TANZANIA: FOLLOWING the approval of the Dar es Salaam Declaration on expanding affordable energy access in Africa, experts are calling for swift action on financial pledges to ensure the initiative’s success.
The Dar es Salaam Declaration, adopted in Tanzania during the Africa Energy Summit on January 28 this year, was approved last Sunday, by the 38th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
It outlines key strategies to lower electricity costs, reduce dependence on firewood and increase clean energy consumption, as approximately 900 million people in Africa still rely on unclean cooking solutions.
In response to the AU’move to adopt the declaration, former Minister for Energy and Minerals, Professor Sospeter Muhongo, told the `Daily News’ that the next step is implementation, which requires sufficient funding to achieve the desired outcomes within the scheduled timeframe.
“In many cases, pledges have been made, but the disbursement of those funds has been difficult. A good example is the underfunding of carbon trading to developing countries, despite previous agreements,” said Prof Muhongo.
“The pressing question now for many African countries is whether these pledges will be honoured in the next five years. The funds should be provided to enhance implementation.”
Under the Declaration, African countries aim to connect 300 million people to electricity by 2030, from the current total of around 600 million Africans who live without electricity. The document is underpinned by National Energy Compacts, signed by 12 pilot countries, including Tanzania, which aims to ensure electricity connectivity reaches 75 per cent by 2030, up from the current 46 per cent.
In this regard, Prof Muhongo urged global development partners, including the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the World Bank, to fulfil their pledges on time.
During the Africa Energy Summit in Dar es Salaam, AfDB and the World Bank pledged a combined total of 40 billion US dollars (about 100tri/-) to fund Mission 300. Of this pledged amount, 18.2 billion US dollars (about 46tri/-) will come from the AfDB, while the World Bank will contribute the remaining 22 billion US dollars (about 55.5tri/-) to electrify 50 million and 250 million Africans, respectively.
Other international development partners, including the Islamic Development Bank, committed 2.65 billion US dollars (about 6.7tri/-), the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank pledged 1.5 billion US dollars (about 3.8tri/-), and the OPEC Fund announced 1 billion US dollars (about 2.5tri/-) in support.
However, Prof Muhongo noted that much of the funding from the World Bank and AfDB is provided in the form of loans. Therefore, he stressed the importance of providing funds on softer terms to help developing countries power their economies.
“Funds should be available in Africa to invest more in electricity generation and transmission infrastructure, which, in turn, can lead to affordable energy,” said Prof Muhongo.
