The Minister of Transport signed an order on Friday August 23, 2013 informing the public on the imminent change of the format of the driving licence in Cameroon.

The driving licence in Cameroon will soon have a new format. This announcement was made in a press release by the Minister of Transport, Robert Nkili on Friday August 23, 2013 in Yaounde. The driving a licence is an obligatory document for anybody who drives in Cameroon. However the driving license document has lost its credibility as many fake driving licences continue to tarnish the image of the county.

Majority of the driving licences used in the country are obtained through fraudulent means.

Josephine Kum a Yaounde inhabitant said she obtained her driving licence from a network which according to her faster and cheaper. “I pass through middlemen because they know how to go about it without any problems,” she said. Many people go through middlemen who in most cases deceive them. They may end up having fake driving licences or no driving licence at all.

In order to wipe out this cankerworm, the Minister of Transport, Robert Nkili, signed an order on Friday, August 23, 2013 informing the public on the imminent change of the format of the driving licence in Cameroon. The change is within the framework of the transforming the old carton driving licences into computerised and secured driving licences. According to the press release According to the press release, the operation will be launched as from September 1, 2013 and will end on March 1, 2014. Robert Nkili therefore informs on all owners of the above mentioned licences that the operation is open and intensified all over the national territory. The public is thereby invited to submit their documents in all regional and divisional delegations of transport before the deadline.

The decision by the Minister has been welcome by most transporters and vehicle owners in Yaounde. Serge André Djope, a taxi driver said the idea is good because one can be sure of his licence. “The computerised and secured licence is good because it cannot be easily stolen,” he said. Pascal Kenfcak, a vehicle owner said the computerised and secured driving licence is a good idea but the problem is that the process for obtaining driving licence in the country is usually long. He said he still has the carton driving licence and it will only expire in 2016. He said the computerised and secured driving licence is good because it will prevent fraud. “With the carton driving licences sometimes you come and find that someone has renewed your licence so the new one is good,” he said. Betrand Njounkeng another vehicle owner said the cost of renewal should be reviewed. He regretted the fact that the cost for the renewal of driving licence is usually FCFA 5,000 but drivers are asked to pay FCFA12, 000. The President of the National Syndicate of Taxi Drivers and Affiliates, Ernest Zena, said the decision is good because there are fake carton driving licences existing. He said the syndicate is in support of the decision and it is working with the commission to convert the driving licences to computerised driving licences.

Elizabeth MOSIMA