). Based on the above statement, the local meaning of the slum-koshekosh is addressed in this
research. The UN-HABITAT (2007:1), explained that, the basic defining problems of all urban slums. These include
‘the poorest quality housing, and the most unsanitary conditions, a refuge for marginal activities including crime, vice
and drug abuse’. These are ‘a likely source for many epidemics that ravaged urban areas, and a place apart from all
that are decent and wholesome’.

Twenty century scholars used the context of slum among their academic discussions in a similar context. The UN,
however, promoted the slum conception and connotations in its development strategies including the motto ‘Cities

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without Slums’ programme in 1999 (Share the World’s Resources, 2010:30). In connection to the UN strategy on the
slums, the Declaration on ‘Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)’ agenda adopted and ratified by the United
Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 2000 to mitigate all human calamities and improving the lives of slum dwellers.
The declaration was a blueprint on the move as fundamental reaction to the progressively raising international
population of slum dwellers in the 1990s. Therefore, based on scientific estimation, the population of slum dwellers
will reach about two billion (2,000,000,000), in the next thirty years if actors lost the position to intervene with
appropriate, visible and measurable steps against the rapidly growing slums and slum population. While regionally
compare the slum population based on the 2001 recorded data, about 31.6 percent of the world populations were slum
residents. Though, the percentage for developing countries in general mounted to 43 percent , the tragedy is the highest
(71.9 percent) for the sub-Saharan Africa (UN-HABITAT; 2003), and in Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, about 80
percent dwells in the slums (Herr and Karl; 2001). The data for Bahir Dar slum residents was 30 percent (Prime
Consultants 2009, cited in Daniel, 2011). Therefore, the situations has being aggravating at the face of high rural-
urban migration and rapid urbanization, and the problems of the residents have been moving from bad to worst
scenario.

1.2 Problem Statement

In crafting the problem of this research, the following four conflicting indicators were the initiating factors for the
developments of the research project. The first pushing factor was associated with the UNESCO Cities for Prize Award
2002. Here is the full speech of the director of the UNESCO stated as ‘Bahir Dar is another city that has managed to
address the challenges of rapid urbanization. The municipality of the city, now one of the Ethiopia’s most densely
populated urban settlements, has developed an extensive range of measures to make it healthier and more convivial
place for its citizens. The city has shown great determination in its efforts to tackle difficult issues - such as housing
shortages, economic stagnation, and lack of electricity- by using local labor to find solutions, developing sanitation
and transportation infrastructure, and generally providing adequate public services. These actions have improved
living conditions for the most vulnerable groups of society and have encouraged the community to work together to
build a common future. In addition, the municipality has succeeded in involving many sectors of civil society in its
urban development project (Matsuura, 2002:3)’. The speech was shall and focused only on the limited positive
practices that did not accommodate the need of the poor residents. The second argument by Melaku (2009:2), revealed
against the above claims stating ‘the long tradition of urbanization in the Amhara is not accompanied by sound urban
management and development. The problem of urban management is highly observable in all urban centres in the
region, which partly results from lack of proper real estate registration system’. Therefore, this finding was conducted
after six years of the UNESCO cities for prize and come with a different findings against UNSECO cities for prize
2002 and Bahir Dar city administration.

The third argument is more specific and typically against the UNESCO’s appreciation to the City Administration. The
magazine column was written in the local language- Amharic version and the free translation version read as ‘Bahir
Dar is one of the Ethiopian cities and capital of Amhara Region. In Bahir Dar, prostitution is becoming as the critical
problem of the city’. The weekly magazine briefly explained depicting the term ‘Koshekosh (ኮ-ሸ-ኮ-ሽ)-literally mean
the worst inner-city slum and women are leading a miserable life. It is a slum neighborhood that hosts an estimated
number of 400 prostitutes. The city it hosted the invisible and isolated slum (hell)’. The magazine explained that the
slum as only with entrance and no exit for the prostitutes (Addis Guday , 2012:10-12). The fourth initiating encounter
was the experience of the researcher during the late 2009 as a new arrival and a resident 2016 in Bahir Dar city and
living next to Koshekosh neighborhood.

In Bahir Dar, there are two forms of urban slum settlements. These are the informal based settlement slums at the
outskirt of the city and the formal based settlements and later annexed some informal settlement slum areas. Though
inclusive researches are rare, some academic researchers tried to assess different issues of the urbanites critical
problems. Within all similarities, there are also peculiarities between the outskirt and inner city urban slums . The first
was a case study research about the outskirt slums, such as Daniel (2011), entitled ‘Informal Settlement in Ethiopia:

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the Case of two Kebele in Bahir Dar City’, which ignored the inner city slums and the intension was to focus on the
land tenure systems related to informal settlement. The second study was conducted by Wubante (2012) categorizing
Bahir Dar City residents based on the spatial orientation into three groups . These categories are the ‘slums (informal
settlers), households in the periphery of the city, and finally the households living in the Down town’. This study totally
neglected the residents. Criterion of the researcher, while allotting into three groups was the ‘geographical locations
and legality’ that considers the peripheral residents as illegal settlements . Most of the residents have legal or secured
licensed property ownership and registered land holding rights. Besides the academic researches , the non-academic
print media such as magazines, and the public rhetoric towards the inner city slum-koshekosh are too figurative. All
the researches done about Bahir Dar City main agendas were the issues of land tenure, access for piped water, waste
management and housing problems that are hardly possible to brief about the other social aspects of the residents in
general and the problems of the slum residents in particular. Therefore, this research validated the conflicting data
through in-depth investigations.

