“A passport at XAF200,000; this is the proposal submitted by  Louis Paul Motaze in the 2020 finance bill.” This allegation was going round social networks indicating that the Minister of Finance, Louis Paul Motaze, is moving to increase passport establishment fee in Cameroon. This is false information.

In the 2020 finance law, recently approved by parliament, there is no mention of an increase in passport establishment fee from the current XAF75,000 to XAF200,000.

The Ministry of Finance also confirms that it is false information. “This is false information. The minister has not announced such measure,” a source in the ministry’s communication unit said.

At the passport production centre in Yaoundé, the denial is clear: “The passport establishment fee is still XAF75,000. We have not received any instructions to increase the cost of this travel document,” explains a reliable source. Nevertheless, the same source adds, “users who bypass the official channel or use illegal means are the ones that pay more than the official XAF75,000 to obtain their passports.”

S.A