Meme SDO Abath Zangbwalla Magloire and his close collaborators stood for almost 14 hours at the entrance into the Kumba City Council premises attending to evaders of vehicle and motorcycle taxes recently.

Perhaps, Meme population knows nearly everything but for its apparent ignorance that everybody works for the government, either on the payroll or tax roll. Had they known this, the more than 15,000 motorcyclists and 10,000 vehicle owners in Meme Division would have been paying their transport taxes. Transport taxes which include vehicle park fees, road worthy certificates, global tax and CEMAC number plates.

Taxes paid officials of the administration, transport services, City Council, taxation, forces of law and order and insurance brokers would not have come out to conduct drives impounding vehicles and motorcycles. Sixty eight motorcycles and fifty six vehicles were impounded for the non payment of taxes. Some of the impounded vehicles belong to government services. The operation to last for three days will be relayed by the Road Safety Control Team according to Mr Muma Johnet, Delegate of Transport for Meme. Officials say the language understood in Meme and Kumba in particular is tax drive for without which few are those who pay taxes. Last year's tax drive from 15th September to 15th January 15th 2009 yielded CFA 11 million for the local treasury and more than CFA 12 million for the Regional treasury in Buea; the Divisional Delegate of Transport revealed to CT during a chat. He added that Kumba people always park their cars when travelling out of town for lack of documents.

The Delegate said most people who hate tax drive park their vehicles to come out only at night. That is why yellow colour (Township Taxis) were absent from the Kumba streets on Monday 17th August. The streets were deserted. Only a few motorcyclists with complete documents plied the streets mounted with barricades at every one kilometer distance.

Most Kumba motor owners brandish sale certificates when asked to present their vehicle documents; the Delegate stated. But the big question is who issues out the sales certificates? And why was the tax drive suspended for so long?