The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (Minpostel) has urged mobile phone users to use only authorized postal operators, listed on its website, for transactions. According to Minpostel, besides Cameroon Postal Services (Campost), the public postal operator, only 42 private operators are authorized to operate in the country’s postal market, which includes the postal courier and money transfer sectors.

These operators include DHL International, Africa Global Logistics, MTA, SMS, UPS, Esico, Express Exchange, Emi Money, Solex Sarl, Touristique Express, Garanti Express, Bucavoyages, Tresor Voyages, Princesse Voyages, General Express, Danay Express, Amour Mezam, Musango Voyages, and City Messenger. These companies have paid their entry fees and are currently the only ones authorized to conduct postal transactions in Cameroon. Minpostel warns that any postal transaction carried out with operators not listed above is against the law and subject to penalties.

A survey conducted by Minpostel a few years ago revealed that most private postal activities in Cameroon were conducted informally and outside the law. None of the 141 companies surveyed held a license to operate in the sector. This led to a virtual anarchy in the market, characterized by unfair competition, unregulated pricing, exorbitantly priced customer services, and poor service quality. The Cameroonian government initiated a sector clean-up program to rectify this in 2019. This process has led many private postal operators to comply by paying the required administrative fees, but some continue to resist.

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