Litre of petrol rises from 1,000 to 1,300 CFA francs in Béloko and Cantonnier
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Radio Ndeke Luka
Illustrative image · Andy Coffie · Pexels · Licence PexelsThe price of a litre of petrol rose from 1,000 to 1,300 CFA francs in Béloko and Cantonnier, in Nana-Mambéré, where the shortage is spreading and slowing transport. Resellers attribute the rise to the scarcity of the product in Garoua-Boulaï, Cameroon, the main supply source for this border area, according to the local motorbike-taxi union.
The price of a litre of petrol has risen from 1,000 to 1,300 CFA francs in Béloko and Cantonnier, two localities in the Nana-Mambéré prefecture in western Central African Republic, Radio Ndeke Luka reports. These towns, until now spared by the fuel shortage, have for several days been hit by a rise that is disrupting public transport and slowing economic activity.
Neither locality has a petrol station: users buy their fuel from roadside sellers. These resellers justify the increase by the one charged in Garoua-Boulaï, the neighbouring Cameroonian town that supplies the area. "It's our Cameroonian brothers who raised the price of fuel over there. And so we too are obliged to raise it," explained Vicke Melchisédech, a fuel seller in Cantonnier. In Garoua-Boulaï, a litre is sold at 874 CFA francs, but the product has also become scarce there.
Motorbike taxis are the first to be affected. Francis Sanda, president of the Béloko-Cantonnier motorbike-taxi union, reports that children had to buy fuel at 1,300 CFA francs in the neighbourhoods over the past two days. Pauline Yassanga, a resident of Béloko, has seen the price of her return trip to Cantonnier double, from 1,000 to 2,000 CFA francs. Foodstuffs and basic necessities are also rising in price.
