To clean up industrial sector: Gov’t seals nonconforming, illegal companies in Douala.

The companies, including those in whisky production, plastic recycling, soap production, palm oil refinery and a host of other domains, were sealed on Thursday, June 25. 

The offensive action was launched as part of broader policy to clean up, reorganise and restructure the country's industrial sector. This was during a three-day working visit which the Minister of Mines, Industry and Technological Development, Prof Fuh Calistus Gentry, undertook in Douala. 

The minister’s delegation included the Inspector General, Directors of Mines and Industry, and other senior officials of the ministry. They were accompanied on the field by the administrative and security officials led by the Governor of the Littoral Region. 

The mission focused on ensuring compliance with industrial regulations, reinforcing product quality standards, enhancing industrial safety, and combating illegal manufacturing activities.

Of the nearly 10 companies that the field inspections descended to, some seven facilities were effectively sealed following comprehensive assessments. 

Officials of the ministry said the companies are operating illegally and do not comply with the legal and regulatory requirements governing industrial activities and product quality in Cameroon.

Many of the companies visited and shutdown in the Dibamba and Bonaberi area were owned or operated by foreign nationals. 

Minister Fuh Calistus explained that the operation is intended to sanitise the national industrial landscape, safeguard consumer interests, promote fair competition, strengthen industrial safety, and improve Cameroon’s industrial competitiveness by ensuring that all operators comply with national laws and internationally accepted standards.

Public urged against consumption of counterfeit alcoholic drinks

During the field inspection visit to one of the sites, it was discovered that a residential home had been transformed into facility for the production of a range of counterfeit alcoholic drinks. 

It was revealed that the entities behind the production had not received the necessary authorisation to operate. The activity, the minister warned, had potential risks to public health. Minister Fuh Calistus urged the public to exercise caution and avoid purchasing or consuming the products. 

Among the counterfeit brands identified during the visit are Tata Pineapple Vodka, Pastis Gordon's Blend, Vodka Gordon's Blend, Dragon Vodka, Gordon Scotch, Kasanis Whisky, Gujuro Gin, Coco Peanut Vodka, Yobo, American Red, American Blue, Black Nobel, and Tombo.

The minister also urged producers of sachet whiskies, still delaying the transition to bottled whisky, that the December 2026 deadline for the permanent ban on whisky packaged in plastic sachets will not be extended.

He said beginning January 2027, producers are expected to initiate the transition from PET bottles to glass bottles in line with international standards. Non-compliant manufacturers, he reiterated, will be subject to fines, possible closure of production facilities and public disclosure. 

Baker Hughes Cameroon new facility inaugurated

Global leader in energy technologies, Baker Hughes, celebrated a new milestone in its journey in Cameroon last Friday, June 26, 2026, with the inauguration of a new Oilfield Services and Equipment facility located within the Douala port. 

The new service and equipment centre was commissioned by Minister Fuh Calistus Gentry, in the presence of local administrative, municipal and traditional authorities.

The facility serves as a consolidated base for Baker Hughes, supporting in-country operations through a new Liquid Mud Plant, LMP, Cement Bulk Plant, CBP, radioactive bunker and Cement Lab for chemical testing of cement fluids, as well as a quayside facility for handling water-based mud, oil-based mud, and brine. 

Other components of the facility include an office building, workshops, warehouse and yard storage with tools and services to support drilling services, completions, wireline services, and tubular running services. 

According to the Baker Hughes Vice President for Sub-Saharan Africa, Hatem Salem, the investment marks a turning point in the thirty-year relationship with Cameroon.

Designed as a high-tech hub, he said the modern industrial complex aims to catalyze the revival of Cameroon’s hydrocarbon sector and provide a concrete response to the licensing cycle. He said the investment aligns with the industrialisation policy championed by the Head of State, President Paul Biya. 

