Gov't Says no to Disorder by Commercial Motorcycles

The Prime Minister, Head of Government, Mr Philemon Yang, today Thursday 28 June 2012 as from 11:00 a.m. chaired an important Cabinet Meeting in the main building of the Prime Minister's Office.

In attendance were Ministers, Ministers-Delegate and Secretaries of State.

Three items featured on the agenda, namely:

1- The report of the Minister for Employment and Vocational Training on the implementation of instructions of the Cabinet Meeting of 6 May 2010 related to the use of the labour-intensive strategy;

2- The report of the Minister for Social Affairs on the implementation of the Street Children Project;

3- the statement of the Minister for Transport on: « an assessment of the implementation of Decree No. 2008/344/PM of 31 December 2008 laying down conditions and modalities for operating commercial motorcycles in peri-urban and rural areas ;

In his introductory statement, that preceded the ministers' reports and statement, the Prime Minister gave operational guidelines to all ministers for the effective preparation of the interim evaluation of roadmaps scheduled in August 2012.

Next, the floor was given to the Minister for Employment and Vocational Training for his report. He began by pointing out that mainstreaming the labour-intensive (LI) approach in infrastructure programmes serves as a catalyst for job creation in most developing countries with a surplus under-employed labour force.

With regard to actions carried out, the Minister in charge of employment stressed that the national system for the promotion of labour intensive techniques has been enriched by an operational framework for integrating this approach in major State projects, accompanied by an action plan for the 2011-2013 period.

This framework has four focus areas: (1) mainstreaming the labour intensive approach in investment programmes and projects being implemented or prepared; (2) design of new investment programmes suited to LI techniques and search for necessary financing; (3) planning, training and management of recruitments in LI projects; (4) institutionalization of a legal arrangement that combines decent work standards and the LI approach.

The Minister in charge of employment also said that the plan to popularize the labour intensive approach in local councils will soon be implemented.

At the end of that statement, the Head of Government asked the Minister of Employment and Vocational Training to liaise with the Minister for Labour and Social Security to design a legal framework that factors decent work standards in LI approaches.

Further, he enjoined the Minister in charge of the economy to do everything to achieve the objective of mainstreaming 20% the LI approach in public investment programmes, pursuant to the related Government Declaration adopted in 2008.

Proceedings continued with the report of the Minister for Social Affairs on the implementation of the project to combat the phenomenon of street children, which she said, was a situation of social exclusion visible worldwide. It appeared in Cameroon some forty years ago and intensified in the last two decades.

There are at least three categories of street children: (i) children who work on the streets but live with a family; (ii) children who live permanently on the streets; and (iii) youth and adults above 18 years old living on the streets. The main reasons why children take to the streets are conflicts with their parents, the search for happiness and the quest for adventure.

Street children are exposed to reprehensible acts such as theft, armed holds-up, banditry, rape and drug abuse - all of which affect and sometimes lead to the bereavement of many families and make these children liable to prosecution before the courts.

To tackle the issue, Government adopted a preventive mechanism with a legal arsenal comprising national and international instruments. Internationally, eight child supervision and moral rehabilitation centres exist that provide psycho-social care to children below 18 years in moral danger or in conflict with the law.

Alongside prevention, the Ministry of Social Affairs has, since 2008, been implementing a Project to combat the phenomenon of street children with a budget of CFAF one billion, of which CFAF 679 million are for the rehabilitation of infrastructure.

As far as psycho-social care is concerned: 1,048 street children have been identified to date - 549 in Yaounde and 499 in Douala; 331 have been returned to their families, or 73 by the social centres of Yaounde and 258 by those of Douala; 170 of the 331 returnee children have gone back to formal school ranging from early primary to upper sixth form.

The Minister for Social Affairs informed the Cabinet that the project faces many difficulties including the lack of human resources leading to the under-use of reception centres, insufficient financial resources and the insecurity involved in identifying street children at night.

With regard to prospects, she indicated that after the consolidation phase, the street children project will be transferred to local councils by 2015.

At the end of the ensuing discussions, the Head of Government noted the first positive effects of the street children project and instructed the Minister for Social Affairs to consolidate and sustain the results achievements in Douala and Yaounde, while preparing to extend it to other affected localities.

Thereafter, the Cabinet listened to the statement of the Minister for Transport on commercial motorbike transport which witnessed an upsurge in our two large cities in the aftermath of the disappearance of the Urban Transport corporation (SOTUC), coupled with population growth. These have led to an explosion in the number of motorcycles today to over 162,634 registered bikes.

The Minister said that after the first two attempts to regulate the activity of commercial motorbikes in 1994 and 1995, the 31 December 2008 decree fostered a final and sustainable cleaning up of the sector.

In addition to administrative and technical requirements for operating commercial motorbikes already in force, notably obtaining a transporter's licence, registering the motorbike, painting it yellow, equipping it with two crash helmets as well as the rider holding a category "A" licence for motorcycles, the new regulations have further involved local councils and regions. Responsibility now reverts on the latter to delineate traffic zones, develop pick-up points, identify and supervise sector operators.

The Minister for Transport observed that enforcement of the provisions of the 31 December 2008 was weak. Only 3,132 licences and 52,289 category "A" (motorcycle) permits have been issued. Although it has the largest number of commercial motorcycles (some 100,000), the Littoral Region hardly accounts for 36% of registrations.

With regard to the traffic zones of commercial motorcycles, only the Yaounde and Douala City Councils have instruments delineating these areas in their areas of jurisdiction. In contrast, councils in the Adamawa, North and Far-North Regions have a good tradition of identifying and registering their motorcycle riders to whom numbered jackets are given.

The Minister deplored the fact that the sensitization efforts deployed by the public authorities have virtually gone unheeded in the sector which continues to be plagued by risky and punishable behaviour. Accordingly, he advocated that means of mass transport be developed and the activity of commercial motorcycles be further controlled upstream.

After the ensuing discussions, the Prime Minister asked the Minister for Transport to finalize and submit to the Prime Minister's Office, the draft instruments of implementation of Decree No. 2008/344/PM of 31 December 2008 fixing and developing conditions and modalities for operating commercial motorcycles in peri-urban and rural areas.

The Cabinet Meeting was adjourned at 12:40 p.m. after consideration of sundry matters related to Government activity.

Yaounde, June 28 2012

(s) Louis Paul MOTAZE,

Secretary-General of the

Prime Minister's Office