Finally, the quest for the researcher to conduct the research is to intensively investigate and des cribe the feature,
prospects and challenges of the urbanites dwelling in the inner city slum-Koshekosh. The major themes of the
investigation include, the livelihood strategies of the slum residents, sources of insecurities among the residents, the
trend and extents of crime prevalence, social relationships and networks among the residents, and the public rhetoric
towards the slum dwellers. The additional complementing interests are the attitude of the municipality, and police
officers towards the slum and slum residents were part of the research investigation.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

This section briefs the objectives of the research done at the Koshekosh in Bahir Dar City. Therefore, the general
objective of the research is to explore and describe the prospects and major challenges encountered among Bahir Dar
City Slum-Koshekosh residents focusing on female residents. The specific objectives were designed to:

 Identify the basic defining features of the Koshekosh environs

 Examine the livelihood opportunities of Koshekosh residents
 Describe the Challenges of Koshekosh residents
 Explain the koshekosh upgrading strategy of the city municipality
 Describe the status of women in the Koshekosh neighbourhood

2. Methodology

2.1.Research Design
For the rationale of discovering new insights and contexts , and understanding the neighborhood, the researcher used
an exploratory approach towards addressing the intended goals of the research. The appropriateness of the
Ethnographic exploratory design is explicitly explained at different publications. To mention an instance, the Cegage
Learning explains ‘exploratory research is conducted to provide a better understanding of a situation. It isn’t [it is
not] designed to come up with final answers or decisions. Through explorat ory research, researchers hope to produce
hypotheses about what is going on in a situation (Cengage Learning, 2012:28)’.

Therefore, exploratory design widened the opportunity to the researcher in discovering what is happening in the study
area. The general guidelines uncovered in the exploratory stage of the assessment is relevant to develop specific
explanation of the phenomenon that occurred. The investigator focused on collecting detailed qualitative data. After
the accomplishments of the qualitative data collection, the researcher designed a strategy and looked at statistical
reports to substantiate the central themes of the preliminary findings of the qualitative data. Therefore, the design was
basically qualitative and exploratory, and additionally su pportive quantitative data were collected. There were two

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phases of data collection. The first phase was qualitative and second phase was statistical data from reports of the
community policing offices, Kebele and sub-city administrations. The statistical data were focused on the basis of
livelihoods, occupation of the koshekosh residents, the general population projection and urbanization processes of
Bahir Dar City administration in general and kosheskosh in particular.

2.2. Data Sources

The data sources for this study was mostly primary data. However, there was a space for secondary data sources to
substantiate the primary data and also to examine the trends associated with the process of urbanization and occupation
of the residents. The nature of the problem is complex and the researcher emphasized on the qualitative instruments
of data collections. These include unstructured and semi-structured interviews, focus group discussion (FGD), transect
walk and observations. However, the researcher supported it by quantitative data to enumerate the patterns and types
of income generating activities as well as about the business activities at the slum- koshekosh to substantiate the
qualitative data during the description. The secondary data were collected from various sources including published
and unpublished document, books, annual and technical reports, magazines, journals articles, working papers, that
provide priority to the prospects and challenges of koshekosh area residents.

2.3. Selection of Participants and Procedures

During the selection of the participants, two strategies were employed and both were purposive selection procedures.
One was snowballing or chain referral selection, particularly to the general urban slum dwellers. During the transect
walk, the researcher established rapport with some key informants that guided the researcher throughout the data
collection process. Participants and informants that contacted had already been made use of their social networks to
refer the researcher to other people with potentials to contribute to the study. This was deliberately designed to access
people who know more about the trends and synchronized critical situations of the existing slum environs in the
Koshekosh, Bahir Dar. The researcher found that, the snowball design is the best strategy to access the people who
master the overall aspect of the slum situations. To entertain the diversity of the participants, specific steps were
employed in the physical distance of the consecutive interviewees and additional inclusion criterions , such as gender,
means of livelihood, age, level of education and vulnerability to the inner slum problematic situations were critically
taken in to consideration during the screening stages. These strategies were entertained during the data collection
through the structured interviews. The second technique of selection was based on purposely merited orientation
selection. Thus, potential participants of the study were drawn from the municipality office, Bahir Dar city
administration, community policing offices, Bahir Dar City Administration police office, interested groups , and
members of cooperatives and residents of the ward.

2.4. Instruments of Data Collection

Transect walk: the transect walks were conducted in three phases. The transect walks were started during the initial
phase of the fieldwork to establish rapport with koshekosh residents . Then, continued during data collection, and
finally after the development of the zero draft of data analysis for the sake of triangulation. These were done together
with community members of the study area to examine the piped water access and sanitation condit ions through
observation, discussion with the residents. Scholars in the field advice that transect walk is the best to walk a route,
and covers the greatest diversity in terms of access social services, such as piped water, street light, sanitation and
other infrastructures that are essential to the residents. According to Sustainable Sanitation and Water Management
(SSWM, 2012), transect walk ‘introduces the research team and its inhabitants and is a way to collect (spatial)
information about water sources, wastewater flows, and sanitatio n facilities’ of the study area. The objective of
transect walk is to organize and refine spatial information and to summarize local conditions in the area. The data
were gathered from direct observation while walking through the community’s ward. Therefore, the researcher
conducted a transect walk with different age groups (the youth, middle age and elders) of the community me mbers
living at the slum areas. According to Caroline and Cathy (1999), transect walk is relevant in urban studies to dispel

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suspicion, identification of territorial markers, and spatial identification of relatively safe and dangerous locations in
the neighborhood.

Unstructured and Semi-structured interviews: the topic of the study was not well investigated generally in Ethiopia
and particularly about the inner city slums -Koshekosh, in Bahir Dar town. Therefore, the unstructured interview was
useful for exploratory investigation of new topics and ideas. The interviewees were free to na rrate to the maximum
limit of their knowledge about the koshekosh prospects and challenges. These discussions were done with five women
working in the urban agriculture producer’s association field, two community policing officers during the transect
walk, and with three neighborhood women residents of the ward that their age range was 26-87 years old. Semi-
structured interview tools were employed to collect specific details about the slum that are already explored during
unstructured interviews for better understanding and interest of the researcher. Later, the data collected through these
tools were substantiated by data collected via other tools as a means of triangulation.

