The New Deal on Energy for Africa: Will Dreams Finally Come True or is it too Good to be True?

The New Deal on Energy for Africa. Source: AfDB

As the energy crisis continue to cripple development efforts in Africa, the continent’s premier development finance institution in collaboration with other stakeholders is aiming to come to the rescue. The New Deal on Energy for Africa is a partnership-driven effort with the aspirational goal of achieving universal access to energy in Africa by the Year 2025.

According to the AfDB, over 645 million Africans have no access to electricity. Power consumption per capita in Sub-Saharan Africa, which is currently estimated at 181 kWh per annum is the lowest of all continents, compared to 6,500 kWh in Europe and 13,000 kWh in the United States.

Energy‐sector bottlenecks and power shortages are estimated to cost Africa some 2 ‐ 4% of GDP annually, undermining economic growth, employment creation and investment.

The UK’s energy Africa campaign estimates that; 70% of the population in sub-Saharan Africa are currently without electricity access. 50% of businesses in the region view a lack of reliable electricity access as a major constraint to doing business.

It is not only economic development that is gravely dwarfed of course, but also health and education as well. An estimated 600,000 Africans (mostly women and children) die annually due to indoor air pollution associated with the use of fuel wood for cooking. Children under-perform for lack of electricity, since over 90% of Africa’s primary schools lack electricity. Lives are at risk in African hospitals, as life-saving equipment and services lie unused because of lack of electricity.

All these staggering figures makes one wonder how the new deal can be realised by 2025. Considering the fact that, there are already numerous other energy programmes out there trying to tackle the energy crisis in Africa but only to a very minimal success. However, there are reasons for optimism in the new deal as it will embody all other existing energy programmes. It is construed to be a Coordinated Action Programme (CAP) which is designed to work with and build on the existing and emerging initiatives, to achieve impact at scale and at speed (AfDB).

The optimistic bit about the deal for me is the joining forces of different energy programmes under one umbrella. Surely, what one can do, two can do it be better. On that, I shall reiterate an African proverb quoted by Dr. Akinwumi Adesina (AfDB President) during the launching of the new deal: ‘If you want to go fast, go alone but if you want to go far, go together.’

So, will dreams finally come true or is the deal too good to be true? We are definitely rooting for the former and very much hope that the energy crisis in Africa will be all but history come 2025.