The experts met in Dar es Salaam for a
two-day regional meeting on sustainable energy for Least Developed
Countries (LDCs) and suggested that access to finance was vital for
Africa’s poorest countries to develop sustainable energy initiative and
build renewable power capacity.
Speaking at the official launching of
the meeting, Minister for Energy and Minerals, Professor Sospeter
Muhongo expressed the government’s commitment to stamp out energy
problem in the country, saying in the next five years the government
would have made a considerable improvement on sustainable energy.
To achieve this, already the government
allocated US Dollars 500 million (over 1bn/-) for rural electrification
projects in the 2016/2017 financial year. He called upon participants at
the meeting to spend more time to deliberate on energy demand.
“Sustainable Development Goal number 7
(SDG7) provides for access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and
modern energy for all by 2030, and my government has already embarked on
implementation of various projects to attain this,’’ said Prof Muhongo.
According to Under-Secretary- General,
UN Office of the High Representative for LDCs, Landlocked Developing
States (UN-OHRLLS), Mr Gyan Chandra Acharya said two thirds of those
living in Africa’s LDCs do not have access to electricity, yet the
majority of those countries are endowed with vast reserves of renewable
energy.
“These opportunities together with those
technologies, offer many solutions for gaining energy access, therefore
I hope this event will inspire new ideas on accelerating reliable
access to energy and mobilizing finance bringing swift benefits to
Africa’s poorest communities,’’ he said at the meeting.
The meeting was co-organised by
(UN-OHRLLS), and the Government of Tanzania, with support from UNDP
Tanzania. By the end of business today, it will consider many
constraints to accessing finance for expanding modern energy.
According to UN Resident Coordinator
Alvaro Rodriguez, sustainable energy is central to economic growth,
social progress and environmental sustainability, as recognised in the
2030 agenda for Sustainable Development, which includes a standalone
goal on energy (SDG7).
Mr Rodriguez who doubles as UNDP
representative added: “Over the past two decades, UNDP has mobilized
around US Dollars 2 billion in grant financing and for sustainable
energy projects in more than 110 countries and territories worldwide.
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