Africa’s Unique Needs Must Be Prioritized In Energy Debate-AEC Snr VP Verner Ayukegba

By Samuel Ouma

The Africa Energy Chamber Senior Vice President Verner Ayukegba has called on South Africa not to quit coal until the alternatives are put in place. Speaking in an interview with the South African television channel eNCA , while hailing South Africa’s commitment to lowering carbon emissions, Mr. Ayukegba said the transition should be real in a way that transforms the country's economy.

He urged the South African nation to continue using coal until it can produce enough alternative sources of Energy to fuel its industry.

Mr. Ayukegba noted that the focus should be on millions of Africans who do not have access to Energy and clean cooking methods.

“It would be unacceptable for us to throw coal overboard when we do not yet have in place the right kinds of technology or the right amounts of solar generated power or wind generated power,” said Mr. Ayukegba.

"We need to continue to focus on access 600 million Africans without any kind of access to power and 900 million, mainly women and children without any kind of access to clean cooking fuels."

The Africa Energy Chamber Vice President identified the financial crisis as the main challenge that is hailing the access to Energy across the continent.

He stated that most African governments are not able to finance the construction of new energy plants and refurbish the existing ones.

“One of the key challenges is the ability to be able to raise financing to do some of energy related projects. If you look at gas, coal and oil related projects, for example, you need significant amounts of upfront financing,” he added.

Therefore, he called for intra-governmental international collaboration among African states to raise funds to solve energy access challenges.

He further urged governments to create a conducive environment in their respective countries to encourage investment.

At the same time, Mr. Ayukegba said the partnership with the Western world is Important but insisted that there are human resources and expertise that already exist in the continent and can assist in ending the crisis.

He cited Mozambique, Nigeria, Namibia, and South Africa as examples of places other countries might benefit from their experience with oil, gas, or wind energy.

AEC VP Verner Ayukeba was part of the leadership that put together another hugely successful edition of the African Energy Week in Cape Town, South Africa. The conference week featured a strong slate of panel discussions, a series of billion-dollar deals, and a number of exciting networking functions that laid the foundation for new partnerships and collaborations. High-level executives and government representatives from both the African and global energy space united in Cape Town under a mandate to make energy poverty history.

Discussions covered the entire energy value chain and associated sectors while promoting critical challenges and opportunities in the evolving African market. From deals to roundtables to investor summits to country-focused sessions, AEW 2023 was both diverse and highly strategic, enabling investment to flow into the African energy industry.

The thousands of delegates that turned up for Africa’s premiere energy event were buoyed by the presence of elder statesman Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of Nigeria, President Hage Geingob of Namibia, the Secretary General of the African Petroleum Producers Organisation (APPO) Dr Omar Farouk Ibrahim, dozens of Energy Ministers and more. The Biden administration was represented by Senior Officials of the US Energy Department at the AEW .

As the delegates left Cape Town, organizers of the AEW announced that the 2024 edition will take place from November 4-8 under the  mandate to make energy poverty history by 2030.