West: transport authorities say they will combat clandestine transportation
Clandestine transportation in the Bamboutos division in particular and in the West region in general, has become a huge danger to people who choose this method of movement.
It is the main remark made on roads leading to most agricultural zones such as Galim, Batcham, Bâti where taxis or trucks are used to way more people than their normal capacities.
“The Bamboutos division is the epicenter of clandestine transportation characterized by overloading, notably in Mbouda subdivision. Most inhabitants who mainly depend on farming, when asked, tell us that their socio-economic conditions give them no choice than boarding such means of transportation when going to their farms,” the Senior Divisional Officer (SDO) for Bamboutos François Franquelin Etapa tells CNA.
“Carrying 100, 200 persons for example in a pickup vehicle according to the drivers is to catch up with the socio-economic hardship they face on a daily basis, but they don’t know the risks they are exposed to when they go about such dangerous activities,” added the SDO.
The clandestine activity according to authorities, is at the origin of many road accidents given that the state of many cars involved in the activity, is deplorable and the overloading is another risk factor. To fight against this ill, stakeholders in the transport sector in the West region, converged to the Bamboutos divisional capital, Mbouda, on Wednesday April 5th for the monthly coordination meeting of the transport sector that was held under the theme ” The regulation of clandestine transport in the West region: an imperative faced by socio-economic challenges”.
During the meeting, the SDO for Bamboutos François Franquelin Etapa, seized the opportunity to condemn the prevalence of the activity in spite of the presence of multiple checkpoints on most of these stretches.
“What really worries here is the useless presence of road prevention units and checkpoints on these roads because accidents continue to occur just at their noses and under their watchful eyes because of overloading and the state of their old cars,” the SDO told said.
According to Biya Paul, Regional Delegate of Transport for the West, it is through a concerted approach that the problem can be resolved.
“We need to participate, listen, dialogue and together we think that this clandestine activity will gradually dissappear.”
At the end of the working session, the administrative authority called on the stakeholders in the sector to effectively play their roles in the fight against clandestine transport so that the phenomenon dissappears as soon as possible.
