Evans Dakwa, News Editor
Harare – – As the world transition to cleaner energy, the SADC regional bloc has been urged to leverage on the critical energy transition minerals abundant in the region and foster collaboration so that the bloc can move as a unit to clean energy as a unit.
As she addressed senior officials at the opening session of the joint meeting of senior officials to the SADC Ministers responsible for Energy and Water, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Power Development, Dr. Gloria Magombo reiterated the importance of regional cooperation for SADC economies to move along with the rest of the world.
“The energy transition agenda needs attention at regional level to ensure that SADC’s economies also transition for better. The endowment of the region with critical energy transition minerals should be a blessing and not a curse. Let us join hands and collaborate in moving up the value chains of our energy minerals for diversified economies and sustainable regional markets,” she said.
With the region having recently suffered the negative impact of the ElNino phenomenon, Permanent Secretary Magombo emphasised that the meeting is a clarion call to action, a rallying point for the region as a united Southern Africa, to confront the pressing challenges that threaten SADC’s collective future saying, “Water and Energy are not merely a resource and a service; these are the very lifeblood of our economies, the foundation and anchor of public health, and the cornerstone upon which sustainable development can be built.”
She rallied the region to confront the triple crisis of rapid population growth, escalating impacts of climate change, and rising water and energy demand, three trans-boundary challenges that transcend national borders and demanding a unified, regional, and continental response.
“Climate change is a reality, and Southern Africa is significantly exposed to climate risks with the mean temperature projected to continue outpacing the global average increase combined with the increasing frequency of the occurrence of droughts and floods. Zimbabwe has not been spared from these extreme events and hence the need for preparedness and collaborated efforts in water resources and energy infrastructure management including dam construction linked to hydropower production,” she added.
She highlighted how the Energy sector has suffered immensely from the adverse climate impacts leading to huge reductions in hydropower production which is one of the most affordable sources of electricity citing the case of Kariba hydropower generation shared between Zimbabwe and Zambia which has seen power generation dropping to 25% of capacity at some point in the preceding ElNino ravaged year.
She also commended the SADC for the existing collaboration in power trading through the regional power infrastructure interconnection in the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) and the work in progress to interconnect to the East African Power Pool (EAPP), examples of the positive impact of working together to ensure beneficiation.
The meetings will continue till Friday the 4th of July as the region seek to chart the way forward in ensuring it has sufficient energy and water resources for its people. Expectations are high that an short term solution to the acute power shortages facing the region will be high on the agenda and also climate proofing the people’s access to water for domestic, agricultural and industrial usage.