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Cameroon: Littoral Authorities in Price War With Traders
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The Post (Buea)
25 April 2008
Posted to the web 25 April 2008
Joe Dinga Pefok
Authorities of the Littoral Provincial Delegation of Commerce are on a desperate campaign to enforce President Paul Biya's March 7 ordinance on the reduction of prices of basic commodities.
In the last couple of days, the authorities with the collaboration of the forces of law and order have been sweating it out with Douala businessmen who have not reduced the prices of basic commodities.
The prices of soap, cooking oil, sugar, sardine, toilet tissue, rice and so on, have either remained at the level before the ordinance or they have gone up a notch. Both wholesalers at Mboppi Market and retailers in the numerous markets across Douala seem to have ignored the new prices the Ministry of Commerce announced recently. The situation is even becoming worse because store owners are fixing their own prices.
Another disturbing issue is the arrogance with which the traders respond to customers when they question the rise in commodity prices. Meanwhile, retailers are blaming the wholesalers for the price hikes.
However, some of wholesalers claim that they have to clear their old stocks, while some complain of increasing prices in the international market.
Caravan For Cheap Sales
Meanwhile, the new Littoral Provincial Delegate of Commerce, David Tsegui, hit the ground running. Less than 24 hours after his installation, on April 17, the Delegate accompanied a caravan of some enterprises like SOACAM, with which the Ministry of Commerce had struck an understanding that they sell commodities at reduced prices.
The caravan first set out to some markets across Douala, on April 11 - 13, with a two-hour visit to Mabanda Market in Bonaberi and moved on. But the operation was seen by many as ineffective as there was a lack of effervescence, contrary to what the Commerce Ministry had thought.
Another cause of the set-back was that the caravan was strange to many people in the town; strange to ask people to go to a particular market at a particular time to buy commodities.
At the end of his first day on the caravan, Tsegui admitted to reporters that the operation was not succeeding. He attributed the situation to poor sensitisation and promised that his service will step up the sensitization campaign before the next outing.
Repressive Measures
On April 19, Tsegui, accompanied by a price control team as well as a squad of gendarmes carried out surprise visits to some markets in Douala to enforce the price reduction.
At the Douala Central Market, the team sealed nine shops which were identified for selling certain commodities above the official prices. Two shops were also sealed at the New Deido Market, while some 155 bottles of cooking gas were seized from a trader at Mabanda Market.
The trader was reportedly selling a bottle of gas at FCFA 5,800, which is above the official price of FCFA 5,570.Meanwhile, many observers doubt whether the new Littoral Provincial Delegate of Commerce will go anywhere in enforcing the price reduction of basic commodities.
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Sources at the Delegation told The Post on April 21 that Tsegui considers himself to be on a special mission. Meanwhile, many traders seem to be downplaying the seriousness of the Delegate's actions as it is common to hear them refer to him as "small pikin cutlass ..."
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