Observation: critical observation were conducted in purposely selected areas . These observations designed to include
technical recordings, in the forms of motion pictures, photographing and tape-recordings in some rare cases such as
focus group discussions, participant observation with the vegetables producer association and waterin g program in the
farm for four days.

In-depth interviews: in-depth interviews were done both before and after the writing up of the zero draft of this
research with key informants to refine the collected data and later to triangulate the tentative findings with the
participant of the study. The in-depth interview participants were one 87 years old woman, two 70 years men, two
community policy officers, one from the sub-city administration government communications office and one manager
of the sub-city.

Focus Group Discussion (FGD): FGD were conducted with the residents of koshekosh as a means of refinement to
triangulate the data that were collected by the other instruments. Two female and one male focus group discussions
were executed in this category. The results of the three FGD were similar and the researcher stopped after the
successful completion of these three sessions.

2.5. Data Analysis Strategy

The qualitative data were refined for clarity and then arranged, and assigned into different category based on the
thematic concepts and contexts. In the next steps were interpretation and thick description of the existing phenomenon
based on the collected qualitative data. Quantitative data were descriptive statistics in nature and focus area was to
koshekosh residential setting only to substantiate the qualitative data. The data were collected from different sources
and presented in tables and percentages.

2.6. Ethical Considerations

The researcher was aware about the practical ethical principles of social science research and seriously followed all
the accepted research ethics guidelines in the country. Then, he entertained the informed consent principles and abide
by article 13 of the ‘National Research Ethics Review Guideline’, introduced by th e Federal Democratic Republic of
Ethiopia, Ministry of Science and Technology (FDRE-MoST, 2014). In general, data collection activities that demands
more than typical interaction with a person requires individuals or groups informed consent. During individual and
group interviews, focus group discussions and other forms of recording activities , the researcher informed the
participants of the study about the purposes and objectives of the research, what is expected of a research participant,
including the time duration, likely they may stay for participation , participation is based voluntary interest and anyone
can withdraw at any time with no negative repercussions . The participants were briefed how confidentiality will be
protected, the name and contact information of the investigator and the concerned body for contact in case they are
not happy with the researcher were communicated to the participants. After the agreements of the participants, the
relevant data were collected.

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 3. Results and Interpretation
3.1. Establishment and Development of Bahir Dar City

Before the Italian Occupation (1935-1941), Bahir Dar was roughly under three monastery based local administrative
divisions. These were, the priests hamlet (around the present day of Saint George Church monastery), the landlords
hamlet (present day Atse/Emperor Sertse Dengil School), and the Islamic community hamlet (at the western parts of
the landlords holdings). These hamlets are now the centre of Bahir Dar city administration. However, during the Italian
occupation, the Italians established a military garrison and new administrative posts according the need and interests
of the army and Italian over sea administration. They cleared the trees and bushes, and designed an organized urban
master plan for the first time1 . Now, almost all the former hay roofed houses were replaced with corrugated iron roofs.
However, during the data collection times, a few hay roofed houses were exhibited in the centre of the older city.
These were left to the lower economy households during the Italians and in the current administration. The remnants
of such housing practices has been still alive as indicated in the picture below.

Fig. 1: Hay Roofed House at the Koshekosh Proper

Source: Captured during transect walk in the early 2014 and mid 2015 field works for triangulation

Before and during the Italian occupation, Bahir Dar was a simple rural village, and after the inauguration of the new
master plan by Italians, the village begun to transform in to a growing town. Following the announcement of new
administration divisions, it had been dynamically changing. The former hamlet for the clergy and some part of the
landlords’ division were reserved for Italian administrators and administration posts. Behind the former clergy ward,
now known as Begtera (Market for the Sheep) and Koshekosh (slum, but the worst form of the actual worldwide
understanding of a slum) were centres for the alcohol brewers and traders, daily labourers, unemployed, prostitutes 2 ,
and were crowded ward of the town, since rural-urban migration ramification has been very high. It was since this
time, prostitution considered as a source of income. Therefore, the Italians came with new technology of house
construction and in some areas there are the original buildings of the Italians . An instance is the federal government
owned building-Ghion Hotel, one of the Italians building which was serving as an office of the Italian appointees.

During the Field work for data collection, Bahir Dar had 21 administrative structures. These include the nine urban
and nine rural kebeles (Political Administrative Units next to a district in the top -down approach), three rural satellite
(sub-division) kebeles, and the city is accessible in all means of transportation (land, water transport and air). These

1 The credit in establish Bahir Dar as urban center goes to the Italians occupation (1935/6-1941). Therefore, Bahir Darhas the fingerprints ofthe

European Colonial Experience, while almost all Ethiopian cities were developed related to the unstable Ethiopianwarlords’administrative posts.
2 Prostitutes were forced sexual Transmitted Diseases (STD), medical check-pus regularly. This practice was to ensure the sexual reproductive
health of the Italians; and other Ethiopians working the Italian colonial occupation administration.

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are the general profiles with regard to the origin and development of Bahir Dar city and the table below summarizes
quantitatively the population changes of Bahir Dar, from the village level to the contemporary city status. Currently,
Bahir Dar city administration encompasses Zeghie peninsula, Tisa bay, Meshenti and Bahir Dar City Administration.

