Protecting Road Network: Control Efforts Intensify

T he government of Ca­ meroon has intensi­ fied its efforts to en­ hance road load control and protect transport infrastructure within major corridors. This was the major preoccupation of the Intermi­ nisterial Committee for Moni­ toring and Weighing Opera­ tions (CISOP) that held its or­ dinary and extraordinary ses­ sions on Friday, September 25, in Yaounde. Opening the meeting, the Minister of Public Works, Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi, stressed the need for stricter law enforcement that is vital to preventing ve­ hicle overload and road de­ gradation. Established by a 1998 Prime Ministerial decree, CISOP ope­ rates under the Ministry of Public Works to coordinate weighing activities across the country. Its mandate includes setting strategies, adopting technical standards, and ana­ lysing weighing statistics. The Minister reminded delegates that operations must deliver practical solutions to preserve public roads, in strict accor­ dance with Law No. 2002/004 of April 27, 2002, regarding the protection of the national road network. The evaluations that united representatives from the Mi­ nistries of Transport, Finance, Public Works and other trans­ port operators, revealed se­ veral operational challenges currently affecting weighing stations, including aging equip­ ment, payment delays, dete­ riorating access roads, and frequent complaints from transport operatives. To tackle these issues, the Ministries are advancing a dual-purpose strategy focused on preven­ tion and corrective enforce­ ment. Central to this solution is strict compliance with the statutory 50-tonne load limit for heavy trucks, alongside mandatory load-shedding ope­ rations, progressive fines for offenders, and the deployment of mobile weighing units along high-impact economic corridors like Douala-...