At launch of PERACE project: Energy Minister announces 2.5 million people to benefit from electricity supply.

The launching ceremony was attended by some members of government, Governors of beneficiary Regions, and representatives of partner organisations including the World Bank and the European Investment Bank, amongst other dignitaries.

Speaking at the ceremony, Minister Eloundou Essomba, said the project shall serve as a panacea to the country’s energy crisis.

He expressed optimism that PERACE shall not only take the said villages out of darkness but shall also significantly contribute to the economic development of the country.

The minister also said a synergy of actions has been taken with other ministries to ensure that the project is realised without constraints. 

He urged those responsible for the project to ensure that they attain the objective of the initiative.

“The electrification rate is still low in Cameroon. It is less than 14 per cent in rural areas. So, we have to improve this situation. And with this project, we are going to electrify two million five hundred people,” the minister said.

Minister Eloundou Essomba also said that through the revolving fund, which is the one of the main innovations of the project, the cost of the connection will be taken care of by the project. 

The population, the minister disclosed, will simply have to repay it after. He mentioned that inhabitants of rural areas shall have five years to repay the cost of the connection. 

He revealed that those living in urban areas on their part shall have twelve months to repay.

Enter AER Director 

Speaking earlier, the Director of the Rural Electrification Agency, AER, Moussa Ousmanou, said the PERACE was one of the foremost projects of the institution. 

He promised that by 2025, households in the concerned regions shall be electrified.

On his part, the Director of Operations at the World Bank, Cheick Fantamady, reassured authorities of their support in the socio-economic transformation of the country.

He said thanks to the project, they shall be able to contribute their own quota to the elimination of poverty and promotion of wellbeing through better education, transport and education.

Enter PERACE Coordinator 

According to the Coordinator of the PERACE, Ful Jude Fonkwa, apart from the construction of distribution network, medium voltage and high voltage lines, other components have already been operational.

“The electrification of 31 health centres has already started. We have already finished five and they are functional. We have connected more than 100, 000 houses. We are carrying out studies for the construction of small hydropower plants, one in the North West and one in the Adamawa Region,” he said. 

The PERACE coordinator also revealed that the process to pay compensations shall commence in December.

Beneficiaries laud initiative

The Governor of the North West Region who is one of the beneficiaries of PERACE, Adolphe Lele L’Afrique, saluted the efforts of the government for the lofty initiative.

He has expressed satisfaction on behalf of the population. He revealed that PERACE was coming as a stitch in time to rescue an embattled population.

“We are grateful to the Head of State and the government who have decided to reduce the sufferings of the population of the North West Region who since the beginning of the crisis have been suffering from lack and shortage of energy almost in the entire region,” the governor said.

The level-headed, crisis management savvy administrator also promised to “endeavour to make sure that the project is realised hitch free in the North West Region”.

For his part, the Mayor of Tokombere, in the Far North Region, Boubakar Tikire, said that the highly awaited project shall be very beneficial for the population.

“This project is really important. We have been waiting for the project for a very long time. We are very happy, we are ready. Not only will the project help the Tokombere population but also the entire Far North North Region,” Tikire said in an interview. 

About PERACE

It was revealed during the official launching ceremony that government is implementing the PERACE with technical and financial support of the World Bank.

The project, which will cost over 85 billion FCFA, shall be jointly financed by government and the World Bank. Its goal is to increase access to electricity at the national level by 5%. 

It will benefit underserved regions including the Far North, North Adamawa, East, North West and South West regions. 

Also, in collaboration with the World Bank, PERACE will electrify 286 villages in the Far North, East and North West Regions.

Beneficiaries of the project include current and future users of electricity including poor households who do not have access to electricity due to the lack of electricity distribution networks in rural areas or due to high grid connection cost.

It is important to note that with the technical and financial support of the European Union, EU, and the European Investment Bank, EIB, government plans to extend PERACE’s interventions to the Adamawa and North Regions from 2024. 

Through the said partnership, they intend to provide access to electricity to 239 villages.