Mr. John Jinapor, Minister of Energy and Green Transition, has highlighted Africa’s critical energy deficit, with 600 million lacking electricity and 900 million without access to clean cooking solutions.
He noted that the situation was particularly dire in sub-Saharan Africa, where only 48 percent of the population had electricity, contrary to near-universal access in Europe and North Africa.
Speaking on the second day of the Africa Prosperity Dialogue (APD) in Accra, which focused on intra-continental trade, Mr. Jinapor noted that Africa’s low electricity consumption, significantly lower than that of developed nations, severely hindered economic growth and perpetuated poverty.
“Africa consumes about 1.5 percent of what the United States consumes, and about 3 percent of what Europe consumes, highlighting the vast disparity. In sub-Saharan Africa, the data is worse,” he said.
Mr. Jinapor said that sub-Saharan Africa’s heavy reliance on fossil fuels, with 80 percent of energy sources being non-renewable compared to the global average of 60 percent, contributed to environmental challenges, and impeded sustainable development. He also mentioned that a significant obstacle to addressing this energy deficit was the high cost of energy-related investments.
The minister explained that the continent needed an estimated $43 to $55 billion annually until 2040 to achieve universal energy access. However, current mobilization only reached about $9 billion, leaving a substantial funding gap.
Mr. Jinapor said governments alone cannot solve Africa’s energy crisis and called for strong public-private partnerships, involving the private sector, NGOs, and development organizations, to leverage the continent’s abundant energy resources, particularly renewable energy. He urged African Heads of State to prioritize such collaborations to ensure energy security and drive sustainable development across the continent.
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Source: GNA
