Changing ENEO GM not solution to blackouts!.

In a system where General Managers of public corporations lobby to remain on the jobs for decades in violation of the term limit of three years renewable twice, it is strange the General Manager of Energy of Cameroon, ENEO, should throw in the towel just after 18 months in office.

On Monday, the ENEO Board of Directors announced the resignation of Patrick Eeckeler and the appointment of his successor, Hamine Homman Ludiye. The newcomer joined the company in 2021 as Deputy General Manager in charge of production. 

He is an energy engineer from the Ecole Polytech de Nantes, France. He holds a Master's degree from the IAE Nancy School of Management and an Executive Master's degree in Innovation and New Technologies from the Ecole Polytechnique de Paris. 

From his credentials, Ludiye appears to be a square peg in a square hole. But he has a daunting task that has eclipsed the competence of his predecessors, with scandalous load shedding, blackouts, dilapidated infrastructure and more embarrassing, an overload of government debts to the company.

Some 22 years ago, the International Monetary Fund, IMF, and the World Bank compelled the Cameroon government to privatise the state-owned electricity utility firm, SONEL, as a guarantee to provide sufficient, stable and quality electricity supply in the country. 

The company did not live up to that billing and sold it to AES-SONEL, an American company, which also in its failed mission sold it in 2014 to the British ENEO for $220 million, about 110 billion FCFA at the time. The British became the major shareholders with 56 percent and the government with 44.

In June 2017, ENEO relinquished five percent of the shares to the workers who, in appreciation, said: "More than ever before... it is our responsibility to ensure that electricity is reliable and of good quality; it is our responsibility to ensure correct billing; it is our responsibility to wipe out, once and for all, internal fraud in our company".

That commitment has not been met and the fault is not entirely that of the workers. The government should not shirk its responsibility and duty to the corporation and consumers. It does not pay its bills as and when due!

Before the former General Manager resigned on Monday, the corporation took stock of its debts and claimed the government and other public establishments were owing 186 billion FCFA in unpaid bills. This amount included the debt of the government itself and all public entities which made it impossible for ENEO to meet its obligations to consumers.

There are reports that on April 14, ENEO wrote to Prime Minister, Head of Government, Chief Dr Joseph Dion Ngute, reminding the government that it has until April 28 to pay the debt.

The PM referred the matter to the Ministry of Water and Energy, which, at a meeting with ENEO, disputed the amount, saying the government had paid a total of 269 billion FCFA to clear part of the debt for 2020, 2021 and 2022, and that 42 billion FCFA was paid in the first quarter of this year.

The government said as such, the debt should be less than the 186 billion FCFA which ENEO claimed. Without an agreement, another meeting was scheduled with the Ministry of Finance on April 25. 

According to media reports, during the meeting, the parties found that “some debts already paid or in the process of being paid by decentralised local authorities, universities, hospitals and public enterprises were still labelled as debt”. 

Also, “a public company like Camwater only recognised 15.5 billion FCFA, not the 21.4 billion FCFA claimed by ENEO."  With such inconsistencies, the debts were reportedly scaled down to 129 billion FCFA for the 2020-23 period.

There are other reports that the government had accepted to pay one billion FCFA each week to cover its electricity consumption and used the occasion to call on the power provider to improve quality service. But in the first four months of this year the government reportedly paid only 10 billion FCFA, instead of 16 billion FCFA. 

ENEO sources have explained over and again in the media that "the late payments also destabilise the financial balance of the sector”. According to an internal source, ENEO collects an average of 27 billion FCFA each month "excluding payments from the State" but needs 34 billion FCFA during the same periods for  salaries, taxes, electricity and fuel purchases, water rights, transport charges, and bills from other suppliers and subcontractors. 

It could need up to 38 billion FCFA when the thermal power plants are under particular pressure as was the case in 2021, when the Lagdo hydroelectric plant was at its lowest output.

Under such stressing financial conditions, how does the change of a General Manager or even switching shareholders from AES-SONEL to ENEO and even a new owner solve the problems of blackouts, light shedding, low current, falling polls that have become synonymous to electricity in Cameroon?

The solutions is for the government and other state establishments to pay their bills regularly. But will they?. The Guardian Post wishes Hamine Homman Ludiye good luck.