CAMWATER staff brainstorm to improve water services.

It held in Yaounde from July 21 to 24, 2026. Officials said the gathering was to transform ongoing investments and reforms into measurable improvements in service delivery.

The Director General of CAMWATER, Dr Blaise Moussa, emphasised that the meeting is a decisive moment in the company’s transformation journey.

“We are gathered to reflect, decide, and act. Performance is not proclaimed. It is built, measured, and continuously improved,” he told participants.

According to Dr Moussa, CAMWATER occupies a strategic position in the country’s development agenda as the institution responsible for implementing national policy on drinking water supply. 

Through its infrastructure, distribution networks, and personnel, the company, he said, provides a service that directly impacts public health, education, economic activity and overall social development.

He stressed that the corporation’s mission aligns with the development vision of President Biya, under whose leadership major investments have been directed toward expanding access to potable water and strengthening public enterprises.

He said across the country, large-scale projects are currently being implemented under programmes such as SEWASH and the Programme-for-Results, PforR, with support from international technical and financial partners.

He projects aim to increase water production, expand distribution networks and improve access to safe drinking water in Yaounde, Douala, and several other cities. He was clear that infrastructure investments alone cannot guarantee success. 

“Investments create capacity. Only performance creates lasting results,” he said, insisting that every franc invested must translate into more water produced, distributed, billed and collected, while also improving customer satisfaction.

The workshop, he added, comes at a time when CAMWATER is pursuing an ambitious modernisation agenda. The company has strengthened production facilities, modernised equipment, digitised several management processes, simplified commercial procedures, and implemented organisational reforms designed to improve efficiency and accountability.

The CAMWATER boss used the opportunity to urge participants to approach the workshop with honesty and objectivity, emphasising that the goal was not to assign blame but to identify the root causes of underperformance and develop sustainable solutions.

“Great organisations distinguish themselves by their ability to face reality directly. Performance always begins with truth, and truth becomes the starting point of all great transformations,” he said. 

He insisted on the fact that the future of the company will not be measured by the scale of investments made, but by its ability to convert those investments into concrete results that improve access to clean water and meet the expectations of millions of citizens.

Enter consumers’ representative 

Representing consumers at the event, the General Coordinator of the consumer platform, PAIES, SM Georges Ngono Edzoa, welcomed CAMWATER’s renewed focus on performance and outlined several expectations from users.

He identified access to new connections as a major concern for many households and called for the introduction of affordable connection mechanisms to enable more families to benefit from public drinking water services.

Ngono Edzoa urged the company to strengthen interventions on leaks and network failures, noting that reducing water losses would improve both service quality and operational efficiency.

He also advocated greater involvement of consumer associations in the company’s reform process, arguing that civil society can play a meaningful role in identifying challenges and contributing to practical solutions.

Participants exchanged on low network efficiency rates, persistent technical and commercial water losses, illegal connections, inadequate billing coverage and weaknesses in debt recovery mechanisms. 

they also formulated recommendations and performance strategies aimed at improving operational efficiency, strengthening financial sustainability, and enhancing service delivery nationwide.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3861 of Tuesday July 28, 2026