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Truckers traveling along the Douala-Bangui corridor disburse an average of CFAF64,000 and a maximum of CFAF255,000 at checkpoints along the corridor, a recent survey reveals. According to the survey published by the European Union (EU)-funded Observatory of Abnormal Practices (OPA) on the major corridors in Central Africa, these expenses average just CFAF22,941 with a maximum of CFAF126,000 on the Douala-Ndjamena corridor, which connects Cameroon and Chad.

Based on those figures, the OPA concludes: "Checks on the Douala-Bangui corridor (1,435 km) remain more costly than on the Douala-N'Djamena section (1,934 km), even though this route is shorter (400 km less)."

The observatory adds that on average, checks along the Douala-Bangui corridor cost “almost three or four times as much as those on the Douala-N'Djamena corridor. Correlatively, for every 100 kilometers, checks cost on average much more on the Douala-Bangui corridor than on the Douala-N'Djamena corridor, on both the outward and return journeys." According to the OPA, payments made at road checks are the most abnormal practices corridor users mostly report in the Central African region.

In the survey, the OPA indicates that those payments are “illegal fees”, “escort charges” (CFAF50,000 for security forces to escort the rucks due to insecurity in the Central African Republic), and customs fees charged for the extra goods transported by truckers apart from the declared transit goods. However, transporters’ unions claim they mostly represent bribes paid directly to the police, gendarmes, road safety agents, and other customs officers who swarm the corridors.

Source: Business in Cameroon