Tax payment: Nationwide internet interruption forces gov’t to extend deadlines.

In the note, the minister indicated that the new deadline for the payment of taxes is Friday March 22,

According to Minister Motaze, following the damage of submarine cables as announced recently by the Association of Mobile Operators in Cameroon, services have been interrupted.

The minister insisted that, the move aims to relieve taxpayers of the pressure they have been facing from business owners following the internet disruptions. He said the incident has prevented most tax payers from accessing tax platforms online.

Worthy to recall is the fact that, the connectivity crisis is not unique to Cameroon. Other African countries that are facing similar challenges are; Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, and Ghana.

The disruption, according to economic operators, has slowed down transactions, resulting in significant losses. 

A business operator in Yaounde, Charles Tiku, said he has not been able to work with “my partners in distant areas through the internet. It is rather unfortunate and we hope measures are taken quickly so things could get back to normal”.

Indeed, since the morning of March 14, 2024, internet has been down across the territory and beyond due to undersea cable cuts. 

The Association of Mobile Operators in Cameroon explained that the cables affected include the WACS and SAT3 to which Cameroon is connected.

However, in an outing on Monday March 18, the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Minette Libom Li Likeng, held a meeting with operators. 

At the end of the conclave in Yaounde, she said Cameroon’s network is being diverted from the three cables affected to the, South Atlantic Interlink, SAIL, which links the country to Brazil in South America. 

She also asked stakeholders to save a good quantity of information to minimise the effects of the disruption.