Livingstone, Zambia, 23 November 2024 (ECA) – “Energy poverty remains a significant barrier to development. Approximately 50 percent of the Southern African population, and over 600 million people across the continent lack access to electricity. Millions still rely on biomass fuels, such as firewood and charcoal for heating, which leads to severe indoor pollution and health related adverse effects”. Said Mr. Credo Nanjuwa, Provincial Minister, Southern Province, speaking during the official opening of the Intergovernmental Committee of Senior Officials (ICSOE) and Experts of Southern Africa Session that took place from 20-21 November 2024 in Livingstone, Zambia.
The Minister’s speech at the 30th ICSOE Session on the theme, “Addressing the energy deficit in Southern Africa through investments in new and renewable energy technologies to reduce energy poverty and accelerate sustainable industrialization and structural transformation”, was delivered by Mr. Peter Mumba, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Energy, who applauded the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Secretariat for mobilizing consensus among member States on development issues and encouraged the eleven member States to maintain the momentum on Southern African efforts to address the absence of harmonised policy and regulatory frameworks as well as long-term policies that could de-risk the electricity markets to encourage private investment.
He cited other major constraints that the region is facing including limited access to affordable financing for the capital-intensive energy projects, insufficient transmission infrastructure, and the uncompetitive electricity market due to low tariffs, including feed-in tariffs. He advised that, “expanding into these renewable sources could be one of the quickest and most effective ways to bridge the energy gap and advance development goals”.
Ms. Constance Nalishebo Muleabai, Mayor of Livingstone welcomed the delegates and participants and highlighted the adverse impact of the energy deficit and climate change on local communities, the Mosi-Oa- Tunya National Park and the Victoria Falls. She noted that,” in recent years the City has felt more adverse impact of climate change and thus welcomed the relevance of the ICSOE discussions, “particularly the importance of building climate resilience and exploring sustainable energy solutions”.
Ms. Eunice Kamwendo, Director ECA Sub-Regional Office for Southern Africa (SRO-SA) spoke about ECA’s role as a convener, think tank and a provider of technical support, mandated to operate at the sub-regional level to harness resources and bring them to bear on Southern Africa priorities such as the energy security and climate change. She called for immediate action on energy, “we must transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources and diversify our energy mix. This transition is not just an environmental necessity; it is a pathway to social equity and economic resilience, she emphasized. By harnessing our abundant solar, wind, and hydropower resources, we can enhance energy security and stimulate economic growth. Moreover, we have the unique opportunity to leverage our critical and strategic mineral resources such as cobalt, copper, lithium, manganese, nickel, and graphite to position Southern Africa at the forefront of the global clean energy transition.”
Ms. Beatrice Mutali, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Zambia further underlined the need to accelerate uptake of renewable energy to give hope for Zambia as it hastens its climate change adaptation. She reminded delegates of the impact of climate change on women and noting that, “denying women access to energy erodes the productive capacities of countries and undermines children’s access to education and health”.
The alignment of national energy frameworks to those of the Regional Economic Communities was underlined by Ms. Chileshe Kapwepwe, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Secretary General in remarks delivered on her behalf by Dr. Malama Chileshe, COMESA energy economist. The Secretary General stressed the necessity of partnerships to support member States in scaling up energy access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy solutions in the region.
The Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Secretariat, Mr Elias Mpedi Magosi represented by Ms. Mapolao Mokoena, Director of Infrastructure further emphasized the importance of alignment and harmonization of all energy regional policies with the SADC regional frameworks, such as the SADC Energy Cooperation Policy and the Renewable and Efficiency Strategy to facilitate trade and integration.
Ambassador David Claude Pierre, Permanent Representative to the African Union to Southern Africa, COMESA and SADC called on regional member States to align their efforts with the African Union’s Blueprint for Africa’s transformation, Agenda 2063, and the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 7, which aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy.
The Chair of the 29th ICSOE, Botswana, represented by Ms. Seipati Olweny, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Trade and Entrepreneurship, commended the Secretariat on the progress in providing advisory services to regional member States in inclusive industrialization, trade, regional integration and private sector development. She assured the delegates of Botswana’s support to the in-coming Bureau.
The delegates elected a Bureau for the 30th ICSOE consisting of Zambia as Chair, Malawi as Vice-Chair and Eswatini as Rapporteur. During the closing press conference Ms. Prudence Kaoma, Acting Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance and National Planning outlined the road map of the 30th ICSOE Bureau focused on implementation of the outcome recommendations, resource mobilization, facilitating access to climate financing and the effective use of South-to-South cooperation to build expert capacity in the region.
The two-day meeting was enriched by presentations and panel discussions on energy access, energy poverty and the development of renewable energy resources, a site visit to the Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation power station and an exhibition by major energy institutions in Zambia including, the Ministry of Energy, Energy Regulation Board, Copperbelt Energy Cooperation, the private sector and a women association who exhibited their products and shared the challenges that Small and Medium Enterprises are facing due to the deficit.
Issued by:
The Sub-Regional Office for Southern Africa
UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
P.O. Box 30647, Lusaka, Zambia.
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