DAR ES SALAAM: DEPUTY Prime Minister and Minister for Energy, Dr Doto Biteko said yesterday that Tanzania has been selected to host the African Energy Summit due to various reasons, including economic diplomacy under the leadership of President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
Speaking on the upcoming African Energy Summit ‘Mission 300”, which is set to take place in Dar es Salaam from January 27 to 28, this year, Dr Biteko said the Head of State has done a tremendous job in promoting Tanzania internationally, which has led international institutions, companies and investors to see Tanzania as the right place for business and investment.
“A prime example of this is the World Bank and the African Development Bank choosing Tanzania to host this major international summit, which will be attended by leaders from 54 African countries,” said Dr Biteko.
He added that another key reason for that prompted Tanzania to be selected as the host of the summit is the significant achievements in the energy sector.
He said Tanzania has been able to provide electricity to citizens, which aligns with the summit’s agenda to accelerate electricity access for 300 million people in Africa by 2030, out of the 685 million who still lack electricity.
“The country has made great strides in the energy sector, and we commend the President for the tremendous push she has given to the energy sector. The nation now has sufficient and surplus electricity, with production rising from 1,470 megawatts to nearly 3,077 megawatts,” said Dr Biteko.
He added that electricity access in Africa is still below 50 per cent, but Tanzania has made significant progress and is now above 78 per cent.
Regarding the successes in the energy sector, Dr Biteko said that all 12,318 villages in Tanzania have now been electrified. An assessment conducted by the World Bank in Africa last year showed that Tanzania was leading in providing electricity to rural areas.
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Dr Biteko explained that after electricity reached all the villages, the focus is now on the hamlets. In the country, there are 64,000 hamlets, and approximately 36,000 of them have already been connected to electricity.
He highlighted the benefits of the Mission 300 meeting for Tanzania, including increasing opportunities to secure funds for various projects, boosting investment opportunities, gaining experience from successful entities in the energy sector and enhancing the country’s international reputation.
He added that another benefit is accelerating electricity access in the country, with 8.3 million people expected to be connected to electricity through Mission 300 by 2030, bringing Tanzania’s total connected customers to 13.5 million by 2030, up from the current 5.2 million.
