Minister of Mines and Energy, Tom Alweendo, said Namibia, like any other African country, has failed in the energy sector due to lack of investment, infrastructure and policies that address energy poverty.

Opening the two-day Namibia 4th International Energy conference here on Wednesday, Alweendo said for African countries to address the continental energy poverty issue, there is need to take radical measured actions such as inviting investors to be able to invest in the energy sector.

“If we want to make energy poverty a thing of the past by 2030, we need to make some radical changes and reimage ourselves in terms of our capacity to be able to provide energy to the continent,” he said.

Alweendo noted that statistics show that more than 600 million people on the continent do not have electricity, stressing that projections indicated that Africa needs approximately US.dollars 20 billion annually until 2030 to invest in the sector and transform energy poverty.

“If it did not happen in the past, we need to figure out and think hard about how we can make sure that we continue to attract that kind of investment to address energy poverty in Africa. Africa does not have energy and where we have it is not sufficient, the whole African continent’s electricity consumption is equivalent to a city somewhere in the world,” he fumed.

Alweendo explained that Namibia has taken a decision to invest in renewable energy, particularly in green hydrogen due to the availability of natural resources which positioned the country as a green hydrogen hub, noting that since then the government has been inviting investors to make the potential a reality.

He noted that domestic green hydrogen and renewable energy is also a long-term key development issue and Namibia’s contribution to the climate change efforts, through decarbonising the globe.

Alweendo further indicated, Namibia is not contradicting itself by embracing both fossil and renewable energies, especially with recent two possible oil discoveries, noting that the energy transition in the country and the continent at large should be an adjusted transformation.

“We should be allowed to use the resources in the energy sector that can generate revenue while embracing renewable energy. What matters really for us now is that we provide the livelihood to the African people and use the natural resources available without shying away,” he said.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency