Toeing The Deadlines

The velocity of the wind increased, reaching fever height following the pronouncements of the Head of State on several occasions underscoring the importance of electric energy to the development of the nation. The most recent statement was made in Nyabisan during the planting of the foundation stone for the construction of the Memve'ele Hydroelectric Power plant. "Without energy, there can be no real development. There can be no industry. Our agricultural and mineral raw materials cannot be processed. In short, there can be no modern economy." No other words could best describe the importance of electric energy for a nation that wants to be considered emergent country roughly two decades from now.

In effect, the nefarious effects of weak energy supply and poor energy management leave no one indifferent. As President Biya himself rightly puts it, inadequate energy supply has made the daily lives of a large segment of our population unbearable. "The often extended periods of load shedding have also disrupted work in government services, social services such as hospitals, and even security agencies", he said, stating that this has equally led to loss of human lives and material damage. The message is clear and from every indication, efforts are in their highest gear to reverse the situation. These are a veritable translation of the general cry of the population which finds itself in the midst of plenty but cannot understand why there is excruciating electricity deficit.

Specialists estimate that only 20 per cent of Cameroon's population has regular access to electricity supplies. Those who have access to power tend to experience cuts in supply as often as every three days. As if that were not enough, electricity is increasingly expensive for most of the people and the situation was recently aggravated by AES Sonel, that announced a 7 per cent increase in rates beginning June 1 this year. In the same vein, a study conducted by the Polytechnic National High School of Yaounde outlined estimated production losses at FCFA 60 billion per year in industrial enterprises as a result of poor electricity supply.

The good news in the face of these however, is the demonstrated zeal of the powers that be to forge ahead with the various power supply projects some of which were conceived several decades back. The delay in their execution is what pushed the Head of State to hit the table in anger describing the situation as a translation of inertia on the part of stakeholders, notably the administration. Time, it is said, is a powerful development resource which must be well managed. Actors in the energy sector seem to have been playing with time and that is why Cameroon happens to find itself in this situation.

A careful look at most, if not all of the energy projects in Cameroon will indicate non respect of deadline. Of course this is a disturbing situation, even though there are high hopes considering the waves of concerns and demand to invest from the private sector and in energy supply. That said, it goes without saying that respect of deadlines in the execution of these projects remains the major trump card to increasing electric energy supply in the country as one of the pre-conditions for attaining the level of an emergent country.