Benoue Division: CAMWATER, Ngong Council seal deal to boost water supply.

The deal equally aims at achieving Sustainable Development Goal, SDG 6, which calls for clean water and sanitation through inclusive, decentralised and community-centered governance.

A Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, concretising the deal was signed by the Director General of CAMWATER, Dr Blaise Moussa, and the Mayor of Ngong Council, Hamadou Ahiwa, in Yaounde on November 21.

According to CAMWATER officials, the agreement represents a major institutional breakthrough, redefining how national operators and Decentralised Territorial Collectivities, CTDs, collaborate to deliver essential public services.

The MoU, officials said, is as the legal framework for implementing the Programme for the Rehabilitation and Reinforcement of Drinking Water Supply Systems, known by its French acronym, SAEP, which is ongoing in 10 cities across the country. 

The project, financed by Eximbank China and executed by CGCOC Group, aims to significantly improve drinking water distribution in regions hardest hit by shortages. 

According to Council officials, in the North Region where seasonal droughts and fragile groundwater reserves threaten both public health and economic resilience, the stakes could not be higher.

Through the MoU, Ngong Council joins Pitoa and Guidiguis, in the SAEP project, which will mark a significant shift in the role of local councils from passive to active co-managers responsible for facilitating operational, administrative and community-driven aspects of the initiative.

The Mayor Hamadou Ahiwa described the agreement as both timely and transformational. He used the event to highlight ongoing municipal investments in small-scale water systems, while praising CAMWATER’s arrival as “the icing on the cake, which will reinforce the town’s efforts to address chronic water scarcity”.

Mayor Hamadou Ahiwa described the project as a victory of courage over fear. He said through the deal, Ngong Council, which has not only been a victim of instability but as a phoenix of the North Region, is now a model of resilience-driven governance. 

He pledged to transform political promises into evidence-based public action, anchored in tangible improvements to daily living conditions.

On his part, Dr Blaise Moussa noted saluted the new deal, while pledging his collaboration to ensure the effective running of the project. 

Under the MoU, Ngong Council has committed to several key responsibilities that will determine the project’s success: Land security for new water infrastructure; operational facilitation, ensuring smooth access to sites for rehabilitation and expansion; community mobilisation, including the creation and supervision of neighbourhood committees across the town’s 24 quarters, tasked with raising awareness and curbing fraud and illegal connections

The measures, we gathered, are designed to enhance both the technical and financial sustainability of the drinking water network, ensuring long-term service quality.

It should be noted that the SAEP project is expected to run for 78 months and benefit at least 1.2 million Cameroonians by 2045 and it requires more than engineering expertise. It centres on political facilitation, local leadership and citizen participation. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3636 of Tuesday November 25, 2025