A convention was yesterday signed between the Ministry of Transport and that of the Economy and Finance.

Things have rather been changing dramatically in airport transport system in terms of security since the unfortunate terrorists attacks on the twin towers in New York. One of the issues that have so far remained the prime suspect through which terrorists can pass to hijack or blow up planes in airports was at the centre of interest yesterday at the Ministry of Transport. It all has to do with passengers' luggage. A convention was to that effect, signed between the Minister of Transport, Dakole Daïssala and that of the Economy and Finance, represented by the Minister delegate in charge of the Budget, Henri Engoulou ,transferring powers of luggage filtering from the police force to the customs officers.

The agreement empowers the Cameroon Civil Aviation Authority (CCAA) to carryout training courses of customs officers as well as its staff to ameliorate their skills in identifying dangerous elements in passengers' luggage. The police on its part will be charged with ransacking hand luggage and passengers. But all security controls will be coordinated by the CCAA with the Delegation of National Security and the Secretariat of State for Defence in charge of the Gendarmerie as partners.

Yesterday's ceremony was an update of the implementation of the two Presidential Decrees of 13 July, 2004 on airport security. The decree in effect, inscribed Cameroon within the whole movement of modernising airport security. One of the decrees on the definition and organisation of the Cameroon Civil Aviation Authority national programme redefined and repartitioned tasks to each administration within the domain of civil aviation security. According to the decree, the CCAA is responsible for training, carryingout refresher courses, inspections and certification of personnel responsible for airport checks. The customs department on its part is in charge of filtering luggage entering the bellies of planes among others.

In order to take up its responsibility, the Cameroon Civil Aviation Authority has already trained 100 workers of the customs department in basic skills and radioscopic imagery. Since November 2004, the customs officers have been filtering luggage at the Nsimalen International Airport. The operation took off in Douala in January, 2005.

In the meantime, the series of conventions will continue. After the one signed with the Secretariat of State for Defence in charge of the Gendarmerie, another one has been programmed in the days ahead with the Delegate of National Security.