The union of bike taxi drivers OSCOMOTACC is calling for a postponement of the crackdown announced by the government to sanitize the sector. The operation is scheduled to start on October 31, 2023. However, according to the union, drivers can't get all of the required documents within that timeframe. 

Indeed, each bike taxi driver is required to get a full motorcycle license, a bike registration document, a document proving the payment of the withholding tax, a national ID card, and the invoice proving they acquired the bike. 

Concerning the license, the union, through its president Hilaire Nzouakeu, believes the government needs to relaunch special examinations. 

As he explains, special examinations are reserved for those who are already driving. In other words, special exams focus on theory, rather than practice. They also take less time and are three times less expensive than normal exams.

"In a context where it's difficult to feed oneself and one's family, special exams are preferable. Except that the Ministry of Transport suspended them over a year ago," he says.

As far as the bike registration document is concerned, the union points out that several motorcycle importers operate illegally and are unable to issue a certificate of conformity "which is one of the key documents required for registration," the union wrote in a document published last October 11. 

Finally, the trade unionists sent a letter to the Minat requesting the postponement of the crackdown. According to Hilaire Nzouakeu, without government support, it is almost impossible to get all those documents within the deadline. So far, Minister Paul Atanga Nji is yet to respond. 

Michel Ange Nga