Toll-weighing: Cameroon, the need for reform
Across the country, news about roads shows that these infrastructures are sometimes very advanced. Potholes, quagmires, donkeys, anything goes. Established since 1993/1994, one wonders what the toll and weighing money is used for. Road weighing figures show that, in 2010, road weighings brought in nearly 2 billion CFA francs into state coffers. This revenue dropped considerably in 2016 to stand at 450.4 million CFA francs, a drop in revenue of 88.48%. These figures prove that there is a problem with road tolls. Regarding road tolls, official figures note that each year, 50% of road toll revenues are missed, or 100 billion FCFA in 25 years. The government has decided on major reforms to secure road revenue:
• The establishment of the automatic toll, with the construction of the first 14 automatic toll stations in Cameroon (out of 44 for the whole country), the laying of the foundation stone of the said project took place on December 10, 2020 in Mbankomo, a suburb of Yaoundé, ceremony chaired by the Minister of Public Works (MINTP), Emmanuel Nganou Ndjoumessi. The expected revenue curve will increase to reach 53.59 billion FCFA in 2039;
• The establishment of the Road Revenue Security Program (PSRR) in October 2005, with the objective (as its name suggests) of securing revenue from the road (royalty for the use of the road, tax on axle, traffic fines and road toll). Currently, the PSRR sets a rate called DPO (direction by objective) at each toll station;
• The strengthening of the electronic weighing system using a computer connected to a server now makes it possible to weigh nearly 400 trucks per day in the 17 fixed weighing stations operating in Cameroon. These weighing stations were associated with mobile weighing stations.
