In Cameroon, fuel is scarce at service stations. The situation is tense especially in Yaoundé, where motorists are literally looking for the precious sesame. But the situation is just as worrying in Douala where diesel is the most sought-after commodity in the traditional distribution networks.
With our correspondent in Cameroon, Polycarp Essomba
In front of the gates of the Cameroonian Company of Petroleum Depots (SCDP) Thursday morning in Douala, a line of tank trucks enter and leave, most of them in the direction of Yaoundé, where the problem of fuel shortage is most severely felt, according to an agent on condition of anonymity.
But, to Douala also, motorists, those consuming diesel in particular, are at bay. Some, like Patrick, have even parked their vehicle: ” My car is at home and it is precisely because, since yesterday, I have been around the city as far as Bonamoussadi, I have visited all the Total, Tradex, Bocom stations… there is no fuel at all “.
This other motorist, met at a service station in the city, recounts with a smile his trick for continuing to use one of the vehicles in the family fleet: “ I filled up my car which consumes diesel then I went to park before juggling my wife’s car which consumes gasoline. Now that’s what I use because gasoline is still available. And then that’s what we use in Douala, we find it in all the stations “.
The Ministry of Water and Energy wants to be reassuring. Large stocks of gasoline and diesel are being distributed in the country’s main consumption centers, he said. Not enough to completely reassure a market where all sorts of parallel distribution networks are already prospering.