Joe Dinga Pefok (Uncle Joe)
PM DION NGUTE Would Certainly NOT Have Convened The January 29, 2026 Inter-Ministerial Meeting, And Reject PAD’s Controversial Decision To Terminate The Contract Gov’t Signed With SGS , If, He And Others, Had Confirmation That President BIYA Gave His Accord, That Transatlantic D, Though Little Known, Should Replace SGS Scanning Cameroun At The Douala Port.
Following the crisis that sparked off at the Douala Port over the controversial decision by the Douala Port Authority commonly known by French acronym, PAD, to illegally replace SGS Scanning Cameroun SA with little known Transatlantic D, in container inspection (scanning) operation at the Douala Port, the Prime Minister, Chief Dr Joseph Dion Ngute, convened an inter-ministerial meeting on the crisis in Yaounde on January 29, 2026.
The meeting was attended by Ngalle Bibehe Jean Ernest Massena, the head of the Technical Ministry of PAD, which is the Ministry of Transport. Worth noting that Minister Ngalle Biibehe was being despise by the General Manager of PAD, Cyrus Ngo’o, in the affair, since he had the ‘all powerful’ Minister of State, Secretary General at the Presidency, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh , with the power of ‘High Instructions”, behind him. Meanwhile, the Minister of Finance, Louis Paul Motaze, who has been leading the fight against the mafia, was one of the key figures at theinter –ministerial meeting.
Also in attendance was the Minister of Communication who doubles as Government Spokesperson, Rene Emmanuel Sadi. Worthy of note that Rene Sadi who in 2015 was designated the Board Chair of SGS Scanning Cameroun SA by President Biya, was also at the January 29 inter- ministerial meeting in his capacity as the Board Chair of the company. A delegation from the management of the Douala Port Authority, led by its General Manager, Cyrus Ngo’o, was as well in attendance. So was a delegation from the management of SGS Scanning Cameroun, led by the company’s General Manager, Patricia Nzondjou,
Transport Minister Speaks At The End of Inter-Ministerial Meeting
Unlike the January 22 meeting at the Presidency where no communiqué was issued or declaration made at the end, the Minister of Transport, Ngalle Bibehe Jean Ernest Massena, made a declaration to the media at the end of the meeting. The Transport Minister who started by thanking the Prime Minister and Head of Government for the initiative to organize the meeting, explained that the Prime Minister’s initiative followed what he termed a misunderstanding at the Douala Port, that sparked antagonism or several problems at the Port in the last few weeks.
“The problem is born from a contract that was signed in 2015 by the Government of the Republic represented by the Minister of Finance (then Alamine Ouamane Mey), and SGS. The convention had a duration of 10 years, which was supposed to take effect, and end 10 years later. But in the convention that was signed, it was stated that the effective beginning of the contract would be when the fourth container scanner is installed. The fourth container scanner having been installed in 2022, it was from 2022 thus that the 10 year duration of the contract started to be counted. So the Government signed a 10 year contract with SGS in 2015 which took effect in its application in 2022, and thus will end in 2032”, the Minister explained.
The Transport Minister pointed out that the contract which the Government signed with SGS was unfortunately terminated by PAD, illegally. “The Prime Minister stated at the meeting that the contract having been signed by Government, it is not the place of PAD to annul it. If the contract has to be annulled, it has to be done by the Government that signed it. PAD has no competence to do that”, Minister Ngalle Bibehe further explained.
Correspondence Addressed To PAD and SGS
Meanwhile on January 30, 2026, the Secretary General at the Prime Minister’s Office, Fouda Seraphin Magloire, addressed a correspondence to the General Manager of PAD, and another one to the General Manager of SGS Scanning Cameroun SA, to officially remind them of the ‘High Directives” of the Prime Minister, following the inter-ministerial meeting that held the day before (January 29).
To the General Manager of PAD, the Secretary General at the Prime Minister’s Office wrote that: “Je l’honneur de vous repercuter les hautes directives du Premier Ministre, vous demandant de bien vouloir prendres toutes les dispositions necessaires en vue de la reprise, par le Societe SGS Scanning Cameroun SA, des activites d’inspection pas scanner sur la platform purtuaire, des le Vendredi 30 Janvier, 2026”. The Secretary Genera l in this excerpt told the General Manager of PAD that the ‘High Directives’ of the Prime Minister demanded that he should take all necessary dispositions, in view of the resumption by the company, SGS Scanning Cameroon SA , in the operation of inspection by scanning at the port’s platform, from Friday, January 30, 2026.
In the correspondence that the Secretary General at the Prime Minister’s Office addressed to the General Manager of SGS Scanning Cameroun SA, he reminded her of the high directive of the Prime Minister, which was that the General Manager of SGS Cameroun should approach the General Manager of PAD, in view of the company’s effective resumption of merchandise inspection by scanning at the Douala Port, in line with the contract that links the company to the Government.
GM Of PAD Instead Attempts To Discuss A New Contract With SGS
Meanwhile, the General Manager of PAD, Cyrus Ngo’o , did not take the immediately take the necessary dispositions to ensure that SGS resumed operations at the Douala Port on Friday, January 30, 2025, or even on Monday February 2. Rather, in a correspondence dated February 2, 2026, addressed to the General Manager of SGS Cameroun SA, the General Manager of PAD invited her to a meeting at the PAD headquarters on Wednesday, January 4, 2026, to discuss practical modalities for the resumption of the company’s activities, precisely merchandise scanning, at the Douala Port.
