Electricity and Development in Africa

 

Hello Africa,

Deficit spending, in most countries in the continent, is a function of the excess of budgeted revenue of funds usually raised by borrowing rather than from fiscal measures. Since the last century, Africa has been grappling with the numerous challenges of generating enough revenue needed for infrastructural development. Sourcing funds for infrastructural development has been a standard development policy in most African countries. A large portion of the total debt incurred by most African countries is channeled toward infrastructural development. Infrastructure is the basic physical and organizational systems, structures, and facilities, such as electricity, educational and health, roads, bridges, and buildings required for the working of any nation.  Human resources, and basic equipment needed for the running of any society also constitute infrastructure.

The role of infrastructure in national development cannot be overemphasized. Infrastructure enables trade, drives businesses, integrate workers to jobs systems, creates opportunities for struggling communities and protects the nation from an increasingly unpredictable natural environment. In most developing countries, infrastructural development alleviates poverty, reduces inequality, and creates equal access to public social services. Infrastructural investment could take several years to yield social and economic returns. Improvements in infrastructure could also improve workers productivity through the movement of people, goods and services more efficiently. Increased productivity is the major driver of economic growth.

 

 

A World Bank study revealed that the deplorable state of infrastructure in many parts of Africa has reduced economic growth by two percentage points every year reducing business productivity by as much as 40 percent and making the region the lowest in productivity levels in the world. This ultimately impacts GDP growth rates. It is reported that over 609 million Africans have no access to electricity. And about 80 percent of those in the rural populace lack electricity. Report from the International Renewable Energy Agency reveals that as many as 30 countries in Africa are faced with outages because of lags in supply. 

 Access to energy improves productivity, ensures satisfactory life and wellbeing, improves quality of lives, and ultimately promotes economic development. Access to energy is the most important factor needed for solving security challenges, climate change, food production deficit, and issues with ecosystems. Electricity is the most important single factor that drives industrialization, social welfare, and healthcare. The role of electricity in human and economic development cannot be overemphasized. In the last century, it has become the mainstay of the world’s energy requirements, and it is the largest single factor for industrial growth.

Figure 1.  Electricity Generation and Population

S/N	Country	Population (million)	Generation Gwh
1	Egypt	102	157,970
2	Germany	83.24	131,399
3	Benin Republic	12.12	226
4	UAE	9.89	124,841
5	India	1,380	1,452,235
6	Nigeria	210	28,154
7	United States	325	1,143,266
8	Kenya	53.73	10,792
9	Brazil	212.6	622,006
10	South Africa	59.3	223,210

Source: Author’s computation. UNDP 2020

Studies have shown a positive correlation between increase in population and electricity generation. Changes in population growth rate corresponds to changes in energy consumption. Most electricity generated comes from natural gas, nuclear energy, and coal. Electricity is also produced from renewable sources such as wind, hydro power, solar, wind, biomass and geothermal. Hydropower has been the most commonly source of renewable energy in Africa with over 37 GW of installed capacity. According to the World Bank, in West and Central Africa, only three countries are on course to provide its citizens access to electricity by 2030. It is reported that over 250 million people in this region will be denied access to electricity in ten years. This region has one of the lowest rates of electricity access in the world, and it is estimated at less than 35 percent of the total population.

Source: “The dark continent” The Economist, 2007.

Because of the shortage of electricity, in the continent, she is often referred to as the “Dark Continent”, and this is mainly because there is hardly any electricity in most part of Africa. Over 60 percent of people in sub-Sahara Africa still lacks access to reliable and stable electricity as at 2020, and it is estimated that about 620 million people are without electricity. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (2021), as many as 30 countries in Africa have electricity outages resulting from lags in supply and demand. Nigeria, with a population of over 200 million people, has experienced as many as five outages in the first half of 2022, and this is the major challenge facing the West African nation.  

Source: Access to electricity in Africa. International Energy Agency (2019)

A few countries in Africa have made significant progress in the generation and distribution of electricity in the last decade. These countries have rolled out electricity to the urban and high-density areas, and most have resorted to renewable energy. North Africa countries enjoy near-maximum capacity, and it is also high in South Africa. Kenya, Gabon, and Ghana. Electricity supply is significantly low in the DRC, Central Africa, South Sudan, and Chad.

The importance of electricity in Africa cannot be over-emphasized. Electricity allows us to raise the level of food production and conservation, it provides better and improved medical care, lack of access to electricity significantly impacts the supply of water, and reliable and sufficient electricity supply is indispensable for growth and economic development.

The energy crisis in Africa is much more complex than imagined, and it is a s a result of so many factors. There is the demand-supply lag resulting from the inadequate planning for electricity generation. The population of Africa is also a factor that increase pressure on food production and ultimately on energy demand. There is also the challenge of exploring renewable energy sources. Africa has abundant sunlight, wind, hydro power from water, biomass from plants, and geothermal, and the technology of converting these to sources of constant and reliable energy is lacking. Poor funding for this sector and other factors such as corruption, and infrastructural decay are also major challenges facing Africa electricity needs.

What can be done?

Access to electricity and improvement in energy supply could raise productivity levels, and should be a fundamental human right of every African. Africans can also take advantage of cost-effective renewable energy sources, and invest in solar, wind, biomass, and geothermal. However, these are long term investments that will require commitments by African leaders, political will, and as priority projects that will drive the long term growth and development of Africa.

 

Enoma Ojo

enomaojo.blogspot.com