“(Business in Cameroon) - Our wish is to see the community of financial donors involved in the financing of the water sector in Cameroon, to fully support us in this delicate operation”. Thus spoke the Cameroonian Minister of Energy and Water, Basile Atangana Kouna, during a workshop organised by the Cameroonian government, to prepare for Camwater, a public company, taking over the leasing contract in the drinking water sector.

This appeal from Minister Atangana Kouna was made in the presence of managers from the French Development Agency (AFD), long-term partner of the Cameroonian government in the drinking water sector. Indeed, for years now, this donor has contributed to the development of this sector, through direct funding, as well as setting up a sectorial dialogue meant to improve the implementation of water policy in Cameroon.

As a reminder, since 2007, the leasing contract for the distribution of drinking water in Cameroon was awarded to Camerounaise Des Eaux (CDE), a Cameroonian company created in 2008, and owned by the Moroccan consortium led by the Office national de l’eau potable (ONEP – National Drinking Water Office) and gathering the companies MedZ, Delta Holding and the civil engineering consultancy firm Ingema.

After 10 years of operation, the Cameroonian Head of State instructed the government not to renew this contract when it expired, and to take all necessary measures for Camwater, the public company in the drinking water sector also created in 2008, to take over this activity. This order marks the end of the privatisation of the concession and the re-nationalization of this activity previously carried out by the defunct Société Nationale des Eaux du Cameroun (SNEC).

BRM