Cornered by the repayment of his external debt, the Minister of Finance has sidelined the major operator of the electricity sector in Cameroon Eneo. The latter demands from the state of Cameroon the payment of more than 100 billion FCFA (186 billion FCFA disputed figures). The cash flow tension within this structure now deprives the country of Globeleq’s 304 MW to which the operator must pay 08 billion every month.
How did we get here ?
According to the monthly economic note signed by the head of the autonomous amortization fund on October 31, 2023, from January to September 2023, the State of Cameroon repaid 896.1 billion FCFA on its external debt. For the month of September alone, this note specifies, 98.1 billion FCFA were disbursed from the treasury for debt service, that is to say interest on the debt. Among Cameroon’s main bilateral creditors, AFD (46.9 billion FCFA), France (19.7 billion FCFA) Exim bank Turkey (17.9 billion FCFA) and China (296.5 billion FCFA) ). These 896.1 billion FCFA correspond to the total amount of Cameroon’s debt in 2009 which was 900 billion FCFA at the launch of the DSCE. As of September 30, 2023, the outstanding debt is 12,510 billion FCFA. FCFA, down slightly annually by 0.2%.
On Friday June 15, 2012, the President of the Republic laid the first stone of the Memve Ele dam (215 MW expected), he declared today: “The shortage of electricity also had the consequence of making the daily life of people unbearable. a large part of our population. But the power cuts, sometimes prolonged, have also disrupted the functioning of the administration, social services, such as hospitals, and even security organizations. When they have not caused loss of life and material damage. Of course, these interruptions of electrical power have unfortunately not disappeared but there is finally hope of providing our country with a supply of energy commensurate with its needs…” Paul Biya on June 15, 2012.
Aware of the need for electrical energy for households and industries, the head of state made available to his Minister of the Economy, head of the Growth and Employment Strategy Document (DSCE) today today in finances, all the necessary means to bring about a real revolution in the energy sector. In ten years, Cameroon has injected more than 1000 billion FCFA for the realization of projects in the electricity sector (420 billion for Memve Ele, 320 billion FCFA Lom Pangar, 105 billion FCFA Mekin, 176.3 billion FCFA Kribi gas station, 109 billion FCFA for the 2018 financial year for the launch of Sonatrel, etc.)
As of November 3, 2023, Memve Ele only produces 110 MW at full capacity, Cameroon must once again find funding to build a reservoir dam in order to increase the flow of the Ntem. Only condition if Cameroon wants obtain from these turbines, 215 MW initially planned. Mekin barely brings in 12 MW, Lom Pangar had been sized to support the Rio Tinto Alcan projects (1G Som Mbengue and 1G Grand Ngodi), Rio Tinto having left, this investment had to be revised downwards.
Eleven years after the launch of major DSCE projects, the current Minister of Finance who managed the bulk of these MOSTLY shoddy investments must repay unproductive debts. While the electricity production park in Cameroon indicates that the installed capacity until 2020, was of the order of 1529 MW, the country is struggling to cross the milestone of 1600 MW. How could we create wealth in these conditions, industrialization being conditioned by electrical energy. The Klinker processing plant project is delayed due to the lack of electrical energy, with 100 billion FCFA being necessary to fully rehabilitate Lagdo. What can we say about the tile and marble production projects, etc. in hibernation.
Eneo must still wait, regardless of the social impact on the populations, on businesses, despite the promises of the head of state. Ten years after the DSCE, Cameroon finds itself dependent on thermal power plants whose production costs remain very high, ten years after Cameroon’s celebrated exit from the HIPC initiative, the debt policeman is back, the Minister of Finance the origin of the majority of these unproductive debts must comply with the IMF’s specifications.
This Friday, June 15, 2012 in Nyabizan, President Paul Biya had nevertheless promised a dam on each river in Cameroon. Once again, his vision was subverted by his collaborators.
