Movement of motorcycles prohibited from 10 pm to 5 am in la Viña

The prefect of the Department of la Viña in the Adamawa region announced on August 14, a decision prohibiting the transportation of goods and people between 10pm and 5 am by motorcycle taxis in the city of Ngaoundéré, his unit of command.

Also affected by the same decision are owners and managers of drinking places who shall be required to shut down from 8 pm.

"The recommendation I can make to the population is that they understand the importance and usefulness of this measure. We ask them to respect them, it is their contribution in the effort that all Cameroonians are providing to defeat the nebulous sect Boko Haram," said the prefect over the private television channel Canal 2 International.

On the ground, as it was to be expected, opinions are divided about this decision by the prefectural authority of the Department of la Viña. If some drivers of motorcycle taxis have accepted the decision by default, claiming not to want or be able to fight against the law, owners and tenants of drinking establishments, meanwhile, are unhappy due to the fact that it is only in the night that bars and snack bars receive more customers since their clients work in day.

Interviewed by Canal 2 international, a bar owner said: "the decision by the prefect may be understandable, but it will have serious economic consequences for our business. Frankly, 70-85% of our revenues are carried out between 7 p.m. and midnight; so you can imagine that closing a drinking spot at 8 pm will make us lose money and even send some of us out of the neighborhood. It is in the night that people come to relax with a beer, not during the day. If this decision persists, it will be catastrophic for our sector."

Also, the prefectural order prohibits "all activities related to begging in the city of Ngaoundéré."

This last prohibition will be difficult if not impossible to meet or to implement, because for those who know the North in general, the ambient level of misery in this part of the country is such that begging by some children for example is supported by their respective families.

In the town of Kousseri, for example, in the Department of the Logone-and-Chari, children-beggars walk at length a day with stainless steel plates to beg for food or money.