(Business in Cameroon) - In the structure of oil product prices published in the Fuel Price Stabilisation Fund (CSPH), after the readjustment of fuel prices at the pump which came into effect on July 1, 2014, the charge devoted to “fighting fraud” was terminated due to “pressure from transporter unions,” according to an authorised source.
Yet, this fee which involved a .26 FCFA charge per litre sold, helped with oil product marking fees (3 billion FCFA), which was a sizable weapon in the fight against adulteration, a phenomenon which, according to the Energy and Water Minister, still causes annual losses estimated at 32 billion FCFA.
To combat oil product adulteration, Cameroon first undertook the dying lamp oil green to avoid having this product mixed with premium (to increase quantity) by unscrupulous operators eager to make a considerable, easy profit. “But these fraudulent persons were able to find a way to undo the dye in order to continue their dirty deeds,” explains the source.
It is in light of this that, starting in 2012, the Cameroonian authorities adopted fuel marking which involved the adding a specific amount of a detectable chemical during screenings. “With this technique, we know exactly how much of this chemical should be in a fuel sample taken at a service station. When we find that the amount is lower, we can conclude that the fuel sample tested has been mixed and this means fraud has been detected,” explained our source.
In 2012, this technique helped to reduce fraud, resulting in 25 billion FCFA in savings from the usual losses experienced. These gains amounted to 58 billion FCFA in 2013, stated an internal source at the CSPH. The same source goes on to say that, “coupled with the recent price increase at the pump, the removal of the charge that helped to finance fuel marking is akin to giving fraudsters a wage increase, which will certainly increase their activity, to the detriment of the quality of fuel products which could deteriorate significantly in the coming days.”
BRM