It is cheering that African leaders and partners have vowed to commit $50billion to improve access to electricity on the continent. At the recent Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit (AES) held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 30 African leaders, including Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, pledged to carry out concrete reforms and actions to enhance access to reliable, affordable and sustainable electricity to power economic growth, improve quality of life and create more jobs on the continent. The initiative aims to bring electricity to 300 million Africans by 2030 using cost-effective grid connections with innovative solutions such as mini-grids and solar home systems.
At the two-day summit, leaders from Nigeria, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Republic Democratic of the Congo (DRC), Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Tanzania and Zambia signed the Dar es Salaam Declaration, which aimed to provide access to electricity to 300 million people in Africa by 2030. These 12 African countries have agreed to improve electricity access in their countries in the next five years through the National Energy Compacts.
Under this arrangement, they have set ambitious targets with timelines for implementation to expand energy infrastructure at competitive costs; leverage the benefits of regional power integration; embrace distributed renewable energy and clean cooking solutions as critical elements of the access agenda; foster greater private sector participation to unlock additional resources; and strengthen utilities.
Good enough, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the World Bank Group have jointly pledged $48billion to achieve the Mission 300 initiative. Other donors to the initiative include Agence Francaise de Development (AFD), €1billion, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), $1billion to $1.5 billion, Islamic Development Bank (IsDP Group) $2.65billion, OPEC Fund, $1billion, and Zafiri anchor partners, $300million and $1billion.
Speaking at the summit, the President of African Development Bank, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina said, “We can’t have a situation where Africa does not have enough electricity. We have a clear path of reaching these 300 million people.” He also pointed out that “with power, Africa will not just meet expectations but exceed them, becoming a competitive and prosperous continent.”
In the same vein, the World Bank Group President Ajay Banga expressed optimism that the initiative’s ambitious objectives are achievable through hard work and the participation of the private sector. “Access to electricity is a fundamental human right. Without it, countries and people cannot thrive,” Banga said.
President Tinubu, who lauded the initiative, also called on African leaders to prioritise energy access, with emphasis on collective action. “Let us work together to create a brighter future for our citizens, where every African can access reliable and affordable energy, a future where our industries thrive, our economies grow, and our people prosper,” the President said.
As part of efforts to bridge the nation’s energy gap, the federal government has unveiled $23.2 billion National Energy Compact, which will accelerate the nation’s energy transition and improve power supply. The government expects $15.5 billion private sector investment to close the energy deficit and ensure clean, sustainable energy solutions.
According to the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, the government will increase access to electricity from four per cent to nine per cent annually as well as improve access to clean cooking solutions from 22 percent to 25 per cent yearly. It plans to increase the share of renewable energy in the power generation mix from 22 per cent to 50 per cent. It explains that the $15.5billion private investment in the power sector will drive last-line electrification in line with the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7), which will guarantee universal access to modern energy services.
Presently, about 600 million people in Africa do not have access to electricity. In Nigeria, the number of people without electricity is not exact due to paucity of accurate statistics. Official figure on Nigerians without electricity has hovered between 86 million and 92 million. The nation’s energy poverty can explain why millions of Nigerians still cook food with firewood and charcoal, which expose them to smoke.
The reliance on traditional cooking methods based on firewood and charcoal has led to the death of not less than 600,000 women and children in Africa due to smoke exposure. It is likely that the energy initiative will realistically address the energy poverty in Africa and curb the toll arising from firewood and charcoal smoke. Although the initiative is ambitious, it is indeed achievable if African leaders and partners can match their words with commensurate actions. African leaders must muster the economic and political will to make the initiative to succeed. Therefore, we call for timely implementation of the initiative, which will revolutionize socio-economic development in Africa.