Cameroon embraces public-private partnership for energy transmission

The minister made the announcement during a meeting with Italy’s ambassador to Cameroon, Filippo Scammacca del Murgo, and Riccardo Rossi Van Lamsweerde, head of the regional office of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, the Italian public financial institution.

Facing mounting financial pressure, Cameroon’s Minister of Water and Energy has finally embraced the public-private partnership (PPP) model for heavy infrastructure investments, a formula long advocated by economists. The state is struggling with a cash flow deficit that hampers investments. Moreover, the Ministry of Finance, tied up in repaying non-productive debts, has been unable to settle amounts owed to KPDC, thereby depriving the country of 300 MW of electricity.

Cameroon loses 30 MW of electric power daily due to a faulty transmission network — equivalent to the output of the Lagdo dam. The PPP will allow private investors to bring capital into these projects. The minister revealed this during the audience with the Italian delegation.

One key question remains: why should the Ministry of Transport continue burdening citizens with debt for road projects regularly awarded to unqualified contractors, when a PPP could solve the problem? The 30 MW loss has been known since 2014, yet the government chose to invest over 100 billion FCFA in the Mekin dam instead of stopping the leakage.

The PPP model means private partners handle design, construction, and operation of major projects, keeping civil servants away from day-to-day management. This is particularly suitable for Cameroon, which has a record of immature projects and white elephants. The Ministry of Transport, which should be the leading user of this financing model, remains absent. Civil servants insist on staying at the core of road projects that drag on indefinitely, such as the Douala-Yaoundé and Yaoundé-Nsimalen highways.