Arsel Responds to Magelan's Hunger Strike

The President of the League of Cameroon Consumers says the government has to stop the planned rise.

Delor Magelan Kamgaing Kamseu, President of the League of Cameroon Consumers is staging a hunger strike since April 21, 2014 in front of the Electricity Sector Regulatory Agency (ARSEL). According to him, he is striking against the future increase per kilowatt in electricity announced by AES-SONEL.

On Monday April 21, during the early hours of the evening, CT visited Magelan Kamgaing in front of ARSEL office in Yaounde where he was sitting with other members of the League of Cameroon Consumers. While holding a Bible and a book, he also placed banners in front of him which read, "Hunger strike against the announced increase of electricity kilowatt", "Consumers insist that ARSEL protect their rights in conformity with Article 72 of the Electricity Law."

The personnel in charge of mobilisation at the League of Cameroon Consumers, Hervé Keedi, explained that after the announcement indicating an imminent increase in electricity kilowatt, the association wrote different letters to AES-SONEL and ARSEL on the issue but received no tangible answers. He also noted that on April 14, they wrote a letter to the Prime Minister, Head of Government on the issue, urging him to stop AES-SONEL from going on with such a project.

Because they never received a response from the PM, the association held a meeting last Friday during which it was concluded that the president of the League should go on a hunger strike as the most peaceful means to cause the government to react.

The General Manager of ARSEL, Jean Pierre Kedi, has stressed that Delor Magelan Kamgaing has not contacted ARSEL or the Consultative Committee for the Association of Electricity Consumers. He explained that it is instead the Association RACE, which has written to ARSEN concerning the announcement indicating an imminent increase in electricity kilowatt. Jean Pierre Kedi noted that ARSEL has responded to the letter from RACE and a copy of the response was sent to other associations.

"Until now, no decision has been taken about an imminent increase in electricity cost," Jean Pierre Kedi noted. The General Manager of ARSEL also reiterated that Magelan Kamgaing knows what he is up to and besides, ARSEL is not responsible for that which takes place along roads in town. It is left for competent authorities to do what is necessary, he added.