By Jane Chanda
The African Development Bank Group says thirty African Heads of State, including Zambia, have committed to transforming the continent’s energy sector, with more than $50 billion backing from global partners.
In a statement, AFDB Group President Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, talked about the need for decisive action to accelerate electrification across the continent.
Dr. Adesina was speaking from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, during a two-day Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit on Wednesday.
He noted that critical reforms would be needed to expand the share of renewables, improve utility performance, ensure transparency in licensing, purchase agreements and establish predictable tariff regimes that reflected production costs.
Dr. Adesina stated that the Dar es Salaam Energy Declaration represented a key milestone in addressing the energy gap in Africa, where more than 600 million people currently lived without electricity.
“The commitments in the Declaration are a critical piece of the Mission 300 initiative, which unites governments, development banks, partners, philanthropies, and the private sector to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030,” he stated.
Dr Adesina stated that implementing the National Energy Compacts required a trifecta of political will, long-term vision and full support from Mission 300 partners, which governments were facilitating through comprehensive reforms, increased concessional financing and strategic partnerships with philanthropies and development banks to catalyse private sector investment.
And World Bank Group President Ajay Banga stated that the African Development Bank Group and the World Bank Group planned to allocate $48 billion in financing for Mission 300 through 2030.
He stated that other partners, including Agence Francaise de Development (AFD), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, and OPEC Fund, also made substantial commitments to support this mission.
“Access to electricity is a fundamental human right. Without it, countries and people cannot thrive,” said Banga. “Our mission to provide electricity to half of the 600 million people in Africa without access is a critical first step.
Meanwhile, Tanzanian President, H.E. Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan, expressed pride in hosting a pivotal summit focused on delivering power and clean cooking solutions to transform lives and economies across the continent.
“Tanzania is honored to have hosted such a monumental summit, to provide power and clean cooking solutions that will transform lives and economies,” stated. Dr. Suluhu.