Clandestine taxi drivers in Yaounde were taken aback last Thursday and Friday by an unannounced control by the forces of law and order that saw a majority of them going off the road for fear of having their vehicles impounded. The spontaneous control was part of the recommendations of a meeting that took place last May 31 at the General Delegation of National Security between representatives of transport trade unions in the country, the Delegate General of National Security, Martin Mbarga Nguele and the Secretary of State at the Ministry of Defence in charge of the National Gendarmerie, Jean-Baptiste Bokam, to crackdown on clandestine taxis in the city of Yaounde and elsewhere in the country. The Centre Regional Delegate of National Security, Jean-Marie Ndie Ngah, says the two-day control that took place last week is just the tip of the iceberg for many more impromptu checks will take place in the days ahead.
Those taking clandestine taxis from the Mokolo market to the Oyomabang and Nkolbission neighbourhoods had a difficult time last Thursday as there were no clandestine taxis that could pick up passengers. A mixed control of the forces of law and order and representative of trade union were on control impounding clandestine taxis who do not only pay the required tax but do not have the required yellow colour needed to function like taxis. Those in other neighbourhoods with bad and periphery roads that are mostly used by “clandos”, as they are popularly known, could not also see clandestine taxis that could transport them. Due to fear of having their vehicles confiscated, those operating “clandos” had disappeared into thin air as policemen watch over the various parks where they usually operate.
Very few clandestine drivers were courageous enough to work at the detriment of passengers who paid double the cost of transportation. Angele O, an inhabitant in the Nkolbission neighbourhood says yesterday morning on her way to the Mokolo market, she spent FCFA 400 unlike before when she paid FCFA 150 or 200. Although she paid FCFA 400, Angele says the driver did not leave her at the Mokolo market but some 300 metres from the market for fear of having his vehicle confiscated by the forces of law and order. However, there are some clandestine taxis drivers who have decided to just stay off the road for fear of the unknown. Such is the case with Christopher W, who says he does not have money to collect his car from the administrative garage if it is impounded. From the look of things, by yesterday afternoon clandestine taxis drivers were gradually taking their strategic corners in towns while being watchful against another control.
