Street vendors vow to disobey PM's anti-street marketing order

Despite the prohibition of street hawking of SIM cards, sales continue on the street as vendors vow to disobey the Prime Minister's anti-street marketing order.

“Do you believe that the sales of SIM cards would disappear overnight? Do not forget that this also refers to mobile operators. That’s the reality. In Cameroon, everything is done till the abnormal becomes the normal. Who is to blame?" cried an SIM card street vendor.

According to the vendor, he prefers the activity that has now become “illegal" and "instead of stealing, we prefer to sell SIMs. This is a decent and honest way of living. Where is the problem? The unemployment rate is high in the country. We have no other choice but to go it this way," he told La Nouvelle Expression of Tuesday, December 29, 2015.

Mobile phone operators also said that street trading of SIMs brings them some benefit.

“We respect the orders of the Prime Minister by multiplying sales points of SIMs,” asserted Orange, MTN and Nexttel.

“That is why for the renewal of SIMs for MTN for example, there are now partners in several parts of the city. There is one in front of the French Institute which was not the case before," said a staff of MTN.

Yet, street vendors of SIMs are in possession of the goods despite the ban on September 2015 prohibiting the marketing of SIMs in the street.

Nonetheless, it is a mystery how they come into possession of this merchandise if operators say they don’t have any knowledge of their activities.