The event was to be held at the esplanade of the Regional Delegation for the Littoral of the Ministry of Commerce in Akwa-Douala.
Consumers will continue to suffer from the dictatorship of prices imposed on them by operators in the building materials sector, and they are prohibited from complaining. At least this is what transpires from the prefectural decision taken by the Sub-Divisional Officer of Douala 1st, Christophe Fofie Mbouedia, who has just banned a sit-in that the Cameroonian Foundation for Consumers (FOCACO) had scheduled this Thursday 21 October 2021 in its jurisdiction.
“Is and remains strictly prohibited from the date of signature of this decision, the holding of a public event (sit-in) planned for Thursday, October 21, 2021 from 9 am to 12 noon, at the esplanade of the Delegation of the Ministry of Commerce for the Littoral in Akwa, Sub Division of Douala 1st, by Mr. Ayissi Abena Alphonse, President of the Cameroonian Consumers Foundation (FOCACO), for serious risks of disturbing public order ”, we read in this decision dated Monday, October 18, 2021.
This civil society organization thus sees its action halted even though it intended to express the feelings of consumers following the inflation observed in the construction materials market for some time.
Since the beginning of this year 2021, “the prices of construction materials (cement, metal sheets and rebar), however subject to a prior approval procedure by the public authorities before any modification, have experienced an exponential increase to the dismay of the public consumers ”, we can read in the declaration of event filed with the Sub-Divisional Officer of Douala 1st signed on October 15, 2021.
In fact, cement, rebar, points, sheet metal, etc., are experiencing higher costs on the market. Until a few days ago, it was the reinforcing bar that confirmed this inflation. Look, the 6 iron which cost another 1600 last September now costs 1800F, the 3200F iron sells for 3500F, while the 10 iron costs 5000F per bar.
