By Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Mimi Mefo Info (Editor)
Published on 2024-02-09 13:21:31
The Director General of the Cameroon Oil Transportation Company (COTCO), Harouna Bako, has been appointed as the new Director General of the national oil refinery corporation, SONARA.
The news of his appointment was announced during an extraordinary Board of Directors meeting of SONARA held on Friday, February 9, in Limbe, South West Region.
His installation was carried out by the Minister of Water and Energy Resources, Gaston Eloundou Essomba, accompanied by South West Governor Bernard Okalia Bilai and other officials.
He takes over from Jean-Paul Simo Njonou, who had been the head of SONARA since January 14, 2019.
In his installation speech, Minister Gaston Eloundou stated that “the responsibility of this structure is great in the process which must lead our country towards Emergence by 2035.”
The appointment, he continued, “comes in a context where the President of the Republic, His Excellency Paul Biya, has instructed the Government to do everything possible to accelerate the process of reconstruction of this important company, which is the guarantee of our energy independence in terms of the supply of petroleum products.”
The new SONARA boss comes in at a time when the institution is operating at its lowest point, after experiencing a fire outbreak in 2019, which crippled its functioning.
The company also faces a huge external debt and is among the most indebted public companies in Cameroon, others being CAMAIRCO and the Douala Port Authority.
In December 2023, the Prime Minister, Joseph Dion Ngute, informed the National Assembly that feasibility studies on the reconstruction of the damaged refinery had been completed.
President Biya also noted in his end-of-year speech on December 31 that the government was going to accelerate the reconstruction of SONARA due to fuel deficits that hit the country last year.
Although the government has not released official figures on the cost of the reconstruction, it is estimated to be FCFA 250 billion.
Read the original article(French) on Mimi Mefo Info
