Ghana: Sustainable Energy Key To Africa’s Prosperity, Says Rukaiya El-Rufai

The Special Advisor to Nigeria’s President in charge of the National Economic Council, Ms. Rukaiya El-Rufai, has emphasized that Africa must rise to the challenge of finding sustainable solutions to the continent’s energy inefficiencies.

According to her, Africa should work diligently to maximize access to affordable, efficient, and sustainable energy for the millions of people who lack reliable energy, in order to accelerate the continent’s socioeconomic development.

Speaking as the guest at the just ended Future of Energy Conference in Accra, she explained that if Africa is able to meet this challenge, the continent could see a “30% growth in GDP by 2030,” and 30 million jobs could be created during that period.

Ms. El-Rufai noted that solving the energy inefficiency challenge would trigger a 3% growth in enterprises and improve productive energy use.

“It will also result in higher household incomes, reduce reliance on imports, and help fast-track Africa’s socioeconomic development,” she added.

Ms. El-Rufai, who also leads Nigeria’s Ministerial Committee on Marketing their Carbon Activation Plan, stated that Africa is truly blessed with resources but, sadly, the continent accounts for only 1% of the world’s solar capacity.

She therefore called on Africa to work tirelessly to tap into these resources to dramatically change the dynamics of goods production, evolve industries, enhance agricultural output, and improve social infrastructure.

In his address, the Minister of Energy and Green Transitions, Hon. John Jinapor, urged participants to adopt competitive and sustainable mechanisms through markets, carbon trading, and green funds.

He called for de-risking energy investments through sovereign guarantees, predictability, and transparent regulation in the sector.

“Scale up innovation and research, especially in clean policies, to align with Africa’s realities,” he stressed.

Hon. Jinapor, who is also the Member of Parliament for Yapei, called for a collaborative effort between both the public and private sectors to leverage each other’s strengths for the greater good of the continent.

“Let us remember that the future of Africa’s energy belongs to Africa itself. By making our energy systems sustainable, we must enforce economic resilience by making them inclusive. We must uplift millions from poverty by making them competitive, thus positioning Africa as the voice of the global energy transition,” he urged.

“I challenge all of us—governments, businesses, investors, and civil society—to leave this conference committed to collaborating and innovating,” he concluded.

The global push toward net-zero emissions by 2050 has intensified the urgency for cleaner energy sources.

Africa continues to grapple with energy poverty, with over 600 million people lacking access to electricity, and one billion relying on traditional biomass for cooking.

Participants included government officials, energy experts, and civil society groups from across the energy value chain in countries such as India, Kenya, Nigeria, and Ghana, the host nation, among others.

Source: https://energynewsafrica.com