Douala port merchandise scanning saga: New twist as PM orders reinstatement of SGS.

Dion Ngute handed the instruction on Thursday, January 29, 2026, in Yaounde. This was during an Inter-Ministerial Meeting that had in attendance among others; the Minister of Transport, Jean Ernest Massena Ngalle Bibehe; the Minister of Communication, Rene Emmanuel Sadi; the Minister of Finance, Louis Paul Motaze; the Minister, Secretary General at the Prime Minister’s Office, Prof Seraphin Magloire Fouda; and the Director General, DG, of PAD, Cyrus Ngo’o.

Emerging from the meeting, the Minister of Transport told the media that the Prime Minister has instructed the respect of the contract between the State of Cameroon and SGS. 

This is contrary to a deal, which PAD signed recently with another company, TransAtlantic D. Minister Ngalle Bibehe disclosed that during the meeting, PM Dion Ngute stated that the government signed a contract with SGS that is in force till 2032.

Signed in 2015, the minister further noted that the applicability of the contract went into force in 2022. He insisted that the right to terminate such a contract rests with the government and not PAD. 

Minister Ngalle Bibehe warned that arbitrarily ejecting SGS would affect the country’s image and risk international legal action from the company.

He quipped that: “…it was a question for us to restore things. We established with the Prime Minister that the contract was signed by the government, it is not the right for another party in this case, PAD, to cancel this. The authority to cancel the contract rests with the government…The Prime Minister decided that in conformity with the law, the contract of SGS signed with the government should stay in force”.

The transport boss noted that even if there are issues to be addressed, PAD is supposed to pass through its titular technical and financial ministries for the matter to the presented to the Prime Minister for approval. 

He explained that in the case of the disputed deal with TransAtlantic D, PAD ought to follow the right path.

“The contract of SGS stays in place. That is according to the Prime Minister,” he reiterated, adding that the abusive cancellation of the contract to have consequences for the country and the CEMAC sub region. 

He noted that the decision was taken not to put instructions from the Head of State, Paul Biya in “difficulties”.

On the same matter, the Secretary General at the Prime Minister’s Office wrote to the Director General of PAD, restating the PM’s position on the matter. 

The Prof Fouda indicated that PM Dion Ngute has also asked for appropriate guidelines to be followed in attributing any aspect of scanning of merchandise at the port not covered by SGS.

Meanwhile, in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on January 29, Dion Ngute wrote that: “I have instructed the continuation of the SGS contract. The said contract having been signed with government, it does not fall to another entity to proceed with its cancellation”.

Before the PM’s intervention, the Minister of Finance, Louis Paul Motaze, had also rejected the TransAtlantic D deal, insisting on the need for PAD to stay on with SGS.

One issues, several decisions

The decision of the PM overrides that which officials at the Presidency of the Republic took during a meeting of January 22. 

Communication officers at PAD had told reporters days that the Secretary General at the Presidency, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, convened the meeting. 

They added that Jean Claude Mauger Ayem, Technical Adviser at the Presidency chaired the meeting during which TransAtlantic D was supported to replace SGS.

On January 26, a letter leaked to the public space attributed to the Chief of Special Military Staff of the President of the Republic, General Amougou Emmanuel, on the same matter.

In the letter addressed to PAD DG, the Head of State is cited as having approved the cancellation of the contract of SGS. 

The General Amougou-linked letter further asked TransAtlantic D to be allowed to handle complete scanning of merchandise at the port.

PAD officials also stated that at the end of the said meeting, Customs and the Douala-Bonaberi port authorities had been asked to respect the decision. 

Officials of PAD had said with TransAtlantic D deal now rescinded by the PM, was to ensure 100 percent scanning which tackles persistent smuggling, and counterfeiting.

It should be noted that Société Générale de Surveillance Scanning Cameroon S.A, is a subsidiary of Société Générale de Surveillance, SGS, present in over 155 countries. The company has been in existence for 145 years. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3691 of Monday February 02, 2026