Cameroon suspends the installation of GPS on trucks that transport goods to the Central African Republic
Cameroon's Minister of Transport, Jean Ernest Ngalle Bibéhé Massena, and his Central African counterpart Arnaud Abazene Djoubaye recently chaired, in Yaoundé, a consultation meeting with Cameroonian and Central African authorities and transporters active on the Douala-Bangui corridor.
According to the Cameroonian Ministry of Transports, at the end of the meeting, the parties agreed to suspend the installation of GPS on trucks that transport goods to the Central African Republic because of the large number of vehicles currently waiting for the installation of that equipment at the port of Douala. This long queue is the result of the disruptions created at the Cameroon-CAR border since December 2020, by Central African rebels.
Before that suspension, the GPS was installed to ensure that goods declared in transit on Cameroonian territory, and therefore exempt from customs duties, are not sold on the local market by dishonest economic operators.
Besides the suspension of GPS installations, the participants in the consultative meeting adopted two majors decisions. These are notably the cancellation of parking fees (the penalty for occupying port space after the regulatory deadlines) and demurrage for all goods bound for the CAR.
Also, the Central African Minister of State for Transport and Civil Aviation reassured Cameroonian carriers that the tariffs have been increased to XAF3.3 million per truck and the corridors are secured with security personnel available to escort the transporters from the border town Garoua-Boulaï to CAR.
