Cameroon: The time of shortages

After the mackerel fish, gas and water, the sugar market has disappeared. The absence of inventories and capital are needed to be singled out. The housewives are on the brink of nerves’crisis . They go around service stations, shops and usual gas depot without success. “There is no cooking gas” is heard in different places of gas distribution. The price surge is also at “the rendezvous”.

The gas cylinder of 6000 FCFA (12.7 dollars) is sold at 7000 FCFA (14.8 dollars) or more. One of the alternatives is apparently to return to the traditional wood fire, a difficult practice for the buildings’ residents. The gas is not the only shortage affecting the Cameroonians, the mackerel fish is also absent from the stalls and the markets’ freezers of Yaoundé and Douala. After nearly three weeks of disappearance, it timidly resurfaced but at exorbitant price for consumers. From 600 FCFA (1.27 dollars) per kilogram, the price reached a 1000 to 1200 FCFA (2.12 to 2.54 dollars) a kilo, depending on quality and provenance. If solutions seem to be found for the fish stock and distribution, this is not yet the case for sugar even it has made some intermittent appearances at the markets. This shortage is widespread and the price is becoming higher. It has been raised from 600 CFA (1.28 dollars) to 1000 FCFA (2.13 dollars) per kilo. In addition, the wealthiest, sometimes, buy several kilograms to stock in anticipation of possible shortages. In addition to the gas, sugar and fish shortages, the case of water has become the very rare commodity in the Cameroonian capital. In some neighborhoods, residents lived many months without the running water. They use the wells and river waters located in their vicinity, and others have to travel around neighborhoods in search of the precious liquid, and some have the privilege of spending sleepless nights in order to collect water that flows between 2 and 4 o’clock in the morning.