Cameroon incurs annual losses of at least CFA15 billion on average thanks to illegal transport, figures published by the country’s transporters’ union on Wednesday revealed.
The union which groups together the National Transport Workers’ Union (SNTRC), the Cameroon Transport and Auxiliary Employers’ Organization (OPSTAC), the General Confederation of Transport Trade Unions of Cameroon (CGSTC) and the Management Office Of land freight (BGFT), calls for better organization of transport as a means of stopping these losses.
To this end, trade unions have called for “strong and concerted action” from the authorities and accredited trade unions, “to put an end to unlawful transport, which contributes to undermining the national economy”.
They hold that not only is the revenue shortfall enormous for the public treasury, the human toll from illegal transport is also “heavy and unquantifiable.”
According to trade unions, the annual volume of truck traffic on Cameroon’s roads is 2.7 billion tonnes/kilometers, representing annual sales of nearly CFA176 billion.
If the estimate by trade unions is anything to go by, illegal or own-account transport accounts for 45 percent of the national road freight
traffic.
apanews.net
