Lack of car documents, identification documents and overloading are some of victim’s offences.

Clandestine transportation is still a pain in the neck in big cities like Douala. As a result numerous transporter syndicates, who are at the losing end threatened to go on strike, arguing that illegal transporters have invaded the sector. One of the grievances they presented to the Minister of Labour and Social Security in the presence of the Delegate General for National Security was the fight against clandestine transportation.

To respect their side of the deal that called off the impending strike action, authorities intensified the fight in Douala following instructions from the Senior Divisional Officer. Last week, some 238 vehicles were impounded by law enforcement officers in collaboration with administrative and municipal authorities. Most of the vehicles lacked documents like badges, road worthiness certificate, CEMAC number plate, driver’s license, and windscreen license among others. Some of the vehicles were also impounded for overloading, while others were not painted yellow.

The impounded vehicles are placed in different Municipal Impoundment Centres in Bonamoussadi, Youpwe, PK 12 and Ndogbong among others. For each offence, car owners pay FCFA 25,000 plus FCFA 15,000 impoundment charges. Additional FCFA15,000 is added each day an impounded car spends the night in the centre. Thought the measures to fight clandestine transportation are good, a Taxi Driver, Lowa Jean Calvin, who paid FCFA 40,000 for overloading, regretted that the documents for which the cars are impounded for are not presented upon retrieving the vehicles. Paying the fines is all the Impoundment Centres care for, he said.