Joe Dinga Pefok (Uncle Joe)
At The Meeting Held On Jan. 29, 2026 On The Crisis At Douala Port, The Prime Minister In A Goodwill Gesture Indicated That Gov’t Would Be Open To Examine A Proposal By PAD, For Its Partner To Takeover Scanning Of The Category Of Goods Not Included In The Contract With SGS. But The GM On Feb. 16 Authorized Transatlantic D To Take Over That Category, Without Contacting Gov’t.
The contract which the Government of Cameroon signed with SGS On March 2, 2015, is limited to scanning merchandises that have been imported in containers , as well as those that are about to be exported in containers. But then not all imported goods or products to be exported are put in containers. For example, many second – hand vehicles, often stuffed with goods, are not imported in containers. Thus there is a category of merchandises that passes through the Douala Port, either as import or export, that are not inspected by SGS Scanning Cameroun SA, because they are outside the domain or sector covered by the contract which the company signed with Government in 2015. This category of cargoes that arrive the Douala Port, have continued to be inspected directly by the Customs.
GM Of PAD’s Press Release Of Dec. 26, 2025
It would be recalled that in the Press Release No. 0583 / 253 / DG / PAD of 26 December, 2025, in which the General Manager of PAD, Cyrus Ngo’o, made the controversial announcement that as from January 1, 2026, “non –intrusive cargo inspection (scanning)operations at the Port of Douala – Bonaberi, will be exclusively carried out by Transatlantic D. SA, under concession granted by Douala Port Authority”, he also said that scanning operations by Transatlantic will eventually be extended to the goods that are not in containers, that pass through the port. “Ultimately, scanning operations will extend over the entire perimeter of the concession which covers all goods passing through the port, both for import and export, and regardless of the packaging method (100 % scanning), in line with the , general policy of the State regarding the security of borders and national territory”.
Gesture By The Government
This issue came up at the Inter– Ministerial meeting that held in Yaounde on January 29, 2026 on the crisis at the Douala Port, though the Government did not make any reference to the December 26, 2025 press release that was issued by the General Manager of PAD. In the correspondence dated January 30, 2026 which the Secretary General at the Prime Minister’s Office, Fouda Seraphin Magloire, addressed to the General Manager of PAD , on the directives the Prime Minister gave at the December 29 Inter-Ministerial meeting to the PAD Boss, hel among other things wrote that: “Le Chef du Governement vous invite a bien vouloir engager une procedure regulier, strictement conforme aux texts en vaguer, dans l’hypothese de l’attribution a un autre operateur des prestations de scanning sur le traffic non couvert par la societe, SGS Scanning Cameroun SA”.
This meant that the Prime Minister and Head of Government, invited that the General Manager of PAD, to engage a regular procedure, strictly in conformity with the texts in force, in the hypothesis of attributing to another operator in the Douala Port, the scanning of goods that are not in the category reserved for of SGS Cameroun SA, in line with the contract that the Government signed with the company. That is, merchandises or products not in containers, which pass through the Douala Port.
Minister of Transport‘s Press Briefing
It would be recalled that the Minister of Transport, Ngalle Bibehe Jean Ernest Massena, who briefed he media at the end of the Inter – ministerial meeting on the crisis at the Douala Port on January 29, 2026, said the same thing. However the Transport Minister had in addition disclosed that the Prime Minister made it clear to the General Manager of PAD, that he (GM of PAD) did not have the competence to take any decision or sign a contract or concession for another operator to do the cargo inspection (scanning) operation at the Douala Port, for the category of cargoes that SGS does not handle. Minister Ngalle said the General Manager of PAD was told at the meeting, that if the corporation was interested to have an operator take over the inspection (scanning) of the category of cargoes not being scanned by SGS, PAD has to present a proposal to Government to examine and take a decision. The minister cautioned the management of PAD against assuming that any of such proposal presented to the Government, must be validated.
Gesture By Government To Fellow Members Of The Regime
This was definitely a gesture by the Government to enable the General Manager of PAD that had already signed a concession agreement with Transatlantic D, to have something at the port for the company, even though the name of Transatlantic D was not mentioned at the meeting in this regard. There is no doubt that the Prime Minister, Chief Dr Joseph Dion Ngute, the Minister of Finance, Louis Paul Motaze, and the Minister of Transport, Ngalle Bibehe Jean Ernest Massena, that are of course members of the regime, knew what was happening.
