Cameroon wants to attract more investment into electricity transmission, marking a new phase in the country’s energy strategy. After years of financing new power plants, particularly large hydropower projects, the government now sees the transmission network as the sector’s biggest priority.

The shift was reaffirmed on June 19 in Yaoundé, where Minister of Water and Energy Gaston Eloundou Essomba met with Italy’s Ambassador to Cameroon, Natalia Sanginiti, and Riccardo Rossi Van Lamsweerde, head of the regional office of Italy’s public financial institution, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti. During the meeting, which focused on investment opportunities in the energy sector, the minister encouraged Italian partners to give greater attention to electricity transmission infrastructure.

“The transmission segment should continue to receive the attention of our partners. They should take an interest in it,” he said. The appeal is part of Cameroon’s National Energy Compact, a roadmap that seeks to mobilize $12.5 billion in additional financing by 2030. The government describes the plan as a roadmap for developing sustainable energy infrastructure that will expand access to clean energy for households and businesses while supporting industrial development and clean cooking.

Among the proposed reforms is a broader opening of the electricity transmission segment to private investors through public-private partnerships. The government hopes this approach will speed up infrastructure development while easing pressure on public finances.

A Grid Under Pressure

The growing focus on transmission comes as Cameroon prepares to significantly expand its electricity generation capacity.

After commissioning the Nachtigal hydropower plant, which increased supply to the Southern Interconnected Grid, the government is advancing several other major projects.

The 500-megawatt Kikot hydropower project remains one of the country’s top priorities. The Minkouma project is also moving forward, while Bini à Warak is approaching another milestone with the expected signing of a development agreement. At the same time, the government, with support from the World Bank, is conducting studies for large-scale solar power plants in the country’s northern regions.

As electricity production increases, expanding the transmission network has become more urgent. Without sufficient investment in high-voltage transmission lines, substations, and evacuation infrastructure, part of the new generating capacity may never reach households, businesses, and industrial zones.

The issue has become even more important as electricity demand grows alongside new industrial, mining, and port projects. In that context, electricity transmission is no longer just a technical component of the power sector. It has become a key factor in industrial competitiveness and in maximizing returns on the country’s investments in power generation.

Sonatrel Faces Major Investment Needs

Created by presidential decree in 2015, the National Electricity Transmission Company (Sonatrel) is responsible for transmitting electricity, managing the national transmission grid, and planning, developing, and building new transmission infrastructure on behalf of the state.

The company, however, faces significant investment needs to modernize and expand a network that remains insufficient for the country’s growing energy ambitions.

According to figures cited by the Ministry of Water and Energy, nearly 30% of the electricity generated in Cameroon is lost before reaching consumers because of weaknesses in the transmission and distribution networks. Reducing those losses is one of the government’s main priorities for improving the technical performance and financial sustainability of the electricity sector.

Opening the transmission segment to new financial partners is therefore viewed as a strategic step. The government hopes it will accelerate the construction of transmission lines, modernize existing infrastructure, and gradually strengthen interconnections between the country’s different power networks. The interest shown by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti in Cameroon’s energy projects could open the door to additional financing.

For the government, the challenge now is to convert growing electricity production into tangible economic gains. That will require a transmission network capable of reliably delivering power to households, industrial sites, and future manufacturing hubs.

After focusing much of its effort on expanding generation capacity, Cameroon now faces the next stage of its energy strategy: building a transmission network that can support economic growth, strengthen energy security, and make full use of the country’s investment in power production.

Source: Business in Cameroon

Cameroon is looking to change how it maintains urban roads and drainage systems, shifting from a system focused on construction work to one centered on long-term performance.

The Sustainable Cities and Land Management Project (PVGFD), with support from the World Bank, is preparing to introduce a new generation of road maintenance contracts known as Results-Based Road Contracts (MROR). On June 17, public works companies, engineering firms, local governments, and urban development stakeholders gathered in Yaoundé for a workshop dedicated to the new model. More than 100 participants attended the event, both in person and online.

The approach represents a significant departure from traditional public works contracts. Under the current system, companies are paid primarily for carrying out specific works. Under the proposed model, a larger share of compensation depends on the condition of the infrastructure over time and the quality of service delivered to users. “Unlike traditional contracts, MRORs focus on results and the long-term quality of infrastructure for the benefit of citizens. Expected benefits include better-maintained roads, more effective drainage systems, smoother mobility, and more efficient use of public resources,” the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development said.

A Focus on Long-Term Performance

The goal is no longer simply to repair a road or clear a drainage channel. Contractors would be responsible for keeping infrastructure in good working condition throughout the life of the contract. As part of pilot projects planned for Douala and Yaoundé, selected companies could be required to meet specific performance standards. Failure to maintain those standards could result in financial penalties.

Several countries already use similar contracts to improve road maintenance and reduce the cost of recurring repairs. The model also encourages contractors to adopt durable technical solutions rather than relying on repeated short-term fixes. The initiative comes at a time when urban infrastructure is under growing pressure. Rapid urban growth, heavier traffic, and intense rainfall continue to strain roads and drainage networks in both Douala and Yaoundé.

