News Release
For immediate release
24 January 2008

Energy insecurity: A threat to southern Africa meeting the millennium development goals

Power outages in southern Africa have become part of people’s lives with countries like Zimbabwe, Zambia and South Africa experiencing electricity cuts regularly. This is a threat to the region meeting the millennium development goals (MDGs) as providing electricity to key public facilities such as clinics and schools is essential to meeting some of the goals.

The policy brief Building Bridges Out of Poverty, released today by the Southern Africa Trust, says that “the provision of reliable and sustainable energy at the lowest cost for economic and social development can be a major contributor to the eradication of poverty in the southern Africa region.”

Regional integration advisor at the Southern Africa Trust, Dr Themba Mhlongo, said that “Southern African Development (SADC) countries are struggling to address the lack of investment in energy infrastructure. The objective of providing affordable energy services to rural communities as a basic right through increased access to modern energy technologies therefore remains only a distant hope.”

“It is imperative for SADC countries to prioritise investments in generation and transmission capacity in order to ensure regional energy security,” he said.
The Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) warned SADC member states in 1999 that the demand for power in southern Africa was increasing at the rate of about 3% per annum due to increased economic activities and up-scaling of electrification programmes while investment into both power generation and transmission infrastructure remained stagnant.

SAPP said then, that unless immediate action was taken, brownouts and blackouts could be expected in the region in 2007/8.

Although SADC priorities in the energy sector remain increased access to modern energy especially in rural communities, biomass such as fuel-wood and cow dung are still the primary sources for up to 80% of total energy consumption for families and informal businesses in most southern African countries.

Similarly, the policy brief states that severe water shortages are also projected for the region if adequate action on infrastructure is not taken now.
The Southern Africa Trust is an independent, regional, non-profit agency established to support deeper and wider engagement in policy dialogue to overcome poverty in southern Africa.

For more information and comment, please contact;
Mpho Kgosidintsi
Tel: +27 11 318 1012
Mobile: +27 78 459 0152
Email: communications@southernafricatrust.org