Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. SOUTHERN Africa, home to nearly 400 million people, is grappling with significant energy access and security issues, with approximately 200 million people lacking access to clean and modern energy services, Southern African Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (SACREE) executive director Kudakwashe Ndhlukula has said.
He was speaking during the launch of the Sadc 2026 Sustainable Week running under the theme Driving regional economic growth through clean energy and energy efficiency.
Ndhlukula revealed that as a region, on average, southern Africa was sitting at about 50% in terms of people with access to energy.
“Other countries have also come up with their own frameworks. So we want now, in that event, that the countries can also showcase these opportunities and the issues that they have addressed. Some of the challenges include access, resulting in 50% without access, transmission constraints,” he said.
“The region must also explore innovative financing, including tapping into pension funds and establishing energy-specific funding mechanisms, to accelerate clean energy projects and bridge the access gap.”
Meanwhile, the government has called for increased use of renewable energy to promote economic growth and development, alleviate poverty and foster self-reliance among member States.
Energy and Power Development minister July Moyo said the government was focusing on the use of renewable energy to generate power for the country and the Sadc region.
“In light of government’s strong focus on renewable energy, it is calling on stakeholders across the mining, renewable energy, banking sectors to take advantage of this opportunity to showcase their products and innovations.
“The southern part, which is Zimbabwe, Botswana and parts of South Africa, mostly is coal-based, so thermal becomes the driving force and these two interconnected, interrelated energy systems should give the security that is needed in the southern Africa region.
“When we are holding this renewable energy function, we are not just celebrating. We are also seeing how this energy becomes a transformative issue for the people.”
Moyo added that the use of clean energy created business opportunities.
“We are not asking for charity we are asking you to make money so that we can develop our countries.
“It is about the dignity of an individual as it gives opportunity to businesses and hope to everybody,” he said.
“Zimbabweans should make money by investing in the energy sector as it is one of the areas which is open and now deregulated for the private sector to make money.
“The African Union came up with the Africa Single Electricity Market, a targeted intervention to facilitate sustainable development of the African electricity sector through an integrated continental electricity market.”
For More News And Analysis About Zimbabwe Follow Africa-Press
