Architecture of Colonial Plantations and Elements of Discrimination and Marginalisation in Resource Allocation in Cameroon: The Case of Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC)

This research was carried out in Cameroon Development Corporation plantations with the objective to examine and compare the infrastructure and management systems provided to workers during the German and British colonial periods and also understand the various infrastructural changes and working conditions that have taken place decades after colonialization and independence. The various infrastructure and facilities available to workers were examined in various workers camps that were constructed during colonial rule. The study revealed that over the years, there have been drastic deterioration of basic infrastructure, and decline in working conditions, including the provision of basic amenities in workers camps. It was revealed that deterioration of infrastructure and facilities was attributed to neglect and lack of innovations in housing units, and the deplorable nature of hygiene and sanitation conditions in labourer’s camps. In addition, working conditions of labourers who constitute the greatest segment of the workforce is deplorable as compared to the working and living conditions of the executives who constitute an insignificant minority of the company workforce. Further evidence of discrimination and marginalisation within the company is revealed in the allocation of housing, as innovations are been carried out to improve the welfare of labourers and semi-skilled workers over the decades. It was also revealed that discriminatory practices in the management and allocation of resources have continued unabated in the company’s contemporary history. This research attempts to demonstrate that architectural heritage in the executive and workers' camps have become a driving force for maintaining and spreading colonial ideologies of discrimination and marginalisation, in the management of the corporation’s resources. The study recommends the corporation to embark on innovations that can improve infrastructure and welfare as remedy to the deplorable conditions of its workforce.

Architecture, colonial plantations, discrimination and marginalisation, resource allocation, CDC, Cameroon

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