Martin Nkematabong
2 July 2009
Traders query the criteria used by the Ministry of Commerce to fix new prices.
An unabated wrench kicked off between business operators and officials of the Littoral regional delegation of trade and commerce in several shopping centres in Douala yesterday, attracting swarms of vendors and jobless lots who fuelled the skirmish with slang and applauses. The price control team, which centred more attention on the bakery sector, is working within the ambit of a joint agreement signed last June 17th, 2009 by representatives of the Ministry of Commerce, businessmen and various consumers' syndicates to reduce the prices of some basic commodities, including rice, flour, fish, milk, iron and zinc. With particular reference to Douala, the tripartite agreement scaled down the price of a 50kg sac of rice from FCFA 13,200 to 13,000, a 50 kg bag of flour from FCFA17, 500 to 16,000, and a kilo of "maquereau" from FCFA 875 to 800 among others.
The reactions of some business operators in Douala have however indicated that the drive would be a daunting task. During an investigative trip to some business centres located at the Bonaberri, Ndokoti and Makepe neighbourhoods, Cameroon Tribune noticed that the June agreement has not made any significant impact. The standard prices of fish in many cold stores still range from FCFA 13,200 to 13,400, while a bag of flour sells between FCFA 17,000 and 17,300. The prices of fish oscillate between FCFA 800 and 850. Many traders still query the criteria used by the Ministry of Commerce to determine the new prices.
Though the operation has gained the sympathy of thousands of consumers, the price control tug has been limited to the city centre, where the dissenting voices of top civil servants can easily be heard. Anarchy reigns in the suburbs and outskirts of Douala. The poor are silently staggering in the face of free market forces, purchasing half a kilogram of "maquereau" for as much as FCFA 500. Traders justify the hike with transportation cost. The prices of other goods vastly vary from shop to shop, depending on the customer's relationship with the seller or ability to bargain.
The Littoral regional delegate for trade and commerce has promised to shift the drive from bread to other commodities next week. At press time, thousands of loafs of bread had been confiscated from deviants and generously donated to some prison centres.
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