Finance Minister Louis Paul Motaze instructs the Director General of the Port of Douala, Cyrus Ngo’o, to allow the SGS company to fully execute its mandate.
The measures taken by the government of the Republic under the impetus of Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute for the resumption of scanner inspection operations by SGS have not yet taken effect at the Autonomous Port of Douala. This is something that the Minister of Finance, Louis Paul Motaze, no longer intends to tolerate. In a letter addressed to the port’s Director General, the minister asks the latter to “please proceed immediately to reinstate SGS in the entirety of its rights”. This will allow it to carry out its mandate peacefully.
Indeed, having noted the blockade of scanning operations at the PAD, and while the Presidency of the Republic had prescribed the continuation of activities by the company TransAtlantic, the Prime Minister, following an inter-ministerial meeting, ordered the resumption of scanning operations by SGS from Friday, January 30, 2026. This is the company that concluded a 10-year contract on this subject and which was ousted from the scanner surveillance operation sites by the PAD. An eviction that contravened the stipulations of the contract linking the Société Générale de Surveillance to the government and which would have put the government in conflict with the said company for having terminated the contract abusively.
Read also: Episcopal Nomination: Pope Leo XIV Appoints New Auxiliary Bishop in Bamenda
In view of the resumption of activities as prescribed by the head of government, measures have been taken, including the processing of images produced by the company TransAtlantic D.SA. This would allow, on a transitional basis, the release of containers scanned by TransAtlantic pending government directives. According to the Minfi, the Directorate General of Customs has agreed to take this transitional measure and process the images. However, the situation of confusion persists, to the detriment (…) of the mobilization of budgetary revenues and the fluidity of foreign trade operations.” Louis Paul Motaze deplores that as of February 13, 2026, “no container has been directed to the SGS operational sites,” all of which shows that SGS has not been reinstated in its rights.
Read also: Diplomacy of Transport: Cameroon consolidates its partnerships in Istanbul
The scanning affair at the PAD, which revealed cracks in the state apparatus as well as a deficit in collaboration between administrations, is causing enormous damage to the national economy. The Groupement des Entreprises du Cameroun has assessed the losses, presenting the situation as a major obstacle hindering business activities. At the end of last week, the employers’ organization called for an immediate normalization of the situation in view of the accumulating losses due to the paralysis of activities. In the absence of a return to normal, the companies announced that they would implement, as a precautionary measure, starting this Monday, February 16, a temporary suspension of the release of import and export declarations as well as customs declarations.
Read also: Cameroun/Bar Exam – 2026 Session: Organization, Conditions, and Procedures