It is a Sunny morning in Sandpit, a neighborhood in Buea, the Chief town of the South West Region of Cameroon.
In the early hours of January 17, 2022, Daniel, a commercial bike rider, is about to transport his passenger to Likoko.
However, that is just how far he can go as is it impossible to ply the other major roads in the town of Buea.
In the town of Buea, Sandpit is the only neighborhood where commercial bikes can be spotted.
This follows a ban against the circulation of motorcycles in the town of Buea, instituted over four years ago.
The ban was issued by the former Mayor of Buea Council, the late Patrick Ekema Esunge, on Tuesday, July 31, 2018.
In an official communiqué, the late Mayor said the decision was necessitated by the fact that the Amba fighters used motorbikes to carry out their activities in Buea.
The ban was reinforced by Bar David Mafany Namange, who took over power as Mayor of the Buea Municipality in 2020.
A good number of bike riders have been affected by this ban, which was imposed four years ago.
It is the case with Daniel who regrets that “Before the ban, we were doing very good. You work your money peacefully, and you invest. I was even rearing fowls with the help of the business but when they imposed the ban, things became very difficult for us.”
Buea is a cosmopolitan town, with several schools, enterprises, institutions, and universities and an estimated population of about 300,000 inhabitants.
Residents need motorcycles to facilitate their daily movement.” It helps a lot. It helps everybody with easy transportation. It equally helps people to get right inside the quarters. For instance, some mothers have leg problems, and taxis cannot access every quarter,” adds Daniel.
For over two years since Joanna, a student at the University of Buea got to Buea, her only means of transportation has been a taxi, which, according to her, is quite expensive.
She told MMI, “Boarding a taxi in Buea is most of the time very costly. I spend not less than 500 FCFA every blessed day from Buea town to my school. I think if there were bikes it would have been easier for me as a student.”
Aside from being expensive, one of the main challenges faced by residents as concerns boarding taxis is the inability to get into the interior neighborhoods.
This might be due to the bad nature of the roads, the narrowness of the road, or other major factors.
Though it is an advantage to taxi drivers, it remains a great disadvantage to the population.
According to Daniel, something needs to be done to lift the ban on the circulation of motorbikes.
“I don’t know what it will take but something needs to be done. We are ready to collaborate with the forces of security to maintain orderliness in case the ban is lifted,” he said noting that, ” The mayor of the municipality should see what to do about the situation.”
Meanwhile, the Union of commercial bikers in Buea continue putting in efforts to plead for the lifting of the ban as they prepare for their upcoming elections.
