Nigeria has been declared to have the biggest electricity deficit in Africa, alongside Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia, according to a report by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).
But countries like Burundi Malawi, Liberia, Central African Republic and South Sudan are said to have either stagnated or on the reverse concerning access to electricity.
With about N1.5 billion people in Africa lacking access to electricity and clean cooking fuel, ECA, has expressed concerns on the continent meeting the SDG7 goals.
ECA recently unveiled findings of a study titled “Energy Prices in Africa: Transition Towards Clean Energy for Africa’s Industrialisation.” which disclosed the findings.
The presentation, which was made during a virtual ministerial meeting, indicates that 600 million people in Africa do not have access to electricity and 900 million have no access to clean cooking fuel. Meanwhile, electricity access rates in 24 countries are below 50 per cent.
ECA Executive Secretary, Dr Vera Songwe said “There’s no way Africa can build forward better if we do not make adequate investments in energy and ensure affordable access for all.”
The UN Under-Secretary-General urged countries to ensure that there’s cost reflective pricing in the energy sector.
