Minister Bans Night Travel by Inter-urban Buses

Ban On Night Travel: Cost-Benefit Analysis

By Ernest Ndukong

Many a Cameroonian received the news of the banning of night travels by inter-urban buses with a lot of disbelief, claiming it is insensitive. The motive and economic implications of this decision would establish whether or not it is efficient.

Road transport is most widely used in Cameroon; conveying goods and persons from one part of the country to another.

The ban would cause people to unwillingly spend nights out of home. Hotel and other relaxation sites should realise an addition in income. Restaurants, off-licenses and bars would witness an upsurge in sales thus profits.

On this strength, what, then, will obtain for persons who have just their exact fares to travel back home? Famous stop-overs like Melong, Kekem and Makenene would surely loose their reputation. The economic contribution by these stop-overs to their respective localities will definitely be undesirable. A comparison of what is lost by one party and what is gained by another is of great concern for decision-making.

Considering that it might be boring to sleep alone in a strange town, many will resort to partnering, leading to an increase in the demand for sex workers. The consequences are obvious so shouldn’t be overemphasised.

Most attacks by highway robbers (coupés de route) on transport vehicles have happened at night. Thus, such unpleasant situations would be averted with this ban. Conversely, it might reduce the number of victims as the ban apparently does not affect private road users. Attacks may be frequent because there will be fewer vehicles on the road and an alarm by a victim may go unnoticed.

Life expectancy ratios of drivers would also witness a rise. Scientists have proven that sleeplessness has a great knock on long life. Now, would the many vehicles compelled to ply the highways during the day not lead to uncalled congestion which severely hampers economic activities? What about commodities which are perishable in nature?

Cameroon is an inter-dependent nation for most commodities. Vegetable consumption in Yaounde and Douala depends highly from production in the West and Northwest Regions. An additional 24 hours would diminish the nutritional and medicinal value of the green crops.

Tourism is another sector to benefit from the ban of night travels by Minister Bello Bouba Maigari. Cameroonians would resort to site-seeing when they are forced to spend an extra day out of home. What still remains unanswered is whether the pleasure gained is worth the cost of a day lost as a result of postponing a journey to the next day.

Nevertheless, some people argue that travelling at night has little to gain in terms of saving a day as your next day is almost totally useless because of fatigue.

Is Ban An ‘Arrive Alive Measure’?

According to Aoudou Dotel Moussa, Director of Land Transport at the Ministry of Transport; night travels constitute just about five percent of human transport and, 35 percent of road accidents in Cameroon. The question now is what measures have been taken to prevent the remaining 65 percent of road accidents?

The ban will only reduce deaths by accident to 818 a year if one were to go by 2010 figures, from the Ministry of Transport, which stood at 1.258 deaths and over 5.000 wounded.

There are many other causes of accidents which, if nothing is done to suppress them; it might be a ‘penny-wise, pound-foolish’ decision to only ban night travels.

A trained driver in a thoroughly serviced and properly loaded car on a bad road may equally have an accident even in the day. Possession of a driving license is no guarantee to be a ‘good driver’. Also, this ‘good driver’ who is well rested in an un-roadworthy vehicle, driving at controllable speed on a good road can equally have an accident both in the day and at night.

Thus, the Ministry of Transport has to ensure that; vehicles comply with roadworthiness rules, over-speeding is checked, drivers’ licences are not issued to unworthy drivers, roads meet standards of good state and a host of other measures to assure an ‘arrive alive’ journey for Cameroonians. 

Business and Economy; Monday June 27,2011

Business & Economic Week Review

BY ERNEST NDUKONG

Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa and is still recovering from an uprising that started in December 2010.The uprising led to the resignation of former leader, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, on January 14, 2011, and a consequent 35 years prison term for embezzlement and crimes against humanity. This unpleasant situation in this Maghreb nation has not hindered them from planning to set up an industrial wood processing centre in Binguela in the outskirts of Yaounde.

The Director General of the Tunisian Technical Industrial Centre for Wood and Furniture, Labidi Barhoumi said, “a technical centre for wood industry will help small and medium-size industries to develop the production of wood manufactured in Cameroon.” The centre will encourage research, avert the random felling of trees and add value to our timber.

It is important to note that Cameroon has over 40 percent of its territory covered by timber but depends highly on imports for wood products.

