Cameroon: Paul Biya recognizes Camrail's responsibility in the Eseka railway disaster

Tuesday in a statement he spoke of the responsibility of the railway company Camrail in the Eseka derailment of 21 October 2016. The head of state also called for "appropriate
sanctions against those responsible" And announced the release of one billion CFA francs for victims and their families.
Has he felt the pressure rising in recent weeks? Still, Paul Biya finally published the conclusions of the report of the commission of inquiry carried out by his prime minister on the Eseka railway disaster, which (officially) caused 79 deaths on 21 October 2016. Tuesday 23 May He issued a statement in which he referred to Camrail's "primary responsibility" in the derailment.

The Head of State referred in the document to the "overload" of the convoy, the "failing braking", the "lack of serious verification" of the brakes as well as the failure to take into account the warnings of the driver by the railway company. In addition, he added that state action in the area of ​​relief operations should be strengthened for "greater responsiveness, greater coherence and greater fluidity"."The political latch has jumped"Paul Biya also announced the transmission to justice of the report of investigation of the commission headed by the Prime Minister. He also wished to launch an audit of the concession signed between the State and Camrail on railway activities, the opening of discussions for a "greater state presence in the company", and the creation of a structure to manage the heritage of the railways, which would in particular be responsible for modernizing and developing the Cameroonian railways."The President of the Republic has decided to release a sum of one billion CFA francs for additional assistance to be paid to the victims and their families", adds the communiqué, which evokes the construction of a monument for the memory of the dead of Eseka. Decisions welcomed by families."The political bolt has jumped," said the lawyer of a group of victims of the disaster, who regrets, however, that the speech does not address the fate of people still missing and not counted in the official record.