Owners of vehicles abandoned on the streets and public spaces of Yaounde are allowed 10 days, starting from November 7, to remove them. The deadline was given by mayor Luc Messi Atangana (photo), in a press release published yesterday. According to the release, the vehicles not removed after the prescribed deadline will be seized and scrapped by relevant departments of the Yaounde city council.  The mayor also declines all responsibility for the fate of these vehicles. 

In Yaounde, broken vehicles or those involved in accidents are usually abandoned on the highway. Those vehicles disrupt traffic and often cause sometimes fatal road accidents. This practice, deemed dangerous by transport authorities, is punishable by law.

According to Article 228 of the Penal Code, "Anyone who, through serious impudence, risks endangering others by driving, stopping or abandoning a vehicle on the public highway is liable to a prison sentence of between three months and three years, and a fine of between XAF5,000 and 500,000, or one of these two penalties."

 This is not the first time that Yaoundé's local authorities have tried to curb this phenomenon. In his time, the former government delegate to the Yaoundé Urban Community (CUY), Gilbert Tsimi Evouna, tackled the problem. But his efforts were not very successful. 

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