(Business in Cameroon) - Cameroon's Minister of Transport, Jean Ernest Ngallé Bibéhé, signed a decision last May 11 suspending the activities of transport company Touristique Express SA in the country. The one-month suspension, which may be renewed, applies nationwide and also prohibits the rental or transfer of the company's rolling stock.

This decision was taken to penalize the company following reports of “serious breaches of the road regulations in force in Cameroon". Minister Ngallé Bibéhé said one of Touristique Express SA's buses was involved in an accident on May 9 on the road between Garoua-Boulaï and Ngaoundéré. The official toll is 14 dead and many injured. Physical damage, material losses, and loss of life were also reported.

The responsibility of both the bus driver and the company has been established. In a statement issued right after the sanction was pronounced, Touristique Express SA accepted the Minister’s decision. "The general management of Touristique Express SA regrets to announce to the public, in general, and to its customers, in particular, the cessation of its transport service on its entire network, as of midnight today, following the decision (...) of the Minister of Transport dated May 11, 2023. The service will resume as soon as the suspension is lifted," said the company's general manager, Mohamadou Abdoulaye. 

This is a hard blow for the transport operator, its employees, and its customers because Touristique Express is the major mass road carrier to the three northern regions of Cameroon and the East, including a courier branch. The company has also become the leader in VIP transport between Yaoundé and Douala. In 2019, its staff consisted of more than 1120 people.