2023-12-04 02:18:36
Dakar, Dec 3 (APS) – The Senegalese President, Macky Sall, and the Vice-President of the World Bank for West and Central Africa, Ousmane Diagana, invite African governments and their economic and financial partners to redouble their efforts towards universal access to electricity on the continent.
The two personalities made this plea in a forum entitled ”Electrifying West and Central Africa for a brighter future”.
”Universal access to affordable energy is essential to improve the living conditions of African populations and further facilitate the functioning of social services. It is essential for the structural transformation of economies,” wrote MM. Sall and Diagana.
They believe that access to electrical energy for all Africans will boost the competitiveness of the continental economy and job creation in Africa.
The Senegalese president and World Bank official estimate that Africa needs more than US$200 billion to achieve its goal of universal access to electricity.
”Achieving universal access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa will require more than $200 billion in financing, with private investment playing an essential role,” we read in the article.
”To achieve this, suggest the authors of the text, it is imperative to strengthen regulatory frameworks and develop financially solid electricity companies.”
Macky Sall and Ousmane Diagana believe that ”facilitating energy trade at the regional level, to lower costs and provide wider and more reliable access, is a priority”.
They welcome the efforts made to facilitate access to electrical energy for all Africans.
The two personalities give the example of a project implemented in the Central African Republic, the construction of a 25 megawatt power plant, which allowed some 250,000 people to access electricity.
”A real energy crisis”
Other similar initiatives have given millions of consumers access to electrical energy in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Chad and Togo, they say.
They also give the example of the successful launch, according to them, of the interconnection of the electricity networks of 14 of the 15 ECOWAS member countries.
”If the level of electrification in Senegal is one of the highest in West Africa, with an access rate of 80%, many countries on the continent are facing a real energy crisis”, report the Senegalese leader and the World Bank official.
According to them, 220 million people – almost half the population of West African countries – do not have access to electricity.
Lack of access to this commodity limits their ability to undertake or access adequate education and health services, say Mr. Sall and Diagana.
”To achieve universal access to electricity, the rate of electrification in West and Central Africa must triple by 2030,” they emphasize.
The authors of the article believe that ”access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy is an essential condition for improving the quality of life of everyone and also a necessity for transforming the continent”.
ESF/ASG
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