Fuel transporters pledge to stabilize transport price

A closed door meeting with the minister of trade, in Yaounde Wednesday, brought together petroleum products suppliers, marketers, transporters and CSPH officials.

Still on the increase in prices of petroleum products at fuel stations, the meeting had the objective of identifying the difficulties encountered by some actors in the petroleum supply chain in order to find solutions to them.

In fact, the meeting dueled essentially on the difficulties encountered in transporting petroleum products across the country, with the minister of trade, Luc Magloire Mbarga, reminding transporters of their indispensable role they play in the petroleum supply chain.

“Transporters are the pulse of the economy of the country, and that is why government cannot afford to leave them out in whatever action it takes,” remarked Luc Magloire Mbaraga, who noted that the president of the republic does not want the fuel price increase to negatively affect local enterprises and that is why he instructed that a concertation should be held with fuel transporters.

In his submission at the meeting, the president of road transport workers syndicate, Sime Pierre, noted that the transport sector was the most hit by the restructuring of petroleum prices. He therefore urged government to seek appropriate accompanying measures to cushion these nefarious effects. Sime Pierre suggested that for example, government should not raise transport prices and prices of basic food stuffs, but rather completely suppress the axle tax and urge traders to respect existing prices in the market.

Sime Pierre used the occasion to applaud government for the accompanying measures already taken. He expressed the hope that government would consider their request and completely eliminate axle tax.

On his part, the general coordinator of the Bureau de Gestion de Frets Terrestre, EL Hadj Oumarou, reminded participants that the government had earlier authorized the CSPH to ensure that fuel transporters adhere strictly to the price structure fixed for transportation of petroleum products across the country. He said the prices were homologated in concert with marketers and transporters.