3.2. Socio-Demographic Dynamics of Bahir Dar in the Hundred Years

The dynamics of population growth and transformation had been fastly changing from a rural village adminstrated by
clergy in to the manicipalty based admistration in more than 130 years. The population had been changed, as suggested
travellers estimation from 1,200 population in 1881 in to officail census (Ethiopian Central Statistical Agency, CSA,
2007), based population of 22,991. During the study, as Bahir Dar City Administration municipality enamuration
indicated, the population of the city is 284, 533 in 2007. The population projection populations indicated 288,200
residents for the 2014 (Bahir Dar City Administration, 2014), and finally the projection for 2040 is 656,000 (Lamson
-Hall et al., 2015). Beyond the numerical changes, there have been also socio -economic changes in the definining
general characterstics of the residents in the early times of the establbishement and the contemporary city residents.
However, the changes in the Koshekosh ward are becoming the worst continously; not only the challenges of poverty,
but also fear of eviction by the municipality at the name of slum upgrading and redevelopment of the ward. The key
informants revealed that, in koshekosh, the mutual support among the residents are still strong and others have been
worsening.

Table 1: Populatation Changes and Growth of Bahir Dar

No Ye ar Total Population Remark

1 1881 1,200-1,600 It was a Rural village area
2 1954 3,000-4,000 Early Urban Design and development
3 1960 12,712
4 1962 22,192
5 1963 25,100
6 1964 26,480
7 1965 27,940
8 1984 54,766
9 1994 94,235
10 2007 284,533 221,991 (CSA) 3
11 2014 288,200 Projected population
Source: Bahir Dar City Administration (December, 2014)

The above table provides the previous statistical data of the population change and growth for Bahir Dar. The table
shows the population growth since the second half of the 1960s to the beginnings of 1985, and 2000s to 2014 were
more than doubling the dynamics. To address the statements about the rapid urbanization forwarded by the UNESCO
director general during the cities for prize award 2002, the comparative analysis of the population growth and urban
expansion are relevant. Therefore, the next table shows an estimated projection for the next thirteen years comparing
to another major capital cities of the four provinces or National Regional States in Ethiopia. These are Mekelle City
administration, Capital city of Tigray National Regional State, Hawassa, capital city of the Southern Nations,
Nationalities and Peoples National Regional State, Bahir Dar City Administration of the Amhara National Regional
State, and Adama, it was capital city of the Oromia National Regional State, till the centered was changed to Addis
Ababa, the capital of the country, Ethiopia. The change in the population matter in Bahir Dar seems moderate
comparing to the other three cities for the next thirteen years.

3
T here is disparity between the Central Statistics Agency 2007 National Population and Housing Census (221, 991) and the city municipality
population count for 2007(284,553). T he census for the Amhara National Regional State was revised and re-adjusted. T his problem waspartly
associated with these technical limitations of the national population and housing census managed by the CSA. However,Key InformantsSuggest,
the disparity may be part of the deliberate reports of the city municipality to the Federal Government as a strategy to deceive the authority for
federal budget allocation. T herefore, suggestions to 62,542 population difference between the regional population count andthenationalpopulation
and housing census of the Central Statistics Agency is not by accident. However, there is no any evidence and plausiblejustification why it happens
in this manageable city under the sole control of government authorities. In the other way, it is possible to comment theilldatamanagement of the
city municipality on this regard.

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Table 2. Population Projection of Four the Same Level Ethiopian Cities

Name of a Population Projection Comparison

City 2010 2020 2030 2040
Mekelle 254,000 436,000 745,000 1,235,000
Adama 253,000 398,000 626,000 954,000
Hawassa 190,000 358,000 671,000 1,222,000
Bahir Dar 178,000 278,000 434,000 656,000
Source: A New Plan for African Cities: The Ethiopia Urban Expansion Initiative (Patrick Lamson -Hall et al., 2015).

Therefore, whilst the population boom for Bahir Dar has been moderate compared to the other Ethiopian cities in the
same status, the other aspects of the municipality’s management level is weak and against the UNESCO cities prize
(18 March, 2002). This is not to deny the promising and progressive works done, and the positive changes that have
been incrementally achieved at all levels of the governmental and private business enterprises sector. However, the
general section of the community has been experiencing exacerbated circumstances and shall not be ignored. The
stressful urban upgrading strategies have been affecting the poor people. At the same time, the strategy is adding extra
challenges to the poor residents and the government duplicating the future problems of the city relocating the slums
from the center to the outskirt. Therefore, sustainably resolving the challenges of the problems of the poor community
and the future challenges of the city has been ignored by the current municipality authority.

Based on the 2007 national Population and Housing Census (CAS), the population of Amhara National Regional State
is 17,221,976, and Bahir Dar Special Woreda/Zone total population is 221,991. The ethnic composition was (Amhara
213,624, Oromo 2,449, Tigray 2,463 and others 3,455) (CSA, 2007:125,140). As indicated in the Community Policing
Report and field data (2015), the total population composition of the kosheksoh comprises Amhara (96.2 %), Tigray
(11.1%), Oromo (1.1%) and others (0.3%). The dominant Religion among the residents of Bahir Dar City community
is Orthodox Christianity (89.7%), Muslim (8.5), Protestant (1.6%), and others (0.02%) (Bahir Dar City
Administration, 2013:22). The national religious composition of the population is Orthodox Christianity (40.5%),
Muslim (35.4%), Protestant (19.6%), Traditional (3.1%), Catholic (0.08) and others compose 0.07 (CSA, 2007:18).
The koshekosh Religious composition of the residents show, Orthodox Christianity (90%), Muslim (5%) and other
minorities shared (2%) of the population of 2633 people (Community Policing Office Report, 2012 and field data
2015). Therefore, Bahir Dar City and Koshekosh population is Orthodox Christian dominated community that is too
far from the national compositions. Then, the poor Koshekosh residents are Orthodox Christian and most of the female
headed household in the young age are exposed to prostitution and sexual exploitation.

Table 3. Religious Composition of Koshekosh Comparing to the Bahir Dar and National Level

No Religious Group Composition in %

National Bahir Dar Koshekosh
1 Orthodox Christian 40.5 89.7 93
2 Muslim 53.4 8.5 5
3 Protestant 19.6 1.6 -
4 Catholic 0.08 - -
4 Others 3.17 0.02 2
Source: Bahir Dar City Administration (December, 2013; CSA, 2007).

