Contending Contraband Goods: Importance of Stronger Synergy

The problem of contraband goods has been a perennial issue confronting many economies in the world. All countries in the world are fighting against it given the devastating consequences on the economy. The phenomenon is not only detrimental to the local economy as it deprives the State from important customs and tax revenue but also poses a health threat to the population.  Cameroon is said to be losing a significant amount every year due to contraband goods and counterfeit products. According to the Cameroon Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Mines, the loss is estimated to the tune of FCFA 255 billion annually. 
Contraband goods common in Cameroon includes smuggled hydrocarbons (fuel), cement, whiskeys and cigarettes, pharmaceutical products, cosmetics and beauty products, beer and beverages, among others.  The proliferation of these contraband goods is strangling local enterprises causing enormous losses to the economy. In 2017 for instance, the Cameroon Employers Association (today GECAM) estimated that local enterprises lost around FCFA 150 billion due to contraband and counterfeit products. 
With such nefarious effects on the economy, local industry and job creation, different stakeholders have waged a ruthless and incessant fight against contraband goods. Just like the famous writer Chinua Achebe in his book “Things Fall Apart” puts it “When birds learn to fly without perching, hunters learn to shot without missing,” the customs administration which is fronting the fight against contraband within its ambit role of protecting and surveillance of the national economy space, has learnt to shot without missing. The Cameroon Customs department has constantly been in the field to fight against the cankerworm. The recent seizure of some pharmaceutical and petroleum products in Ngoundere in Adamawa Region and Toubouro in the North Region attest to the determination to combat the phenomenon. During the raid, some 198,800 tablets and 120,000 capsules were confiscated and some 2000 litres of illicit fuel were seized. This is not an isolated seizure as customs officers have recorded great results in countering contraband goods across the country of late. The many seizures of such illicit goods is a clear demonstration that the phenomenon is on high magnitude especially with pharmaceutical and petroleum products which are said to be in high demand.
However, despite the merciless fight against contraband, the phenomenon is persistent and remains a headache to the customs administration and other stakeholders. This, pundits and even customs officials attribute to the lucrative nature in the illicit trade as well as the porosity of Cameroon’s land and maritime borders. The pharmaceutical and petroleum products recently seized in the northern part of the country are said to originate from the neighbouring Nigeria. Cameroon shares extensive land and maritime border with Nigeria measuring over 2000km long. The porous nature of the land and maritime borders paves the way for the entry of contraband goods into the country through informal routes. 
The tricky nature of the phenomenon and the extensive borders as well as the magnitude of the damages caused on the local economy warrants a concerted and a multi-sectorial approach in the fight against the phenomenon. It therefore goes without saying that there is the need to synergise actions for the fight to be effective. So far, the successes record...