African Countries Urged to Find Local Solutions to Energy Problems
Apua delegates urge African countries to find local energy solutions, writes Judgement Katika.
Lilongwe, Malawi-Delegates to the 57th edition of the Association of Power Utilities in Africa (Apua) annual meeting have urged African countries to find local solutions to their energy problems, writes Judgement Katika.
Speaking on the sidelines of the meeting in Lilongwe on Thursday, Minister of Energy Ibrahim Matola said African countries should explore local solutions to revamp their energy sectors.
"Within those blocs, we can use them to negotiate our energy transition better," Matola said.
"We can leverage the new technological innovations in other renewable technologies to boost our energy supply. If we are using clean sources, we can beat the deadline."
Matola also urged African countries to renegotiate the deadlines for transitioning to cleaner sources of energy.
He said African countries can use the finance from the African Development Bank while they negotiate with other multilateral institutions and industrialised countries to remove the red tape and conditionalities attached to their finances.
In an interview, Malawi's Energy Generation Company chief executive officer, William Liabunya, said Africa can benefit by exploring alternatives to complement renewable energy during the transition period.
"We need to be more open-minded about how we approach the transition," Liabunya said.
"Most of the industrialised countries developed using coal. Even now, some countries [like Britain and Germany] use coal in emergencies. We need cheaper energy to complement these renewable technologies."
The week-long annual summit, which ended on Friday, brought together chief executives and technocrats from power utility bodies across Africa to provide direction on the strategic leadership and governance of the power sector.
The delegates discussed several issues, including the need for African countries to increase their energy production, improve the efficiency of their energy systems, and develop new ways to finance their energy projects.
The delegates also called for increased cooperation between African countries on energy matters.
They said that by working together, African countries can achieve their energy goals more quickly and efficiently.
China is still using coal to develop building up to 50 coal plants to meke electricity. Africa should do the same and not listen to the Europeans, Americans and such like who say it is not allowed.