3.3. Defining Features of Koshekosh Proper Environs

Before the coming of the Italians, there was a single house with corrugated zinc roof and others were the grass roofed
houses. The village was covered with shrubs. The name of the villages was called after the church Debir Abay,
currently known as Felege Genet (Saint George Church). Now, the village is a slum-Koshekosh, which is central to
the city administration and hosts the commercial and residential houses . It hosted, seven hotels, fourteen night Clubs,
five pensions, forty kiosks, and the remaining were below standard residential houses . Beyond the statistical features ,

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the residents are very collaborative, almost all are low income residents, hosts more prostitutes that are a threat to the
community, below standard house and no formal corridors, theft, and other anti-community activities are the
manifestations of the Koshekosh proper ward. Therefore, the interviewees and focus group discussants confirmed,
what is best at koshekosh is, neighbours are collaborative to each other, and none of the rest situations are desirable
among the residents. Details are presented in table 4, and figure 2 below that shows elevated building in the right side
in the Koshekosh. In fact such building are rare, but the city administration has been planning for such buildings
evacuating the poor residents.

Fig. 2: Typical Houses in the Middle of Koshekosh Proper

Source: Picture Captured during the early planning season of the Proposal (February, 2014)

In terms of population category, house ownership and employment status of the Koshekosh population, the following
(table 4) summarizes the essential data that explicitly illustrates the image of Koshekosh.

Table 4. Population of Koshekosh Proper

Description Gender mixes Total Remarks

Landlords Male 20 227 The holdings include the private and those rented from
government. More than 82% of the landlords in Koshekosh are
Female 207 women and the left about 18% are men. About 95% of the rented
houses in the Koshekosh are government owned

House for Rent Male 40 290 These category is only for those rented from individuals or
privately owned houses
Female 250

Total Male 619 2633 From the 2633 total population the kosheskosh proper, 2014
Population (76.49%), are female, which is more than three-fourth of the
Female 2014 kosheskosh residents. Therefore, women are highly vulnerable to
the social exclusion and lower wellbeing among the residents

Households Male 560 1400 In this case from the 1400 households, 840 (60%) are women
heads headed households and the role of women in this ward is higher
Female 840 than men

Register 180 298 The registered prostitutes (180), collect 10 ETB per head in
ed monthly bases and pay the salary of 6 city militia for the security

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 Prostitutes 4 Unregis 110 service. In this case the community policing office helps the
tered prostitute to get kebele Identity Card and they save their money in
Banks. However, this service was only for the registered
Bar & >300 >300 prostitutes. But, providing residence identity card is by no means
Street not legalizing prostitution in the city, since the Ethiopia prohibits
Ladies commercial sex works activities. With regard the unregistered
prostitutes, the only difference from the registered ones, the do not
collaborate with community policing office and officers. The bard
and street ladies naming estimated number are taken from the
official report of the community policing office of the ward

Call NA NA According to the residents and the community police office of

Girls Koshekosh, these girls participate in the ‘business’ but difficult to
estimate the number since the brokers did not report to any
authority and the researcher, for the reason that it is a crime

Source: Author’s Field Data (2015)

All the residents of Koshekosh have been very collaborative and support each other since the establishment of the
ward. Most of them are in the lower low income level (that is in the residents understanding and not necessarily in
the comparative terms of the agreed levels of explanations), and the rest are prostitutes. According to the participants
of the study, the practice of prostitution is considered as the lowest social and economic level, since prostitution is not
a welcoming socio-economic engagement in Bahir Dar and in Ethiopia as well. Therefore, now days, the prostitutes
did not care about the moral principles and values of the residents, and they are a threat to the community. They are
sources of thefts in hiding and arranging the processes , and the escaping schedules . They degrade the morals of the
community promoting sexism among the teenagers . They hosting newcomers and facilitate engagement in prostitution
for the reason that receives commissions. Most of the prostitutes came from far rural areas and do not care about the
community/residents and ignore social responsibilities towards the community. Then, to repeat what an informant
explained during an interview, what is best at koshekosh is residents are very collaborative and none of the other
activities are desirable. In the strict sense of the term of the informant ‘What has never changed at Koshekosh is the
cooperative behavior of the residents all the time free of discrimination’ among the non-prostitute community.

The means of the livelihood are diversified. However, the interest of the residents is divided in to two categories.
Those females newly joined and came from far area to the ward have been engaged in prostitution , and those
permanent residents of the Koshekosh participate in the low salary employment in the government and private offic e
and business centers. Besides the low salary employment, they strongly participate in the piety trade around the ward
and the bus station. Therefore, the bus station is a potential market for those residents for their trade and services.
Comparing to the total employment in the city, koshekosh population unemployment ratio is very low and accounts
only 5 per cent of the population. The details are depicted below (see table 5).

Economic problems, being a single parent family heads, orphanage (socioeconomic and other life challenges, su ch
hopelessness and homelessness), lack of access for schooling (the rural-urban migrated child prostitutes), early
marriage and early divorce, and associated socioeconomic difficulties to cope life burdens, street life for the youth,
and the reason for a very limited number is not well known but have no economic problem backgrounds. The major
problems encountered as a prostitute are assault, disability as a result of the assaults, homicide, rape and/or sex without
consent with all the risky behaviors of the perpetrators, reluctance of the clients to pay for the service offered, absence
of ID cards and exposed for theft. Most prostitutes have no access for savings in the banks since the banks request
renewed Identity Cards to open an account and withdraw the cash.

4 In the public understanding, prostitution is exclusively the engagement of poor women and men are not part of this study.