The effects are visible across both cities: roads deteriorate quickly, flooding remains common in some neighborhoods, traffic congestion worsens, and transportation costs increase for residents and businesses.

Improving Returns on Public Spending

For many residents, the issue is not simply building new infrastructure but ensuring that existing infrastructure remains functional. Several urban roads rehabilitated in recent years showed signs of deterioration shortly after completion, raising questions about the effectiveness of current maintenance practices. Authorities also see an economic benefit in the new approach. By linking payments to measurable performance, they hope to generate better returns from public spending on urban infrastructure.

The challenge is particularly important given the scale of infrastructure needs and the limits of available public resources. For local governments, every franc spent on maintenance must produce visible and lasting results. The pilot projects in Douala and Yaoundé will serve as a real-world test. If successful, the model could be expanded to other cities across the country.

Its success, however, will depend on several factors, including clear contract specifications, reliable performance indicators, effective monitoring by local authorities, and enforceable penalties when contractors fail to meet their obligations.

Without those safeguards, the shift toward results-based maintenance could remain more of a policy objective than a meaningful change in how urban infrastructure is managed.

Source: Business in Cameroon

The investigation into the lynching of Steve Diffo and his alleged accomplice took a major turn on June 19 when West Region Governor Awa Fonka Augustine ordered the administrative detention of nine individuals, including Charly Constant Noussi Pokam, the traditional chief of the Baloum chiefdom in the Penka-Michel subdivision.

According to the official order, the chief and the eight other suspects are believed to have been involved as perpetrators, co-perpetrators or accomplices in the killings of Steve Diffo and Bostel Kamta, who was identified as his alleged associate.

The two men were accused of stealing roofing sheets before being lynched and burned alive on June 5 in the Baloum chiefdom, along with other alleged accomplices who remain at large, according to authorities. The suspects are now being questioned as part of an investigation led by the West Regional Gendarmerie. The administrative detention order is valid for 15 days and may be renewed if necessary. The suspects are being held at Bafoussam Central Prison while the judicial investigation continues.

A Major Development in a Highly Sensitive Case

The latest development is being closely watched because of the influence traditional chiefdoms continue to hold in Cameroon’s West Region. Beyond their customary functions, they retain considerable social, land-related and symbolic authority within local communities.

In the days following the killings, several observers and human rights advocates expressed concern that this influence could complicate efforts to establish responsibility. Reports alleging that pressure had been placed on the victim’s family to support a version of events more favorable to some of those involved further fueled those concerns.

Against that backdrop, the detention of the Baloum traditional chief is widely viewed as a strong signal that authorities intend to pursue the investigation regardless of local power structures.

A Case That Has Shocked the Nation

The case sparked widespread outrage after a video of Steve Diffo’s killing circulated on social media. The footage shows a young man with his hands tied behind his back and his feet bound, surrounded by a hostile crowd. Accused of theft, he repeatedly proclaimed his innocence and pleaded for his parents to be called. His appeals went unanswered.

According to information released by authorities, he was later placed inside a stack of used tires, doused with fuel and burned alive. A second man is reported to have died under similar circumstances. The video triggered national outrage and renewed debate over mob justice and the impunity that perpetrators of such acts sometimes enjoy in certain communities.

Questions Surround the Role of the Traditional Chief

Since the first details emerged, the Baloum traditional chief has been among the individuals most directly implicated in the case.

Some people who viewed the video claim they recognized his voice in footage shared online. Several witnesses allege that he can be heard speaking to Steve Diffo shortly before the killing. According to those accounts, he told the victim to say his final prayer. Those allegations are disputed by some members of his entourage and by certain local residents, who maintain that the chief was not present during the killing or that the events took place outside the royal compound.

The victim’s family rejects that version of events. Steve Diffo’s mother has stated that she was pressured by certain local notables to clear the traditional ruler of any responsibility. Even before the governor’s decision, the gendarmerie had already issued a warrant ordering the chief to appear before investigators. The document cited his alleged involvement in two homicides.

An Investigation Under Intense Scrutiny

With the administrative detention of the Baloum chief and eight other suspects, authorities have entered a new phase in a case that has become politically and socially explosive. Investigators must now determine the individual responsibility of each suspect, identify other participants who remain at large and establish the precise role played by those currently in custody.

Beyond the crime itself, the Penka-Michel case has become a test of the state’s ability to carry out a full investigation involving influential local figures in a region where traditional authorities continue to wield considerable power. That is why the latest developments are being closely watched far beyond the village of Baloum.

Source: Sbbc

A few days ago, a video shot in Mamfe, Manyu Division in the South West Region of Cameroon in which a so-called Mamfe businessman, Richard Tabe Bisong, was bowing to the South West Governor, Okalia Bilai, like Angels do to God, went viral not because online communities thought it was pleasant to see but because a man who prides himself on his business intelligence was being reduced to a desperate conman in search of validation and protection from administrative officers.

