(Business in Cameroon) – Douala, Cameroon’s economic capital, is looking for local contractors to manage part of its public parking system. This move, announced in a call for applications by Mayor Roger Mbassa Ndine on July 18, 2024, aims to delegate the management of non-reserved parking areas through affermage contracts. These contracts allow a contractor to manage a public service in exchange for a fee paid by users. The contractor, or “fermier,” also pays a fee to the municipality to help offset its investment costs.
The affermage contracts focus on the administrative management of parking areas. However, fiscal management remains under the municipal receiver’s control. “The contractor will act as a fiscal intermediary, responsible for identifying parking areas, assisting the city in their development, identifying users, and serving municipal revenue notices,” explained Guillaume Ekoume Moukete, Director of Legal Affairs and Litigation at the Douala Urban Community (CUD).
According to the call for applications, the contracts will last for three years, with an option for renewal. The services are divided into five lots, each corresponding to one of Douala’s five administrative districts. The CUD will oversee and monitor the contractor’s performance. Qualified companies or groups can bid for multiple lots, with proposals due at the city hall by August 20, 2024.
Moukete highlighted that this initiative aims to reduce urban disorder and, more importantly, to “optimize tax revenues in a major city where the municipal revenue department has fewer than five dedicated collection agents.” As per local tax laws, the city has set parking fees at 100 FCFA per hour and 500 FCFA for a full day. While the exact parking occupancy fees were not disclosed, they contributed to an estimated tax revenue of CFA51.19 billion in 2023, accounting for 86% of the CUD’s current budget of CFA59.5 billion.