They of course know so well how members of the regime often negatively exploit their posts or contacts, to make big money for themselves at, the detriment of the State or country. So there is no doubt that they certainly knew that the General Manager of PAD and some of the big men in the regime backing him, all have personal interests in seeing Transatlantic D take over the merchandises inspection (scanning) operation at the Douala Port, even if the State were to be sued for breach of contract by SGS, and asked to pay billions of francs.
So the Prime Minister, definitely after having concerted with the Ministers of Finance and Transport, indicated Government’s gesture to enable the General Manager of PAD and the other members of the regime, who were involved in the mafia for the little known Transatlantic D to illegally replace SGS Scanning Cameroun at the Douala Port, to at least have some scanning business at the port for their Transatlantic D.
GM Of PAD Ignores The Gov’t And Authorizes Transatlantic To Start Operation
Meanwhile, after the Inter-Ministerial Meeting on the crisis at the Douala Port, the General Manager of the Douala Port Authority, Cyrus Ngo’o, , did not respect the Prime Minister’s directives to immediately take necessary dispositions, for SGS Scanning Cameroun to resume activities at the Douala Port. Rather, he stubbornly maintained Transatlantic D to operate in the place of SGS. Also, the General Manager or management of PAD did not contact Government with a proposal for Transatlantic D to take over the inspection operation, of merchandises outside the category being handled by SGS at the Douala Port.
Last week, the instruction by the Minister of Finance that the Customs Service at the Douala Port should stop all collaboration with Transatlantic D, knocked out the company from the container inspection (scanning) operation , where the General Manager of PAD had illegally pushed out SGS Cameroun SA, for the company to take over.
Then in a correspondence (No. 000128 – 26 DG PAD), addressed to the General Manager of Transatlantic D on Monday, February 16, the General Manager of the Douala Port Authority, Cyrus Ngo’o, authorized the company to take over the inspection by scanning operation, of the category of goods at the Douala Port, that are outside the category handled by SGS. He cited for example vehicles. He said even empty containers that that are imported will have to be scanned by Transatlantic D, and of course the importer will have to pay the scanning fee.
The Beginning Of Another Conflict?
The Government has not yet reacted to this latest development, and it is not certain how the Government will react. But observers are questioning why the General Manager of PAD, Cyrus Ngo’o, will want to start another conflict again with the Government, more so after he just suffered a crushing defeat in the conflict over the inspection or scanning of merchandises in containers at the Douala Port, that has returned to SGS.
After the inter – ministerial meeting on the crisis at the Douala Pot, the General Manager of PAD, Cyrus Ngo’o, stubbornly refused to implement the directives of the Prime Minister, and instead mounted a resistance. Last week, he was floored. But he seemed to have leant no lesson, as he went ahead on February 16 to authorize Transatlantic D to start the inspection by scanning of the other category of merchandises not being handled by SGS Scanning Cameroun. Here again, the General Manager of PAD refused to respect what he was told by the Prime Minister or Government on this issue, at the January 29, 2026 meeting.
Transatlantic D Cannot Operate In That Sector, Without Collaboration Of Customs
Yet for Transatlantic D to be able to effectively operate in this new sector, the management of PAD needs the Government to validate the project. For one thing, the Customs Service at the Douala Port last week disconnected all digital links with Transatlantic D, following the instruction of the Minister of the Finance, or better still, the instruction of Government, to stop all collaboration with the company. Transatlantic D cannot still succeed to make any headway in the scanning of this category of goods that SGS does not handle, without the collaboration of the Customs Service at the Port. The Customs Service is supposed to be the main user or main destination of the result of each scanning.
The management of the Douala Port Authority does not have any competence to give instruction to the Customs to resume collaboration with Transatlantic D at the Douala Port. Only the Minister of Finance, or the Government, can give instruction to the Customs Service at the Douala Port, to re-establish collaboration with Transatlantic D. And let’s not forget, that the inspection of this category of merchandises like second –hand vehicles often stocked with goods, is so far being handled directly by the Customs. If an operator takes over that inspection by scanning of that sector, it means putting the Customs completely out of the inspection of merchandises at the Douala Port. That for obvious reason is certainly not good news to Customs Officers at the Douala Port.
