« Everywhere countries have successfully navigated their digital transition, they have first sought to connect the maximum number of citizens, to reduce the cost of access to technological tools, and to make digital a lever for inclusion and economic competitiveness. Cameroon, however, chooses to condition this inclusion on the payment of a tax. In a country where the average income does not always allow for absorbing this type of additional cost, this decision is not neutral. It has a name: organized digital exclusion », a critical observer notes.

An undeniable inconsistency exists within the Cameroonian state’s approach to its digital future, one that requires clarification for its citizens. On one hand, official statements are filled with grand aspirations: digital transformation, a thriving digital economy, enhanced connectivity, and technological innovation. On the other, a concrete decision has been implemented: a tax on mobile phone usage, amounting to 33.33% of their assessed value. This translates to costs ranging from 1,670 FCFA for a basic phone to 135,000 FCFA for a high-end smartphone, simply to gain the right to operate a device within the national territory. This policy does not align with digital advancement; it actively works against it.

A GOVERNMENT THAT TAXES WHAT IT CLAIMS TO PROMOTE: THE CURRENT STATE OF CAMEROON.

Today, the mobile phone serves as an indispensable daily work tool for millions of Cameroonians.

• Students rely on it for online courses.
• Merchants process payments via Mobile Money.
• Farmers check market prices.
• Artisans connect with clients on WhatsApp.
• Informal sector workers access public services through their screens.

For a significant portion of the Cameroonian populace, a smartphone is not a luxury item. It represents their sole gateway to the digital economy that authorities profess to be building. Imposing a tax on this fundamental tool is akin to charging an entry fee to a construction site opened by the state itself.

A DECISION MADE EVEN MORE INEXPLICABLE BY CAMEROON’S LACK OF PRODUCTION

What makes this measure particularly indefensible is the industrial landscape in which it is situated. Cameroon possesses no mobile phone manufacturing industry, not even an assembly plant. There is no local alternative under development, absolutely nothing. Citizens are thus placed in an untenable position: compelled to import devices, and now taxed for their use. No substitution is possible, no escape. It is simply an additional burden placed on populations who, for many, already struggle to afford basic devices.

When a state levies a tax on imports to safeguard or stimulate local production, the economic rationale, though debatable, is understandable. However, when it imposes a tax without an alternative, without an industry, and without any announced industrial vision, it protects nothing. It merely extracts revenue.

WHAT COMES AFTER PHONES? WILL LAPTOPS BE NEXT?

This question demands public discussion and immediate consideration.

If the rationale applied to mobile phones is extended, what will be the next device to face such a levy? Laptops? Office equipment? At what point does this fiscal trajectory cease? Because if the mobile phone, a basic tool accessible to the masses, can be subjected to a 33.33% tax, there is no guarantee that other digital tools will not receive the same treatment tomorrow. Each new imposition will only widen the digital divide between those who can afford to connect and those who can no longer.

THE WORLD MOVES IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION. CAMEROON CHOOSES ITS OWN PATH.

Cameroon, in contrast, opts to make digital inclusion conditional on tax payment. In a nation where average incomes often cannot absorb such extra costs, this decision carries significant weight. It is, unequivocally, organized digital exclusion.

A connected citizen is a productive citizen. A connected population fosters a competitive economy. This is not mere ideology; it is a reality documented in every report on digital development across Africa. Making mobile phones more expensive diminishes Cameroon’s competitiveness. And if laptops follow suit tomorrow, it will simply signify a surrender to the future.