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Given the importance of hostels to students’ welfare and academic performance and recognition of the roles youths can play for affordable university housing, this study aims to investigate hostel management problems in the Buea Municipality, an educational hub in the South West Region of Cameroon. It explores potentials for youth advocacy for affordable university housing within the process of efficient hostel management.

The data were collected through a descriptive survey design from May to July 2015 via reconnaissance surveys, field observation, photographs, administration of questionnaires to hostel tenants (students) and interviews with hostel managers and law enforcement officials. The data have been presented and analysed using descriptive statistical techniques involving frequency tables, charts and percentages. Cartographic techniques have also been used to locate the study area.

It was found that hostel management problems in Buea stem from flaws arising from both hostel managers (landlords and/or caretakers) and hostel tenants (students) in contravention to affordable student housing and good governance principles of rent control, accountability, transparency, equality, participation and fairness. The notable hostel management problems found are indiscriminate rent increase, lack of transparency in billing and non-functional sub metres and non-refund of caution deposits by hostel managers, as well as violation of hostel rules, damage of hostel facilities and “selling of rooms” by hostel tenants.

This paper contends that youths have to be mainstreamed in the hostel management process with better platforms of advocating for affordable university students’ housing through rent control and other good governance practices in their hostel setting. It is hoped that the proposed efficient hostel management system and mainstreaming youth-led advocacy activities in affordable university students’ housing will go a long way to enhance students’ welfare and academic performance, help in rent control, fight against bribery and corruption and other governance problems.

Past studies on corruption and anticorruption efforts in Africa lacked the systemic perspective. Yet, efforts of a constellation of state and non - state anticorruption institutions tends to yield not less but more corruption. Focusing on Cameroon (West Africa), this study is a holistic attempt at an institutional appraisal of the scope and effectiveness of the anticorruption system. It is based on a thorough description and a critical analysis of essential structures, functions and processes of the system, with an emphasis on their missions, goals, activities, structures as well as their actual outcomes and limitations. The researcher suggests that, because of the numerous structural and functional weaknesses, Cameroon’s anticorruption system has failed. Clear suggestions for effective reform of the system and rapid corruption minimization are made.

This study aims to review processing and utilization of snail meat in alleviating protein malnutrition in Africa. Most countries in Africa are faced with a major challenge of protein malnutrition as a result of high cost of animal proteins. This has encouraged more research works in the use of wild or game meat to meet the much-needed animal proteins.

Previous literatures on the above subject matter were reviewed. In many African countries, the use of snails, rodents and other small livestock in the wild could help in improving the nutritional needs of the people in both urban and rural areas, as well as adding economic value through income generation to the local people.

Snails are very rich in dietary protein, low in fat and cholesterol and are good sources of iron, magnesium, calcium and zinc. Previous studies showed that snail meat contains 70 per cent of water and its dry matter contains high amounts of essential amino acids such as lysine, leucine, arginine and tryptophan. Research studies have shown that snail contains calcium orthophosphate, a chemical substrate that could alleviate and reduce kidney diseases. Also, the glandular substances found in edible snails were found to have antimicrobial activities that cause agglutination of certain bacteria, which could be used against some ailments like whooping cough. As snail meat products have high nutritional value, spoilage sets in after one or two days after harvesting, and therefore, the preservation of snail meat has become a major concern to farmers, processors and consumers. Several preservation techniques could be adopted, which include smoking, sun drying, convectional drying and the use of natural or artificial preservatives. These methods have been found to reduce microbial load of snail meat and help to extend shelf life and keeping quality of snail meat.

This review X-rayed the importance of snail meat in the human diet and how this could be explored to enhance protein nutrition in developing countries.