Collaboration

On Thursday, October 21, 2021, the Chadian minister, Mrs. Fatima Goukouni Wadei and her Cameroonian counterpart, Mr. Ernest Massena Ngalle Bibehe, held an extraordinary meeting at the Hotel Sawa conference room in Douala. Stakeholders of the Douala-Ndjamena corridor were equally present at this meeting convened to address a number of factors hindering the smooth transportation of goods from the hinterlands of Cameroon to those of Chad, and to initiate groundwork for the fifth “Cam-Chad” exchange and cooperation commission.

Cameroon’s Minister of Transport officially launched the African Ports Forum in the morning at Hotel Akwa-Palace, Douala. Chairing the meeting with his Chadian counterpart, he was keen to listen and find solutions to the current and future problems of the transport sector.

In their opening remarks, they both admitted to having common views on issues such as the improvement of traffic on the Douala-Ndjamena Corridor and on the resolution of problems that could undermine existing ties between the two countries. Minister Ngalle Bibehe Massena recalled previous resolutions adopted at the July 26, 2021 meeting to assess the effectiveness of measures adopted by the joint commission which include checkpoints, weighing stations, compliance with legislation, etc. He equally evoked the need to review the terms of the said Agreement, which should include transitional provisions, given the creation of the Kribi and Limbe ports. The Minister underlined the negative impact of road accidents on the GDP (800 billion loss/year) and invited stakeholders of this strategic sub-regional Corridor to make practical and constructive proposals which shall boost traffic on the Corridor, without having to compromise existing friendly ties between both countries.

“Our countries have a common past and out intention is to further strengthen our ties while addressing problems faced by our respective transporters. With the support of the President of the transitional government, we have resolved to take out transportation hurdles by having in-depth reflections on the proposals made to eliminate factors hampering smooth transportation on the Douala-Ndjamena Corridor" said Mrs. Fatima Goukouni Wadei full of emotion after the meeting.

The following proposals and resolutions were adopted at this meeting which lasted over five hours:

• Review the Joint Commission Agreement so as to integrate new means of road transport between the Republic of Chad and Cameroon
• Officialise the Kribi-Ndjamena Corridor via the signing of an agreement
• Finalise works for the interconnection of the Chadian and Cameroonian Customs systems
• Expedite the revision of the CAEMC Highway Code, in force in Central Africa
• Establish a joint road safety observatory in Cameroon
• Implement strict measures to stop illegal overloading at weighbridges
• Facilitate the routing of goods to dry ports
• Increase the visibility of the various Chadian and Cameroonian freight offices
• Promote talks between the Chadian and Cameroonian Customs, with a view to resolving the various difficulties raised by both parties
• Envisage a BGFT - BGNT working session to harmonizing the international travel note
• Table concerns raised by Cameroonian transporters for special consideration by Chadian authorities
• Launch and hold the Fifth Cam-Chad commission meeting to refine and assess projects.

Participants at the meeting promised to have these concerns further examined by a technical committee and thanked the Cameroonian and Chadian Ministers for the excellent work.

By way of reminder, the partly degraded 1,500km long Douala-Ndjamena Corridor which enables the transportation of goods from the Douala and soon Kribi Ports to landlocked hinterlands of Chad, is the subject of several complaints from transporters of both countries.

Victor Esso Tiki,

Source: www.afrique-infos.cm