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Cameroon: Strong Signal
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Cameroon Tribune (Yaoundé)
COLUMN
21 April 2008
Posted to the web 21 April 2008
Lukong Pius Nyuylime
The sledge hammer of the Ministry of Trade fell on scapegoats over the weekend for disrespecting official prices of food crops set by government in agreement with traders' representatives and in application of the Presidential Decree of last March.
Over 40 food shops were sealed in Yaounde while 11 were equally locked up in Douala by Divisional Delegates of Mfoundi and Wouri respectively. In Bamenda, an almost similar situation occurred but for the fact that it took a different direction. Livestock breeders signed an agreement with the Delegate of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries stepping down the price of beef and ensuring that only authorised scales are applied on the market.
The decision to hit harder on recalcitrant traders is a strong signal and a warning on traders who want to use the new dispensation to more than maximise profit. According to Zanga Ndjinang, the Mfoundi Divisional Delegate for Trade, many traders have so far exhibited bad faith playing the cat and mouse game with the administration. When the administration is around, they show a lot of seriousness but when it is turns its back, they redeploy their poor attitudes. Many must be hinging their argument on past experiences where government decisions are known to have remained in drawers. They have been so short-sighted to understand that situations can hardly be the same all the time.
Food crisis is not a Cameroonian affair alone. It is global and even countries known to have often given out food aid to the destitute are beginning to be hard hit. The whole issue now is that of survival of the fittest. Each nation is fighting to be less dependent. How disturbing it is to understand that China which has so far supplied rice to Cameroon is resorting to importing the product from the Philippines and Thailand. The Minister of Trade, Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana said it very clearly in one of his speeches. "We contacted China for mass supplies of rice but China could not make any offer".
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This situation has left no one indifferent as government refocuses its actions. Already, a budgetary extension of CFA 8 billion has been announced for the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to boost food production. Will it be appropriate to see government's effort stifled by individuals who want to profit from the situation in order to maximise benefit? The answer is certainly, a monosyllabic "No".
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