Bamenda: Taxi drivers accuse lecturers and security elements of frustrating their business

The president of the Northwest drivers union says taxi drivers in the city are no longer making profit from the business because clandestine transporters have invaded the sector.

This they say, is to the detriment of taxi drivers who have been officially licensed to do the business.

Speaking to the regional service of the state broadcaster Thursday, Ivo Ndi said private car owners now use their private cars and practice commercial transportation in the city these days.

According to Ivo Ndi, the situation now exists because the government has refused to empower him and his association to stop the activity.

He equally accused the government, the delegation of transport and the military operatives in the region of deliberately allowing such chaos to exists as its profiting them daily.

“We have cried out to the administration to allow us to do the control ourselves yet they keep telling us the military will do their job. There are many check points in the city but them security elements at these check points do but control” he stated.

“When they break a taxi with four passengers,” Ivo Ndi explained, “… they will keep it for more than an hour insisting that the driver still pays a thousand francs. When they break a private car with more than seven passengers, they easily allow it go because the easily give them a thousand”.

To him, “lecturers, teachers have all left the classroom in Bambili and are now doing commercial transportation with their cars. Let the government give us our powers and we shall set order in the sector” he said

According to Elvis, a taxi driver who plies the Bamenda Bambili road, the situation really terrible for them: “We are in real trouble. We have paid for park fee; all sorts of license to operate yet people who have not paid are making money more than us. in the morning, we fight to transport students with lecturers and in the evening it’s the same thing. We need to stop this nonsense” Elvis said.

Over 50 check points exist in the city of Bamenda and its immediate environs and it’s estimated they make tens of millions monthly from extortion of drivers, yet go unsanctioned.

By Timfuchi Aaron

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