The Minister of Commerce, Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana, once again wrote on June 14, 2023 to the Director General of Gaz du Cameroon (GDC), to be indignant at the continued decision of this subsidiary of the British Victoria & Gas (VOG) to increase its rates to industrial companies by 20%, despite the government’s order to suspend it.
“Despite my correspondence of May 30, 2023 (…), in which I ask you to suspend your decision to increase prices until I hold, for the purposes of investigation and in accordance with the regulations in force, the technical file relating to it, I am informed that, by letter of 6 June 2023, you confirmed to the Group of Natural Gas Consumers for Industrial Use, this decision taken unilaterally.
Minister Mbarga Atangana then refers the DG of GDC, a gas operator who supplies dozens of industrial companies with natural gas in the city of Douala, the country’s economic capital, “to the careful reading of Decree No. 2023/232 of May 4, 2023 laying down the terms of application of Law No. 2019/008 of April 25, 2019 on the Petroleum Code”.
Indeed, the Minister reminds GDC, in its Article 115 paragraph 2-a, this regulatory text stipulates that “the market price of gaseous hydrocarbons sold on the domestic market is subject to the prior approval procedure by the Minister in charge of prices”.
On this reminder, the member of the government once again invites the officials of this subsidiary of VOG, to approach the direction of metrology, quality and prices of his ministerial department, “for the purposes of the cause”.
As a reminder, the approval procedure to which the price of natural gas sold on the domestic market is subject, consists of the economic operator wishing to upgrade its prices to submit them before the government’s approval, with all the supporting elements of the increase requested. Depending on the contingencies and supporting elements, the government can then simply reject the project, reduce the proportion of the increase, or approve it in full.