Gold

Gold is a dense, soft, shiny and the most malleable metal, known even before recorded history. It is valuable and among the most expensive commodities. Bétaré Oya in East Region happens to harbour this highly sought-after precious metal. A special unit of the gendarmerie is there to ensure that gold production is economically oriented in strengthening the country’s gold reserves at the central bank. The role of the military will be to halt the flow of gold from small scale miners to clandestine gold buyers and traffickers as well as ensuring transparency in the weighing and registration of quantities produced.

Banking

Banks, like all other service-providing institutions, are supposed to be customer-friendly, facilitators of investment projects and selling products that improve living standards. In a nutshell, banks ought to be indispensable to individuals, businesses and the Government. This apparently has not been the case with banking in Cameroon, when there were few banks until competitors flooded the market and, in a way, acquitted customers from some ‘prison banks’.

The liberalisation of the banking sector has led to violent competition such that shareholders of banks would reap only if they have sown on fertile soil. FCFA 2.1 billion loan from Societe Generale de Banques au Cameroon (SGBC) to the Yaounde City Council will finance the renovation of the Congress Hall and give it a befitting facelift. Tsimi Evouna, who signed for his council, cites the construction of a fence, the development of a plan for easy access as well as multiple platforms, the opening of access roads and other car parks and putting security at its peak.

In the same light, eight banks will jointly lend FCFA 75 billion to the National Oil Refinery Company (SONARA). The fund would be used to expand pumps that would not only refine light crude but heavy crude as well and increase capacity by almost 100 percent to four million metric tons by 2015.

Erny Chefon: Business and Economy; June 20,2011

Erny Chefon: Business and Economy; June 20,2011: "Business & Economic Week Review By Ernest Ndukong The Republic of Cameroon, through the Ministry of Finance, plans to raise FCFA 200 bil..."

Business and Economy; June 20,2011

Business & Economic Week Review

By Ernest Ndukong

The Republic of Cameroon, through the Ministry of Finance, plans to raise FCFA 200 billion from the sale of treasury bonds.

The funds, according to the decree President Paul Biya signed, are expected to finance a series of infrastructure projects, like the Kribi deep seaport, hydroelectric dams, water distribution pipelines and roads improvement.

What tickles the minds of many is how the previous funds raised in December 2010 have been used. Some pundits argue over the exact motive for raising the money.

In a recent interview granted by Finance Minister, Esimi Menye, on CRTV’s Economic Diary, he indicated that the Government has enough financial resources to handle uncertainties. So, why now resort to the issue of treasury bonds which is more costly than withdrawing from reserves? That is, if they are any reserves, at all. Others hold that the money will be used to remunerate the 25 000 Cameroonians to be integrated in the public service; which was not budgeted for in 2010.

Minerals

Petroleum: The West Africa-focused oil and gas explorer, Bowleven, reported a 10 percent increase in share prices following results of a test to ensure commercial viability of the high quality oil located offshore Cameroon in the Douala basin. The test entailed digging the well 3,634m vertically and around 24m in water depths.

The flow rates are estimated at a stabilised rate of over 2,000 barrels of oil a day and are assumed to be commercially relevant.

Diamond is a precious stone. It is beautiful and expensive. Diamond is renowned as a material with superlative physical qualities, thus a high monetary value attached to it. It is also found in many African countries, including Cameroon.

Botswana Diamonds (BOD) assured investors that its Cameroon investigation programme had already begun to yield success. The Chairman, John Teeling, described it as very exciting, upon reports that the exploration team is now in the process of completing the geological mapping as it tries to delineate the extent of this horizon.

Crop Sector

Cocoa is a major cash crop in Cameroon. Cameroon is the world fifth largest grower of the beans. Thus, the financial repatriation into the country need not be over-emphasised. This feat may soon come to an end if the use of pesticides on the crop is not reduced.

Europe, the US and Japan are the foremost consumers of cocoa and they have issued a warning on the health hazards that indiscriminate use of pesticides in their crops can have. More than 80 percent of Cameroon’s cocoa is exported to the above mentioned markets. This comes just when the sector hit a new record production of 219,295 tonnes, five percent higher than in the same period last year.

Machines

Tractors are vehicles specifically designed to deliver huge quantum of materials at slow speeds. In Latin, it is called trahere which means ‘to pull’.

They are mostly used for agriculture and construction. A tractor is capable of executing, in quadruple folds, more than a score of individuals would do.

A welcome dream to have a tractor assembly plant in Kribi is fast becoming a nightmare as equipment to set up the plant has been confiscated at the Douala port for incomplete payment of custom duties. The remaining 235 containers of the equipment would attract FCFA 780 million as duties, before they are cleared to complete the consignment of 340 containers.

Business & Economic Week Review