Bill Governing the Railway Sector in Cameroon
Channel: Mainsah Gilbert
Date: 01/07/2023

Report on Bill Governing the Railway Sector in Cameroon presented on behalf of the Committee on Production and Trade by Senator KOBENGE SEKEDI BOMEH

The Railway Sector is still governed by Law No. 74/10 of 16 July 1974 relating to railway policing and safety, as amended and supplemented by the concession agreement signed in 1999 between the State of Cameroon and CAMRAIL. Besides this legal framework which has become ill-suited, the sector has for many years now witnessed several failings or shortcomings, notably: (i) continuous degradation of infrastructure; (ii) drastic drop in the number of passengers from 1.4 million in 2010 to 600 000 in 2021; (iii) decrease in volume of goods transported, estimated at 1.6 million in 2021, as against 1.9 million in 2010; (iv) closure of the MBANGA-KUMBA and NGOUMOU-MBALMAYO lines; (v) investment deficit and deteriorated service quality; and (vi) weak State control and sanction instruments in the sector which is losing its competitiveness daily.

 It is noteworthy that since 1974, Cameroon’s railway network has maintained its initial length of 1 270 kilometers, 270km of which are now degraded or out of use. Furthermore, no additional line has been built since then.

 To adequately address these shortcomings, and reflect the recommendations of the audit conducted following the Eseka railway accident, the bill ushers in a sector modernization drive by reconfiguring the institutional landscape, redifining the role of each player and establishing a control, regulatory and sanctions system.

 In this light, the State maintains its exclusive prerogative of formulating the rail policy and developing railway transport.

 Additionally, the institutional framework adopted proposes the setting up of a rail assets management company responsible for managing the assets and rights allocated by the State to the rail activity. The assets management company shall thus be responsible for infrastructure and regulating access to the railway sector by operators. It shall be holder of an exclusive concession granted by the State for the management of the national railway network.

 Lastly, the draft instrument tabled provides for a railway regulatory and safety authority whose role shall be to control the implementation of regulations, monitor public and private players and settle disputes at the pre-litigation phase.

 Taking into consideration the requirements of decentralization, regional and local authorities will play an active role through the creation of urban rail transport networks, in accordance with the rules applicable to local public services.

 Overall, the proposed model is based on a system of clearly assigned roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder as follows: the State formulates the sector policy; the assets management company builds and manages infrastructure on behalf of the State; network operators are responsible for railway activities according to legal regimes comprising, as the case may be, concession, licensing or authorization. The liberalization of passenger and goods transport thus features among the major innovations of this bill.

 To ensure compliance with standards and prevent any abuses, the law provides for suppression mechanisms, including notably administrative and criminal sanctions on railway sector operators and staff.

 Adopting this bill comprising 167 sections will provide the sector with a legal springboard for its modernization, as well as address the shortcomings and failings that remain an obstacle to the sector’s competitiveness.