In just two weeks, the Senegalese National Electricity Company (Senelec) was awarded the contract for the distribution and marketing of electricity in Congo, only to have the contract terminated by the Congolese government. This was primarily due to the protests of union members at Énergie Électrique du Congo (E2C), the sole electricity distributor in Congo, which was about to be supplanted.

According to information from Jeune Afrique, Senelec won the international tender in complete transparency. The Senegalese company was thus entrusted with the distribution and marketing of electricity thanks to its expertise and competence.

However, the selection process has been denounced by Congolese people, particularly union members of the Congolese Electricity Company. According to a source in the Pan-African newspaper, the problem lies in the fact that Senelec is a foreign company. However, the other contenders for the contract were foreign, including the Swiss company Hydro Operation International, the Chinese company Inhemeter, the Israeli company PowerCom, and the Lebanese company Mrad Company for Trade, Industry and Contracting.

Faced with the outcry caused by the signing of the leasing contract with Senelec, the Congolese government has decided to act. In a letter addressed to the Minister of Energy and Hydraulics, Congolese Prime Minister Anatole Collinet Makosso requested the suspension of the contract and the establishment of an interministerial technical commission to verify the conditions for concluding the agreement. "I ask you to suspend the procedure for leasing the public distribution service with a view to selling electricity and to inform Senelec, which will be sure to understand the merits of the government's approach," he demanded.

An order that was respected, since Pape Toby Gaye, director of Senelec, was informed of the suspension of the contract a few hours later. The Congolese Minister of Energy and Hydraulics explained that he had been forced to do so by "a context characterized by union protests."