The people of Bamenda are facing a severe fuel shortage that has disrupted transportation, increased the cost of living, and forced many motorists to buy petrol from roadside vendors at prices as high as CFA 1,500 per litre.
For several days, long queues have been observed at filling stations across the city, with many stations running dry or receiving limited supplies that are quickly exhausted. As a result, drivers, commercial motorbike riders and transport operators have increasingly turned to the black market to keep their vehicles on the road.
The shortage has pushed prices well above the official pump price, with fuel being sold by informal vendors for between CFA 1,000 and CFA 1,500 per litre depending on availability and location. In some neighbourhoods, motorists spend hours moving from one filling station to another in search of fuel before resorting to roadside sellers.
The crisis is already having a direct impact on transportation within the city. Commercial taxi drivers and motorbike operators say they have been forced to increase fares to offset the higher cost of fuel, placing additional pressure on commuters and businesses that depend on daily transport services.
Many persons also fear that if the situation persists, prices of food and other basic commodities could rise as transport costs increase across supply chains.
Although authorities have not yet officially explained the cause of the shortage in Bamenda, fuel supply disruptions in Cameroon are often linked to delays in distribution, transportation challenges, or supply chain bottlenecks affecting petroleum marketers and filling stations. Cameroon operates a regulated fuel pricing system through the country's petroleum stabilisation mechanism.
The shortage comes at a difficult time for the people of the North West Region, where businesses and households are already grappling with rising living costs and economic uncertainty caused by the Anglophone crisis.
Transport operators are among the hardest hit. Many taxi drivers say their daily earnings have dropped sharply because they spend valuable working hours searching for fuel instead of serving customers. Commercial motorbike riders, who provide much of the city's transport network, face similar difficulties.
Speaking to The Observer, Ambe, a taxi driver, has called on the government and petroleum distribution companies to urgently restore supplies and prevent further speculation by black-market vendors.
Energy experts warn that prolonged shortages can encourage illegal fuel trading and hoarding, making it more difficult for official distribution channels to stabilise the market. Authorities have previously carried out operations against illegal petroleum trading and fuel fraud in several parts of the country.
As of Wednesday, the situation remained tense, with many filling stations still without fuel and motorists hoping for fresh deliveries to ease the pressure on consumers and businesses alike.
For thousands of residents in Bamenda, the immediate concern is simple: finding fuel at an affordable price and keeping the city moving until normal supplies resume.
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