“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”. (Press Release)