Illegal mail services on the increase

The use of private and illegal mail services are on the increase in Cameroon.

As more private delivery services come up, authorities say most of them are operating without an authorisation from the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications.

It all began unofficially with transactions between drivers of travel agencies and users willing to get their parcels and letters to different destinations without having to travel. For a fee agreed by both parties, the job was done.

With time, many private delivery services saw the light of day making the business widespread.

In travel agencies, it is a service of its own with parcels arriving from various parts of the country with each bus. Expedition tariffs range between 500 and 1000 CFA Francs depending on the destination, weight and size of the parcel.

The licence to operate this service privately is one many agencies do not have. Till date, only seven have the authorisation to do so among the close to 100 which exist nationwide.

Research reveals that in the country, more and more inhabitants make use of private delivery services.

In this light, private delivery services have gone from being a deal between two individuals to one involving agencies. With such a situation, observers say there is a need to restore order.