By Doh James Sonkey
Staff of the Hydrocarbons Prices Stabilization Fund, HPSF (CSPH in French) under the leadership of their General Manager, Okie Johnson Ndoh were present at the maiden edition of the Energy and Water Resources Fair at the Arc-Bi-Valley in the nation’s capital last November 27 to 29, 2024, organised by the Women Synergy for Water Resources and Energy better known in French as SYFEE. Their main mission as Okie Johnson Ndoh puts it, ‘‘is to seize any little opportunity to inform Cameroonians on what CSPH is doing for them to continuously consume petroleum products at ease.’’
The Director General of the Hydrocarbons Prices Stabilization Fund, HPSF, Okie Johnson Ndoh explained to the Minister of Energy and Water Resources, Gaston Eloundou Essomba in their stand at the first edition of SYFEE that, “we have been building pilot petrol stations, liquefied petroleum gas filler centres all over the national territory in a bid to make petroleum products available to every citizen in the ten regions. From one depot to another, it makes it difficult to have an equitable price of petroleum products in the Republic of Cameroon. And at CSPH, we carry out studies to render these prices uniform in the whole country so that those who are within the rural areas and those in the urban areas pay the same prices. So, that is the little bit of contribution we have at the level of the homologation of prices of petroleum products. The little difficulties we have at the level of the Hydrocarbons Prices Stabilization Fund, HPSF is to cover the gap and make prices uniform wherever the consumers of petroleum products are found. And that has always been our major priority at CSPH.”
Okie Johnson Ndoh added that, “So there is subvention which CSPH covers in terms of extra prices in the transportation of the petroleum products so that at the end, the consumer does not feel the pains wherever he or she is and those are the instructions we receive from the President of the Republic, H.E Paul Biya.’’
It is worth recalling that the Hydrocarbons Prices Stabilization Fund’s main mission is to regulate the price of hydrocarbons products nationwide, through partial or total support of the said products price increases, and according to its financial resources.
It participates in all operations aimed at controlling national energy policy through equity participation in the exploration, production, refining and distribution of oil products.
With the liberalisation of the downstream petroleum sector since 1998, HPSF ensures the regular supply of hydrocarbons products nationwide through regulation of stocks and prices. It also provides arbitration needed to maintain a healthy competition between operators in the sector as well as supports the protection of consumer through two mechanisms: stabilisation and equalisation.