Around 1 billion F CFA losses per month for truckers whose activity has been reduced following the strike initiated by the Chadian traders who demand the drop in the rate of customs clearance of goods.
Nearly 500 trucks nailed to the ground in N’Djamena. The price is high for cameroonian truckers in Chad since the start of the strike of chadian traders, angry against the rise of taxes by their government. For nearly 2 months, the first are unemployed technically. The reason for this crisis is the increase in the rate of customs clearance on goods which seems to have make fall the commercial activity and negatively impacts the economy. This measure is the result of the crisis in Chad since 2015 with the drastic fall in the cost of oil, the main source of revenue.
Estimations reveal that this immobilization causes a shortfall of more than one billion CFA francs per month for truckers.
“We are affected by the chadian traders’ strike. Our trucks are bound to the ground and we have no more merchandises to carry. Consequences go beyond Ndjamena ” confides Ousmane Balla, cameroonian truckers.
Faced with the magnitude of these losses, many calls for a dialogue were made between the parties for a way out of the crisis. This situation is slowing down the transport sector which is already affected by the current economic slump.
The organization of the cameroon land transporters (Ottc), is engaged in the search for a quick solution by sending a mission to meet the authorities of Ndjamena as well as the ambassador of Cameroon in Chad, the objective being to restart the trucks stationed in Ndjamena for months.
“The strike has affected us tremendously. We transporters pay the high price while we are not concerned. The action taken with the authorities will certainly bring favorable news” hopes Ahmadou Bachirou, national general secretary of the Ottc.
Many carriers have lost their sleep with this strike and only hope that an outcome will be found as soon as possible to interrupt the technical unemployment to which they are forced because of lack of activities.
