Access To Electricity: Local, Regional Authorities Wadding In To Reduce Energy Deficit

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Access To Electricity: Local, Regional Authorities Wadding In To Reduce Energy Deficit

Some local initiatives have been carried out in some parts of the country to facilitate the populati

21 févr. 2024 17:36

While responding to questions on electricity coverage of the country from members of the National Assembly in June 2021, the Minister of Energy and Water Resources, Gaston Eloundou Essomba indicated that 63.7 per cent of local communities are still without access to electricity in Cameroon. In effect, some 9,000 communities out of 13, 104 localities. The picture on electricity coverage especially in rural communities painted by the government official is not very different from what obtains today though some progress have been made with the efforts of decentralized territorial bodies and the Rural Electrification Agency. As at 2021, the first evaluation of the implementation of the National Development Strategy 2020- 2030 indicated that 1,720MW of electricity capacity has been installed. It also emerged from the evaluation that access rate to electricity in the country stood at 71 per cent. With the fast-tracking of decentralization, resources and competences within the framework of “Decentralization Fund” are being transferred to Regional and Local Authorities (RLAs) for development projects. Also, the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources is also transferring resources to Councils for such projects. With these resources, some councils have provided electricity to their communities through the building of solar systems or mini-hydroelectric projects to reduce electricity insufficiency. Without being exhaustive, some randomly selected councils in different parts of the country have been making strides in the domain. The Widikum Council in the North West Region has constructed two mini hydropower plants not only for lighting but also to boost local processing of palm oil and other agricultural projects. In Logone Birni, Logone and Chari Division in the Far North Region, the council planted some 500 solar lamps to light up the municipality. In Ngambe, Sanaga Maritime Division in the Littoral Region, the council also constructed a mini solar system to light up the streets. These examples are practically in every region as the councils and Regional asse...