CMR create trade centers at the borders to combat smuggling

The Prime Minister, Philémon Yang signed on 12th September 2014, and made public September 18, a "bearing decree, for the creation, organization and operation of trade centers at the borders area."

It focuses on, according to article 2 from the governmental text, "single points of entry of goods in the frontier localities of the hinterland, stores or surfaces of taking out of bond arranged within the framework of a partnership between the customs administration and the common interested parties".

In the article 3, the text of the Prime Minister specifies that the purpose of these structures are "to fight against fraud and smuggling, by the implementation of means suitable to allow the secularization, the organization, the facilitation and the regulation of foreign trade in the frontier localities".

The centers of trade should constitute a new source of income for the communes located in the border areas, insofar as, article 11 of the governmental text underlines that, "the communes having arranged centers of trade profit, in own way of support to the investment carried out, of an annual financial allowance calculated on the basis of budget revenue carried out by the offices of the customs installed on the territory of the commune".

Prescribed by the law of finances 2011 by the State of Cameroon, the creation of these trade centers should contribute to the reduction of the losses caused by the fraud and smuggling as well as with the customs administration as to the companies, losses estimated at 225 billion francs CFA per annum by the Chamber of Commerce.

However, supports a customs officer, the action of these centers will be unfortunately limited by the extreme porosity of the Cameroonian borders.