Police wage fierce fight against illicit fuel in Buea

For the past four days, police officers in Southwest Regional capital, Buea, have been seizing and destroying the illicit roadside fuel commonly called “funge”.

The fuel that is usually retailed by small scale vendors has, for the past four days, disappeared from the hundreds of makeshift points that inundated streets in the town.

This has forced car owners to turn to fuel stations, which many of them had long abandoned for the roadside option.

The crackdown on illicit fuel began on Tuesday, April 11, when police officers went around forcing roadside fuel vendors to pour the liquid on the ground.

Hundreds of liters of the fuel have been destroyed since the campaign began.

For years now, “funge”, a substandard fuel imported illegally from Nigeria, has been very popular in Buea and other towns in Cameroon.

Drivers say they prefer it to fuel sold at pomp stations because it is cheaper. This has led to a boycott of fuel stations by most drivers, forcing several fuel stations shutdown.

The Cameroon government recently regulated fuel prices, puting a liter at 700 francs.

But many drivers in Buea preferred going to the roadside vendors because they sell it at 500 francs a liter.

Despite its cost effectiveness, roadside fuel, drivers say, weighs down the vehicle engine and causes other car complications.

Yet, it is difficult for them to stop using it.

As a result, illicit fuel business has been booming in the Southwest Region, Buea particularly, and other parts of Cameroon for several years now.

Police, military and custom officials have been accused of overseeing the business, as the fuel is usually sold openly, despite it being illegal according to government policy.

In Buea, where scores of young people do the business for a living, it is popularly alleged that the police and the military collect “weekly fees” from illicit fuel vendors to allow them operate without being harassed.

Mimi Mefo Info