information from within government circles has revealed that some presidents of transporters’ syndicates are putting pressure on the Yaounde authorities to give them a 500MFCFA bribe or they will cause members to embark on a nationwide strike.

A senior government official who took part in all the negotiations with the transporters hinted The Guardian Post on condition of anonymity yesterday: “Can you believe that presidents of transporters’ syndicates are asking government to bribe them with FCFA500M or else they will call for a nationwide strike?”

When asked what government was doing to meet the bribe-demand from the transporters, our informant said, “So you think government has 500MFCFA lying idle somewhere and yet is increasing fuel prices? You must be kidding Mr. Journalist…” He however confessed that all government has been able to do is accepting the demand by transporters to increase transport fares and reduce the amounts paid for some transport documents.

Contacted to comment on the allegation, made by the senior government official, one of the syndicates’ presidents, Samen Patrick of the Taxi Drivers’ Union qualified it as untrue and asked , “Who gave you that information?” He was however quick to say that “ I know the ministers themselves are the ones spreading that information…”.

He however disclosed that the only money he is aware government gave out was the 30.000FCFA each that was shared out to transporters who travelled from Douala. Queried on whether government on the other hand had tried to bribe them to call off the planned nationwide strike, Samen retorted, “Can these ministers give a franc to anybody?”

It should be noted that the Yaounde authorities had in a spirited effort to avoid a repeat of the 2008 deadly riots that swept across the country, dispatched seven government ministers to beg transporters to call off a nationwide strike that would have been staged two weeks ago.

The first of such meetings took place at the ministry of transport with the ministers of transport, labour and social security, commerce, the delegate general for national security, the secretary of state in-charge of the security and a representative of the minister of finance in attendance.

Apparently, gathering from the disagreement that characterised meeting and without wanting to leave anything to chance, President Biya, The Guardian Post , instructed the minister of labour and social security, Gregoire Owona, to hold another crisis meeting with some twenty representatives of transporters’ syndicates to look into the whole problem.

It was during that meeting between the minister of labour and social security and some twenty transporters’ syndicates that both parties reached an agreement to call off the planned nationwide strike.

Labour and social security minister, we learnt, were more than submissive at the meeting but pleaded with the transporters, virtually on bended knees to call off today’s announced industrial action. He took the commitment on behalf of the Yaounde authorities to examine the concerns that were raised by transporters as a result of government’s decision to increase the prices of petroleum products.

Announcing the decision to call off strike action, the national president of Taxi Transporters’ Syndicate, Patrice Samen warned that they were giving government only a month to address their grievances or should be ready to face the music. He said, ‘‘If after one month, government fails to address our grievances, we would mobilise over two hundred syndicates to join us in a nationwide strike’’.

While the minister of labour and social security was instructed to sweet-talk transporters to call off the strike, that of commerce, Mbarga Atangana Luc Magloire was dispatched to Douala, same day to plead with economic operators not to increase the prices of basic commodities.

"Government has taken necessary measures to ensure that the increase in fuel prices does not affect the prices of goods and foodstuffs," he told businessmen in three different markets he visited.

Another government official who was dispatched to calm rising tempers was the minister of public works, Patrice Amba Salla who struggled to convince public opinion in media outings that the money which government would have used to subsidize fuel would now be directed to carrying out several public projects in the country.