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Table 5: Livelihood Strategy of the Koshekosh Proper Residents

Occupation Composition in % Rank

Private Company employees ( low wage contracts) 40 1

All Categories of Business (Dominantly piety trade) 25 2

Prostitution 5 20 3

Government employees 10 4

Unemployed ( in fact not educated) 5 5

Source: Field Data (December, 2015).

The participants of the study explained, life in koshekosh was better during Italian occupation. There was house for
the prostitutes and daily laborers. However, now the worst ever in the city and still the prostitu tes dominate it. Most
of the houses were confiscated during the Dergue (1974-1991) regime from the private owners and still remained as
government houses. According to the Government Communication Office of the Sub-City, 95 per cent of the houses
are government holdings and the rest 5 per cent houses are private. Regardless of the ownership, both housing
categories are very poor. Sometimes , the roofs of the houses are plastic bugs, sacks and grasses. However, the
majorities are corrugated zincs. The earlier design and holdings were according to the plan and specific purposes . But,
now all holdings have been informally expanding. The resident involve in the illegal expansion, constructio n,
reconstruction and illegal repair during the night and at the weekends and very difficult for the authority to control the
illegal construction and expansion of holdings.

3.4. Income Generation Opportuni ties among Koshekosh Residents

According to the residents, Koshekosh is easy area to survive for the urban poor and rural-urban migrants. The houses
for rent are cheap comparing to the other parts of Bahir Dar City Administration. Though, the quality of life is
compromised, access to piety trades such as home brewed beer (Tella), street vendor activities (selling biscuits, gum,
cigarettes, condoms, boiled eggs and potatoes, and sandwiches, home distilled liquor, fried potatoes, slice of sugar
cane), low cost meal to the bus station workers and passengers, house rent, pool game, room service in the bare floor
in the same room with the family for the poor passengers of the lane travelers . Others include roasted bean, barley and
corns, khat (chewing in groups is strictly prohibited by the municipality authority), prostitution and employments in
business organizations and residential houses at the downtown are easily available. Therefore, this ward is a women
dominated residential and business area, and the role of women were highly engaged piety trade, caring family
members, vegetable urban farming in the shallow marshy areas and manual weaning. During the investigation, the
researcher identified security guards, janitors, and other domestic employments at the government and private
institutions as the main areas of employment. However, the payment is cheap. The researcher found ‘a woman working
for 18 years at a kitchen of a well-known Hotel has been earning 500 Ethiopian Birr (ETB.) per month yet and the
beginning salary was 130 before 18 years. Another, woman working with 600 ETB, salary with more than 30 years
relevant experiences and the starting salary was 50 ETB.’ The change in salary seems positive. However, comparing
the change in the prices of all commodities and other costs, the change is very minimal for the workers to survive, and
most people works in more than two categories of job for survival. However, there is relative advantage in the price
of house for rent, that it is cheaper than other quarter of Bahir Dar City. Though, the low prices was associated with
the compromised quality of the houses , it is an opportunity for the poor since they also save the money that was

5 In Ethiopia, Prostitution is not officially licenced business sector and health follow-ups does not exist inthe organizedways.However, the sector
employed 20 per cent of the Koshekosh residents, and the third category in terms of employment. During the Italian occupationand the early
times of prostitution in Koshekosh, the Italians were regularly administering mandatory health check -ups for the prostitutes.

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supposed to be budgeted for taxi. Being, in a separated city ward that has been known for its poor family households,
the residents got some supports from the local, national, international non-governmental charity organizations, and
some private and governmental organizations.

3.5. Community Policing Service System and the Community

Koshekosh and the other neighboring wards are very dangerous for the community policing officers. However, once
the officers worked in this community, the other policing activities are easy to demonstrat e and manage everything. It
is also an opportunity for the officers to get fast promotions for the reason that they got plenty of anti-community
activities and develop the tactical and conceptual understandings of urban criminal offenses. Once the officers
established the relationships with the community, the community collaborates and assist the officers in the protection
of the wards. Those collaborations are the most appreciated by the municipality policy office , and the recognition and
credits are promotion and rewards for achievement and efficiency in serving the community at least two times within
6 years that did seem real in the other wards . Beyond, these title and salary rewards, the officers were satisfied in their
job contributing for the maintenances of security to the residents. While working with community , the police officers
established a task force committee from the residents comprising nine members. In Koshekosh, the members of the
committee include from different categories . These are youth association, church school students, shoe shiners, tour
guides, and daily laborers since they stay in the ward for the cheap services , and family policing and a representative
from the community policing officers. The neighborhood and family policing approach in the ward entertains the one
to five (1:5) networking of the residents.

According to the acceptable community policing model recommendations , the expected maximum population for one
community center is 500 residents . However, the actual size of the population was more than 2,500 people per single
community policing center and the Koshekosh ward hosts more than 2600 residents. As the explanations of the
interviewed community policing officers, the philosophy of the community policing in Ethiopia had adapted from the
experiences of United States, United Kingdom and the Republic of South Africa. The detailed arrangements are more
familiar with the British community policing structure known as the SARA (Scanning, Analysis, Responding and
Assessment) model. It begun to be practiced in Bahir Dar since 2007. Therefore, community policing is the system or
procedure of community and police cooperation based on the mutual consent of both parties for establishing
sustainable mediation and searching solution of the problems among the residents in the block. Therefore, the
community policing system has very relevant contribution in protecting crimes and easily reached by the residents
since the office works twenty-four hours. The system works in securing partnerships for the common problems of the
community, screening and protecting the would be potential crimes in the early warning approaches strategies,
collaboration for job opportunity to the unemployed via referral letters , recruitment and supervision of community
security guards, for instance the 180 prostitutes 6 at the Block (Koshekosh), and sometimes arrange the situation and
assist the prostitutes to get kebele (government administration unit next to a district) identity card and save their money
at the banks safely.