But the problem came with the details of the agenda of the meeting, which the General Manager of PAD highlighted in four points, in his correspondence. The first item on the agenda that he wanted discussed, was: “Modalities d’octroi a la Societe de Surveillance (SGS), de l’autorisation d’excerces au Port de Douala – Bonaberi, conformement a l’article 12 du decret no. 2019 / 034 of 24 January 2019 portant reorganization du Port Authonome de Douala “. The item 1 on the agenda of the meeting is approximately translated as: “Modalities granting SGS authorization to exercise (its activities) at the Douala – Bonaberi Port in conformity to Article 12 of Decree No. 2019 / 034 of 24 January , 2019, on the reorganization of the Douala Port Authority”.
Controversial Issues
A number of controversial issues came up in this item 1 on the agenda of the meeting that the General Manager of PAD scheduled. Talking about modalities to grant authorization to SGS to exercise its activities at the Douala Port, in conformity with the Presidential Decree of January 24, 2019 on the reorganization of PAD, clearly meant that the General Manager of PAD wanted a discussion with SGS for a new contract. Here the General Manager was insisting on the position of his Camp in the crisis, that the 10 year contract that Government signed with SGS on March 2, 2015, ended in March 2025, and that it was now the right of PAD to discuss a contract with an operator, in line with the 2019 Presidential Decree which gave PAD the right to negotiate and sign concessions with partners or operators in the port. The General Manager of PAD, Cyrus Ngo’o, had been insisting that the 2019 Presidential Decree gave him the competence to negotiate a new contract or sign the concession with Transatlantic D.
This meant that the inter – ministerial meeting which held in Yaounde on January 29, 2026, at which the Prime Minister stressed the fact that the contract which the Government signed with SGS will instead end in 2032, did not change the controversial position of the General Manager of PAD and his Camp. This was definitely because they were bent on maintaining their Transatlantic D at the Douala Port.
This could be seen in another controversial issue, which the General Manager of PAD raised in his February 2 correspondence or invitation to the General Manager of SGS Scanning Cameroun SA. He said they would also discuss the hypothesis of a collaboration between SGS Scanning Cameroun and Transatlantic D at the Douala Port, whereas in the 2015 contract that Government signed with SGS, it was clearly stated that no other operator will enter the container inspection by scanning sector at the port, during the duration of the contract.
GM of SGS Cameroun Rejects The Agenda Of The Meeting
Meanwhile, in reaction to the correspondence or invitation of the General Manager of PAD, the General Manager of SGS Cameroun, Patricia Nzondjou, in a correspondence addressed to the General of PAD, minced no words in stating the company’s rejection of the agenda of the meeting that the PAD Boss scheduled for February 4, 2026. “Nous souhaitons respecteusement porter a votre attention que le hautess directives de Monsieur le Premier Ministre, Chef du Gouvenement, en date du 29 Janvier 2026, relative a la pursuite des operations de scanning pas SGS, telle que reprises dans la courier no. B70/d-27/SG/Pm du 30 Janvier 2026 de Monsieur le Ministre Secretaire General des services du Premier Ministre , prevoyaient une recontre exclusivement consacre e aux modalites de reprise effective de operations de scanning pas SGS des le 30 Janvier 2026”, the General Manager of SGS Scanning Cameroun stated.
This excerpt is approximately translated as: “We respectfully wish to remind you that the high directives of the Prime Minister and Head of Government, on 29 January 2026, related to the continuation of scanning by SGS, and which was précised upon in mail no. B70 /d-27/SG/PM of 30 January 2026 by the Minister, Secretary General at the Prime Minister’s Office, meant a meeting exclusively dedicated to modalities for SGS to effectively resume scanning operation on 30 January 2026”. The General Manager of SGS here reminded the General Manager of PAD that the directives which the Prime Minister gave at the Inter –ministerial meeting on January 29, 2026, to which they both had the privilege to attend, and which the Secretary General at the Prime Minister ‘s Office re-emphasized upon in his January 30 mail, was that the meeting between PAD and SGS should exclusively focus on modalities for SGS to effectively resume scanning operations at the Douala, and not on other things as the PAD Boss presented in the agenda of the meeting he scheduled on February 4. The General Manager of SGS Cameroun said to stay in conformity with the Law, PAD could discuss those other issues with the Cameroon Government with which SGS signed a contract, and not with SGS.
General Managers Of PAD And SGS Scanning Cameroun, Meets, But – – –
Meanwhile, the General Manager of PAD, Cyrus Ngo’o, after receiving the correspondence or reaction of General Manager of SGS Cameroun, again invited her to the meeting he scheduled on that February 4, with the assurance that the agenda would be limited to the January 29 directives of the Prime Minister. The two parties met on that January 4, but no communiqué was issued or a declaration made art he end of the meeting. However it was gathered from sources at PAD that hosted the meeting, that the meeting instead ended on a note that there would be more meetings by designated representatives of PAD and SGS.
Stalemate And Tension Continues At The Douala Port
But no meeting has been held again by the Douala Port Authority and SGS Scanning Cameroun SA. The fact of the matter is that the Cyrus Ngoh / Ngoh Ngoh Camp, is bent on maintaining their Transatlantic D, which is the sole operator at the Kribi Port, at the Douala Port as well. Having seen that their initial plan to replace SGS Scanning Cameroun with Transatlantic D at the Douala Port looks impossible to realize, they now want a compromise situation, by which SGS Scanning Cameroun, and Transatlantic D, will both operate in the container inspection (scanning) sector at the Douala Port.
But SGS Cameroun has been insisting on the application or respect of the terms of the contract that the mother company, SGS, signed with the Cameroon Government in 2015, which is that t SGS has to be the lone operator in the domain of container inspection (scanning) operation at the Douala Port, until the end of the contract.
