By Joe Dinga Pefok
The General Manager, GM, of AES SONEL, Brian Rich, has disclosed that Cameroon's economic capital, Douala, with its 145.000 regular customers, accounts for 45 percent of the company's turnover.
Stressing the economic weight of Douala to the company, the General Manager said: "When Douala breathes, AES SONEL is alive".The AES SONEL Boss was speaking in Douala on November 12, at the installation ceremony of the new AES SONEL Douala Urban Regional Delegate, Auguste Bassega.
The GM notified the AES SONEL Regional Delegate that he has the duty of keeping AES SONEL alive and thrive.Brian stated that the greatest challenge the company faces in Douala is that of low voltage experienced in some neighbourhoods. Going by him, the concerned neighbourhoods are witnessing not only population explosion, but also the proliferation of clandestine networks.
He noted that these clandestine networks do not only rob AES SONEL of revenue, but also expose property and lives to danger.Brian, however, admitted that AES SONEL is partly to be blamed for some of the problems the company is facing in Douala.
"Of course, our delays in the treatment of new-connection requests, and the upgrading of our currently overloaded transformers, are promoting these practices". He, however, announced that in the months ahead, FCFA 3 billion will be allocated for the rehabilitation of the company's facilities in Douala.
The General Manager also dwelled on the importance which AES SONEL attaches to safety. "Safety remains one of our major concerns. Some city dwellers are building under our high voltage lines at their risk and peril, thereby violating the safety corridor granted by the state to AES SONEL."
The new Regional Delegate, 47-year-old Auguste Bessaga, an electrical engineer by training, has worked in SONEL for some 24 years, and before his new appointment, he was the company's Regional Delegate for the Northwest and West Provinces.
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