3.6. Challenges of the Community Policing Offices

The community policing officers (CPOs) and officers from the community had been providing full-fledged services
to the residents. However, there are some challenges for the office and residents. The limitations associated with lack
of awareness among the residents about the duties and responsibilities of the community policing offices and officers’
shares some of the big challenges to address better services to the community. Others include, lack of basic education
to take minutes of meetings among the aged (the community cooperatively working with the officers ) and report the
result of the discussion to the respective community policing offices . Reluctance to participate in collaborative
activities among the residents and prostitutes were the typical hiding agents for criminals in the inner city slums ,
financial limitations to address the multidimensional problems of the community , low income of the community for

6 During the fieldwork, the prostitutes had six security guards and every prostitute contributes 10 Birr per month and community p olicing center
takes the responsibility of arranging the recruitment and follow up among the clients.

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the material and furniture purchases to the community policing centers are part of the challenges. On the government
side, some authorities do not know the actual philosophy and practice of community policing engagements and
mistreated the officers. Most residents are critical only about their rights and reluctant about their duties .

Some prostitutes do not have identity card (ID) and difficult to open saving accounts for their income. Though, more
than 180 registered (298 Total), the community policing offices help only those with IDs. Prostitutes did not tell the
detailed story of the problems and sometimes costs a year to refine the data about them. Therefore, they have problems
associated with rented houses. The amount paid for the rented houses and notorious landlords share their income
renting the unconventional houses and others also share half of the income from prostitution . Other problems were
related with access to facilities that include absence of standby transport at the center and kebele levels and sometimes
community policing officers encounter with dangerous criminal suspects while taking them to the police office in the
night times via the narrow corridors .

The officers work 24 hours since there is only one officer at every community policing center. Though, other polices
work only 8 hours per day, the right of the community polices are compromised. No enough time to change their life,
careers and opportunities for education at extension and distance education as the code of conduct of the community
policing strongly prohibits alternative income generating sch emes and career developments. No incentives except the
free room beneath the center and it is not for the community policing officer advantage , rather it is to keep the officer
available all the time around the center. The activities are tiresome, and no uniformity from one kebele to the other as
the realities on the ground are the basis of the engagement at the community policing center.

Table 6: Community Policing Problem Solving Model

Strategy Purpose Activity Goal

S Scanning Identifying and prioritizing problems
A Analyzing Researching what is known about the problem
R Response Developing solutions to bring about lasting reductions in the Problem
number and extent of problems Solving
A Assessment Evaluating the success of the responses
SARA Using the crime triangle to focus on immediate conditions
(Victim/offender/location)
Source: Adopted from Community Oriented Policing Services (US Department of Justice, 2012), with some
technical arrangements.

3.7. Challenges of Koshekosh Residents and the Municipality

The problems resident are multidimensional. Some of the major problems include absence of suitable residential
houses, no toilets and no piped water in most houses (sometimes, the resident may not have ownership right), limited
capacity of the city municipality and irregular rule of the city administration, very critical sanitation problems, flooding
during the rainy season (in some houses), banned right of repair and construction, no plans and organized cadasters to
urban land management, informal expansion of the holdings, crime, underemployment, unemployment, prostitution
(suspect criminals used the prostitutes as safe heaven hiding places), absence of street codes and very difficult to
identify during risky situations such as fire, flooding and crimes, difficult for movement, difficult to move any
furniture or other house equipment, access for ambulance is unthinkable, no way for any vehicle including for
emergency times. Evening movements are too dangerous, some community policing offices are closed the whole day,
corruption during the distribution of the Kebele owned house to the residents and aids from governmental and
nongovernmental organizations . Poverty is high in this slum than even the poorest rural areas, delay during the
distribution of the kebele houses and other official decisions. Authorities do listen but do not solve the problems, lack
of fairness, and fear of eviction are the major typical concurrent problems of the Koshekosh residents . For depth
description, the major challenges are explained in the next sections of this text.

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Eviction from the area is source of most frustration and anxiety among the residents. The residents believe that the
poor are displacing for the benefits of the rich. The alternative resettlement sites are at the outskirt of the city and life
is too hard since piety business is not functional there. This problem has been already happening with the already
displaced ones. Coming to the inner city to work in the piety business is not accessible since most of the activities are
done at the evening session. Another serious disadvantage to the would be displaced are disintegration of the social
networks, such as Iddir, Equb, Mahbrer, Senbetie (Indigenous social networks and religious based associations) and
other religious and non-religious self-help associations among the residents. The researcher observed during the
transect walk, the residents suspect every visitor considering s/he is doing something related with the eviction. This is
the great source of worry at the koshekosh and surrounding areas of the slums.

According to the residents, life has been becoming the worst and the youth are the most vulnerable group of the
Koshekosh community, followed by the old age and children. The income generating schemes were not enough for
the residents and life becomes miserable for the koshekosh residents. For instance, a more than eighty years old woman
noted that ‘in the old good days, we were buying 12 killo teff by one Birr; however, now it is more than 200 Birr ,
Pulses from 10 cents to 20 Birr per kilogram’ and is easy understand how life is difficult for the low income
community at the koshekosh. Therefore, the quality of life is compromised and the future of the residents is vague.
They do not have any plan than engaging in the survival strategies. The residents were also highly exposed to crimes.
The major Crimes at the blocks include, physical assault (Because of Drunkenness, substance abuse and thefts), verbal
assaults, cheatings (complex in its nature) among the residents, high number of prostitutes (180 registered and 118
unregistered from the 2633 residents of Koshekosh proper) and more than 300, ladies Working at the Bars and Night
Clubs for sex business. There are three categories of prostitutes according to the Community Policing Centre Officers .
These are the registered and with permanent rented home residence, bar ladies, and street ladies. However, the call
girls did not include within this category for the reason that their number is not well known and their engagement is
complex to access data for research purposes.

