Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Mimi Mefo Info
Published on 2024-02-27 14:45:28
The Minister of Trade signed an order on February 26th, setting the new tariff schedule for urban, peri-urban, and interurban transport, while implying that the tariffs are set at ceiling levels.
The Cameroonian government has found real measures to combat the high cost of living. After the increase in fuel prices last February, the government had no choice but to raise prices for urban, peri-urban, and interurban transport. According to an order signed by Minister of Trade Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana, the new daytime pick-up rates in cities have increased from 300 to 350 FCFA, and 400 FCFA at night starting from 10 p.m. The daytime drop-off rate has increased from 2,500 FCFA to 3,000, while the nighttime rate is now 3,500 FCFA.
In the same order, the minister tries to explain that these tariffs are set at ceiling levels, meaning that prices cannot exceed those set by the government. He adds that the principle remains the negotiation between the carrier and the customer, and concludes that the rates remain unchanged for students, pupils, and persons with reduced mobility.
A series of statements that sound like an admission of failure by the government in the face of the high cost of living. To say that the prices set by the minister’s press release are ceiling prices is to pretend not to know the realities on the ground. How can one consider taking a taxi from Mendong to Olembe at the normal fare in Yaoundé? This is purely fictional. Furthermore, the minister asserts that the principle remains negotiation between parties, as if negotiation is only done downward. He also claims that the rates remain unchanged for students, pupils, and persons with reduced mobility. Another assertion that sounds false when considering that the government has taken no measures to support transporters after the fuel price hike.
In the same press release, Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana makes another attempt to evade responsibility. He sets the maximum rates for peri-urban and interurban transport at 8, 10, and 16 FCFA per kilometer for, respectively, children aged 8 to 10, persons with reduced mobility, children aged 11 to 21, and 16 FCFA for people over 21. Another decision that is indeed a chimera, as no transport company takes these criteria into account when issuing transport tickets. This is especially true as these agencies receive no support from the state.
Looking at the series of measures issued by the Minister of Trade, one is tempted to think that the government has failed in the fight against the high cost of living. Unable to provide concrete solutions to the rising fuel prices affecting all citizens, the government has chosen to insignificantly raise salaries by 5%, leaving the vast majority of Cameroonians to fend for themselves.
Joseph Essama
Read the original article(French) on Mimi Mefo Info