By facilitating the exploration in the Rio del Rey and the Douala/Kribi-Campo basins, he said the inaugurated facility does more than just supporting production, but positions Cameroon to tackle the major technological and economic challenges set out in the National Development Strategy, NDS2030. 

Revitalising hydrocarbon sector

Speaking during the inauguration ceremony, Minister Fuh Calistus stressed that Baker Hughes' expanded presence comes at a strategic time as Cameroon is advancing in the Yoyo-Yolanda gas project and intensifying petroleum exploration to increase the country's oil and gas reserves. 

The minister also emphasised that expanding proven reserves is essential for strengthening national energy security, sustaining industrial growth and safeguarding Cameroon's long-term energy independence.

“At the moment Cameroon is revitalising the petroleum sector to increase results, and both gas and petroleum reserves. Baker Hughes comes in very handy as a world-class strategic partner. They are at the centre of the oil sector in ranging services, which range from exploration to production to servicing…,” the minister declared. 

While acknowledging the major contribution that a world-class company like Baker Hughes can have on this sector, he said Cameroon’s strategic position as a hub for Central Africa makes it the right choice for Baker Hughes investments. 

“That shows the vitality and the potential that Cameroon has, to say that Cameroon is doing well as a nation. Cameroon is doing well in its extractive sector, with a new ideology to revamp our reserves and our whole natural resource base. Whether it's in the mining hard rock or the petroleum sector, Cameroon is positioning itself as a global leader in potential, but this potential must be put into activity and Baker Hughes comes at the right moment,” he emphasised.

Besides improving exploration efficiency and support new hydrocarbon discoveries, Baker Hughes with its internationally recognised expertise in drilling technologies, well services, digital solutions and production optimisation, is expected to strengthen local content and facilitate technology transfer and skills development for Cameroonian professionals, thereby contributing to the sustainable development of the national oil and gas industry.

Reception of locomotives for Minim-Martap bauxite project

The three-day working visit to Douala also coincided with the arrival of an important consignment of locomotives and wagons from India and China at the Douala port.

The reception of locomotives and wagons, according to the minister, are pivotal in the advancement of the Minim-Martap Bauxite project in Adamawa Region operated by CAMALCO S.A.

The Minim-Martap bauxite project, which was flagged off in late 2025 by the Prime Minister, Head of Government, Chief Dr Joseph Dion Ngute, is considered amongst the world’s largest and highest-grade bauxite deposits. 

The company has launched construction works for the massive industrial mining operation to unlock roughly one billion tonnes of ore.

Noting that the last set of the locomotives and wagons are earmarked to arrive Cameroon by end of July, the minister said construction works are already ongoing on the about 45km road linking the exploitation site in Martap to train station in Makor. 

While the construction of a mineral terminal for the project is already taking shape, he said measures are also being implemented towards the transformation of bauxite to aluminum in Cameroon. 

Setting up National Industrial Cartography 

On the first day of the working visit, which saw the minister holding working session with officials of Yousheng Cement and MetaAfrique Steel, the message from government was very clear. 

At each of the sessions, discussions centred on regulatory compliance, industrial safety and industrial development. Within the next three years, the minister recommended that the steel billet production should transition from scrap metal to iron concentrate sourced from emerging iron ore mining projects in the country.

The member of government emphasised that his mission to the Region is part of efforts to establish a national industrial cartography, which will help guide investments towards areas with the greatest development potentials and align industrial location with local economic needs.

He also stated that in compliance with the laws and regulations governing the industry sector, every industrial company will be required to include mandatory terms of reference to obtain authorisation with the operating permit granted to companies only after full compliance with stated obligations. 

While announcing that a list of companies operating illegally will soon be published and updated regularly, he warned that non-compliant actors would face sanctions. 

To ensure effective monitoring of the terms of reference, which is a social contract between the companies and their surrounding population, he stressed that copies of the terms of reference should be made available to administrative authorities, traditional leaders and elite of the areas concerned.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3832 of Monday June 29, 2026