3.8. Koshekosh Upgrading Plan and Challenges of the Municipality

The general Principle in the process of upgrading the slum quarters in the established system supported by taskforce
to halt the illegal expansion and construction activities. Therefore, the house owners have to get permission from the
kebele for any construction, reconstruction and repairs. However, it is really tough to the municipality to control the
illegal construction and/or expansion issues in the slum areas. In the upgrading move, the major plan that had been
applying was named the ‘Local/Land Development Program/LDP’. In the near future, there is a plan for upgrading
the slums in Bahir Dar City Administration. This program includes 47.52 ha in the first category at kebele 05
(Koshekosh), 06 and 12. The plan is already approved by the administrative council and it is in the process of fulfilling
the necessary steps for implementation. What were left for the municipality included the development of
implementation manual, budgeting, staffing and awareness creation among the residents, and finally discussions with
relevant stakeholders.

In the second phase, kebele 01, 02 and 04 are the main targets that covers 64.8 ha. In this phase, designing is being
done by the cooperation of the city administration and the Canadian Urban Research Institute (CUI). In case the
residents planned to upgrade the status of the residential and business houses , and the new plan privileges for those
who planned G+4 and above type that are very difficult for the poor members of the community . These owners have
no financial capacity to upgrade the s tatus of the houses. The residents believe, the municipality has been
systematically pushing out the residents to leave the space and go to the alternative sites . For those rented government
houses, the government had been compensating free land in the new resettlement site. The option for the private
holders get financial support for construction of the house in the new site and free land compensation. Those engaged
in the illegal holdings had been evicted without any compensation. This include some members of the families,
relatives, individuals joined by adoption or households rented the house from prior people or rented from the private

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owners and shared the land. However, compensation is only for the parents. Therefore, the residents are too critical in
ridiculing these approaches.

Other major challenges include unstable community at the slum quarters because of the rural-urban high population
movement, drunkenness and associated high crimes, rural-urban migrated population is dominated by the youth and
difficult to manage. Migrants did not want to visit the kebele till they got troubles , and the poor migrant population is
accessible only for the NGOs expecting some timely aids. Some of the residents are ‘normless 7 ’ or do encountered
with the established traditions of the residents and difficult to control their activities.

4. Conclusion and Recommendati ons

The research was designed to explore new insights and contexts of the slum-koshekosh residents in Bahir Dar City,
Amhara Region. Therefore, the study discovered that kekoshosh hosts all the worst form of life for people, mainly
prostitutes. However, there were some promising opportunities as a way out for those who manage to survive , and
there exist better collaboration and mutual support among the residents. The number of prostitutes were more than the
reports indicated in the magazine column (400 against over 598). In koshekosh, the population is dominated by females
and the most disadvantaged group is the women headed households and the prostitutes in all the economic, social and
sexual exploitations. About 60 per cent were women head households and 76.49 % of the Koshekosh pop ulation were females.

Generally, t he residents were living under extraordinary frustrating ward against eviction for the purpose of urban
redevelopment and unidirectional slum upgrading scheme, which is against the message described at the UNESCO
Cities for Prize 2002. There were security, water, sanitation, and illegal expansion of holdings . Low standard housing,
and so many more elements that need to be managed. The study has addressed the complicated multidimensional
critical problems of the Koshekosh residents. Therefore, the following recommendations are forwarded as the way -
out to at least mitigate the problems of the residents. The recommendations can be categorized in to four groups.

First, the community in the Koshekosh residential houses demand another strategy for the upgrading scheme of the
inner slum-koshekosh. They want another alternative to stay at the inner city especially those who have own land.
Therefore, the government/city municipality shall design a strategy that encourage and suppo rt for the self-
development of the ward and shall be against eviction. According to the participants of the study, the options shall
include building condominiums on some of the areas under the upgrading scheme and let the resident stay at the ward,
since it needs very limited area. This is the fair treatment for the residents. At the same time, the rest area can be
reserved for those interested and have the finance to re-build the ward. The other option is supporting the residents
establish self-help associations and enjoy the advantages of the urban redevelopment supporting each other. Therefore,
integrating the poor community with the mix of all economic and social wellbeing is more relevant than other
exclusive strategies for the common goods of the res idents in the city. The municipality shall redesign a new approach
for the urban slum upgrading in an inclusive development strategy and support the residents to be part of the slum
redevelopment process. Relocating the slum residents will cost the government in the short and long term challenges
replicating another slum in the resettlement sites.

Second, Koshekosh is a difficult neighbourhood to walk around, and in the evening, it is dangerous. Therefore, needs
street lights, cleaning the shrubs, waste management systems and common water access tabs since individual access
is difficult for the agency and the residents too. While the other neighbourhoods enjoy the well-furnished roads,
sidewalks, well managed palm trees and green areas, Koshekosh has been ignored the privileges explained above.

The third category is related with the issues of crime and safety of the residents . This is a challenging experience for
the residents and the community policing offices. The residents live in a very stressful scenario and it needs the
maximum attention of the municipality. All the community policing offices, typically at the Koshekosh are fully

7 The term was coined by a male key informant living in the Koshekosh, during an in-depth interview.

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functioning. However, comparing to the number of the population in the wards, the services centers, the bus station
and the irregular arrangements of the wards , it is difficult to manage by the limited number of the community policing
officers. Therefore, assigning additional community policing officers, ensuring the participation of the political
authorities in mobilizing the residents and integration of all stakeholders is mandatory. The community needs strong
supervision to work on crime protection than interventions .

Forth, the night clubs shall recruit security guards and shall be part of the community policing system. There is no
enough justification to ignore them while the poor prostitutes contributing to the security of the ward. These blocks
are sensitive and needs attention. The community policing officers shall have access to vehicles to manage the
dangerous criminals and first aid medical kits for emergency to the officers and victims.

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Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2884637