GOVERNMENT LIBERALIZES PETROL SECTOR

The government of Cameroon has broken the monopoly that used to take hostage the fuel sales industry in Cameroon. Previously, fuel (petrol and kerosene) were retailed by a handful of foreign oil companies. That monopoly had a number of inconveniences such as the fact that when there was a shortage, it would be general and paralyzing. This was one of the factors of the commodity riots that broke out in the country in 2008.

That has changed because government has opened up and broken up the market. Smallholders can now bid and take a section of it and run it in their own way. This has led to a considerable number of Cameroonian nationals entering the sector and running fuel distribution companies alongside foreign entrepreneurs either individually or collectively. One of the immediate fallouts is that the number of petrol stations in the country has grown by leaps and bounds and is still growing. The number of them in towns and between towns has increased greatly. Needless to say, supply has been steady. After all, the situation now is one in which each supplier wants to outmaneuver the others, stay at the top and satisfy his or her customers. In addition to supplying petrol and kerosene and the other vehicle lubricants, they run smart-looking supermarkets that even sell light refreshments and drinks for the weary traveler. Often when you park your car, they wash and dry the windscreen free of charge. Many of them provide modern toilets for the public.

Distributors currently operating in Cameroon now include Tradex, Petrolex, Blessing, MRS, Bocom, Total, Oil Libya, Confex CH, Green Oil, Neptune Oil, Emi Oil and Camoco Oil, Algo, Socamit, Delta, Stradhy, CMI, Barilex and Socaepe.