By NewsWatch Staff Writer
Some Cameroonians living in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have raised a red flag over what they term disdainful treatment and extortion in passport renewal process by officials of the consular service of the Cameroon High Commission in London.
Some of the Cameroonians, who spoke to NewsWatch, raised their apprehension regarding the attitude of staff who they say treat them with disdain. Some complained that Consulate staff have imposed “an unlawful payment” of a non-refundable fee of £80 (about FCFA 63,000) for everyone applying for passport renewal at the diplomatic institution.
“What is happening here [at Cameroon High Commission in London] is shameful,” one of the Cameroonians, who applied for a passport renewal, said.
The applicant said when he came to the High Commission for physical enrolment after completing the online pre-enrolment and payment of legitimate amount as demanded by the General Delegation for National Security, (DGSN), he was asked to pay another sum of £80, which the staff did not give any reason for the payment.
“The most frustrating thing is the money must be paid in cash and you go to the embassy without knowing you are going to pay such an amount which you cannot do by bank transfer…And when you don’t pay, they don’t attend to you,” the Cameroonian living in London complained.
The Cameroonians in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland have also expressed their astonishment at the “uncanny” procedures that applicants for passport renewal face due to the actions of certain personnel. They allege that staff do not inform users when there is system breakdown.
A Cameroonian who lives in Scotland told NewsWatch he came to the High Commission in London in respect of his appointment for physical enrolment but was embarrassed when he was told the system was down.
“I travelled from Scotland to come and renew my passport, but when I arrived the High Commission, I was told that the machines are down,” the Cameroonian bemoaned.
He said a system problem is normal, but blamed the High Commission for not communicating such to service users that they are.
“The High Commission could just send a mail to inform us or even just put the information online that the system is down and reschedule the appointments,” the Cameroonian said.
The Cameroonians in the diaspora have called on authorities in Yaounde to intervene and ensure the “extortion” is stopped.
“The embassy is where you should feel at home. How can staff of the High Commission expect us to be respected by Britons when they treat us with such disdain?” one of the aggrieved Cameroonians in King Charles III’s country questioned.
At the time of this report, the Cameroon High Commission in London was yet to reply to NewsWatch’s mailed request for comments on the allegations. A similar mail to the Ministry of External Relations the email on its website failed, and a call to the Ministry’s phone was not picked.
On its website, however, the High Commission in London states that the payment of stamp fees for the new biometric passport is payable only to the DGSN, directly and exclusively at pre-enrollment.
It says “the only fees that will be charged at the High Commission are for certification/legalization of supporting documents”, without stating the amount and circumstances. “The High commission only accepts payments in cash or by Postal order,” the diplomatic institutions says further.
Asked if the £80 additional fees demanded is not for the said certification, two of the Cameroonians in the UK said they were not given any explanation.