Mr. Tabe Bisong who is being touted in Manyu Division as a successful cocoa exporter has been spraying money all over the place as if he never worked for that money.

While some people are hailing him for his financial success, calling him “financial waterfall” many others are very suspicious of his money.

Many people hold that Mr. Tabe Bisong, who is desperate for recognition, is supposed to be exporting cocoa beans to neighboring Nigeria, but over the last two years, the business of cocoa has run into a massive storm with cocoa prices hitting new lows.

A kilo of cocoa once sold for CFAF 6,000 but the last two years have been a disaster to many cocoa farmers who have seen their profit margins take a nosedive due to declining global demand for cocoa.

Manyu Division has been hit hard by the declining global demand for cocoa but one man continues to give the impression that cocoa is now the new “gold”.

But not many people are buying into his gimmick. Many hold that there is more to his business than meets the eye.

Manyu Division is in the grip of a massive devastating drug addiction crisis and anybody whose wealth cannot be accounted for, is considered a suspect.

It is alleged that Mr. Tabe Bisong is currently the highest ‘administrative authority’ in Manyu as he has already brought the government’s Senior Divisional Officer under his control. He is now seen in grandstands in the Division whenever there is an important event.

According to our sources in Mamfe, Mr. Tabe Bisong’s relationship with the Senior Divisional Officer for Manyu is a real cause for concern.

It is being rumored that Mr. Tabe Bisong took the Manyu Senior Divisional Officer (SDO) to China where the SDO went on a wild spending spree at Mr. Tabe Bisong’s expense.

Mr. Tabe Bisong’s behavior at the funeral of the SDO’s father’s funeral in the West Region where he lined up CFAF 10,000 bills for the SDO to walk on has not escaped the attention of the country’s secret service which is on the businessman’s trail.

It is also being rumored that Tabe Bisong may be exporting cocoa beans to Nigeria but may also be engaging in other unorthodox operations.

“Cocoa alone cannot deliver the type of money Tabe Bisong says he is making. He has been boasting that last year alone, he made CFAF 6 billion from his trade with Nigeria, but so far, there is no bank in the South West in general and Mamfe in particular that is holding Mr. Tabe Bisong’s money,” a resident of Mamfe said.

“We hear that the secret service is investigating his financial claims and that his relationship with senior administrative officers, including the South West Governor, is really under scrutiny,” the resident whose son has been overwhelmed by tramadol said angrily.

“The country’s administrative officials should not be seen with a man whose money carries multiple question marks. The people of Mamfe are concerned and they want answers to some of the issues confronting them, including the drug crisis that has killed some young men and destroyed many,” the father of three said, pointing to the demonstrations in Egbekaw-Mamfe against drug suppliers.

The bitter Manyu resident condemned what he saw in the video which is now known as the “Tabe Bisong comedy of desperation”, questioning why a man who claims to be making his money legitimately will be sucking up to administrative officers who are supposed to rise above behavior that is questionable.

The Manyu resident who spoke on condition of anonymity to our Manyu correspondent also took aim at the Chief of Okoyong who presided over the comedy of desperation staged by Mr. Tabe Bisong.

He questioned the role of some young Manyu traditional rulers, describing the Okoyong chief as corrupt and irresponsible leader due to his reckless behavior.

He added that with the exception of the Manyu paramount chief, Dr. Godson Oben, and some old self-respecting chiefs, most young Manyu chiefs constitute a syndicate of criminals whose real job is to have sex, abuse alcohol and dance in almost every occasion in Cameroon.

He called on the people of Manyu to know who to choose as their chiefs, stressing that most Manyu chiefs have transformed the Division into a location where every event is part of the moving feast of sex carefully crafted by these young traditional rulers.

He regretted that the behavior of these chiefs makes Cameroonians to hold that Manyu Division is a new mental asylum. The misbehavior of a few people who are supposed to be role models is hurting the Division.

These chiefs have had more than their fair share of free sex. The paramount chief needs to call them to order, the Mamfe resident said angrily, adding that these ‘dancing chiefs and alcoholics’ are devaluing the people of Manyu and their culture.

“A chief is supposed to be an embodiment of respect. He is supposed to be out of the public eye. He is supposed to be reflecting on how to make his village a better place. How can someone who spends time drinking, dancing and sleeping in women’s thighs ever have enough time to come up with ideas which can transform the destiny of his people?,” he quipped.

Manyu is in trouble, he said, adding that if a chief is compromised because of alcohol and sex, how can he really work for his people?, he asked.

Many people are really angry with the behavior of some of the Manyu chiefs but they do not have the courage to call out these people who are spreading moral decadence and pain in our Division, he said.

We need somebody to help us. A Manyu Chiefs’ conference needs to be held to discuss some of these issues. Our chiefs have to embrace hard work. They must walk away from alcohol and casual sex. Their people are losing confidence in them. They must display behavior which reflects their statuses, he concluded.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai