2 African Energy Challenges in the Transition Era …
71
A regional financing mechanism such as a regional fund would facilitate and ease the implementation of multi-country electricity-related
investment projects in their various regions.
This work has demonstrated that the limited role of regional trading
mechanisms is equally one of the major factors affecting the energy
transformation agenda in these regions. In fact, the pursuit of electricity
sustainability in both regions bothers around reaching a balance between
national and regional interests. In the face of acute shortages, countries
will often favour the sovereign route to attain national self-sufficiency,
rather than depending on imports from other countries. (For a detailed
discussion on this, see sub-Sect. 2.4.3.) In as much as national interests are important, there is the need to prioritize regional commitments
in order to achieve inclusive energy self-sufficiency at both national and
regional levels. Legal and contractual frameworks should be crafted to
govern regional energy obligations between Member States in Sub-Sahara
Africa in general.
In terms of protecting health and environment, the ECOWAS and
SADC region should play a role in promoting strategies that will cut
down emission levels while harnessing their abundant natural resources
in their quest for self-sufficiency. Of what good will it be if the security
of supply is achieved yet health and environmental sustainability issues
are not taken into account. Steps should be handled through law reforms.
Member countries with SADC and ECOWAS should sponsor legislation
for environmental protection.
A typical example is a Bill sponsored by the National Assembly of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria by one Senator Muhammad Bima from
Niger state to prohibit/ban the importation/use of generating sets to curb
the menace of environmental air pollution and to facilitate the development of the power sector.
90 What these kinds of legislations tend to
achieve is not only to protect health and the environment but have the
potential to distort the energy space by frustrating the industry players
who benefit from the value chain of mini self-generator importation
business. It is the assumption of this work that as long as these people
90 ‘Breaking News: A Bill Seeking to Ban Generators in Nigeria Has Passed First Reading at
the Senate’, http://www.newswirenger.com, accessed March 28, 2020.
71
A regional financing mechanism such as a regional fund would facilitate and ease the implementation of multi-country electricity-related
investment projects in their various regions.
This work has demonstrated that the limited role of regional trading
mechanisms is equally one of the major factors affecting the energy
transformation agenda in these regions. In fact, the pursuit of electricity
sustainability in both regions bothers around reaching a balance between
national and regional interests. In the face of acute shortages, countries
will often favour the sovereign route to attain national self-sufficiency,
rather than depending on imports from other countries. (For a detailed
discussion on this, see sub-Sect. 2.4.3.) In as much as national interests are important, there is the need to prioritize regional commitments
in order to achieve inclusive energy self-sufficiency at both national and
regional levels. Legal and contractual frameworks should be crafted to
govern regional energy obligations between Member States in Sub-Sahara
Africa in general.
In terms of protecting health and environment, the ECOWAS and
SADC region should play a role in promoting strategies that will cut
down emission levels while harnessing their abundant natural resources
in their quest for self-sufficiency. Of what good will it be if the security
of supply is achieved yet health and environmental sustainability issues
are not taken into account. Steps should be handled through law reforms.
Member countries with SADC and ECOWAS should sponsor legislation
for environmental protection.
A typical example is a Bill sponsored by the National Assembly of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria by one Senator Muhammad Bima from
Niger state to prohibit/ban the importation/use of generating sets to curb
the menace of environmental air pollution and to facilitate the development of the power sector.
90 What these kinds of legislations tend to
achieve is not only to protect health and the environment but have the
potential to distort the energy space by frustrating the industry players
who benefit from the value chain of mini self-generator importation
business. It is the assumption of this work that as long as these people
90 ‘Breaking News: A Bill Seeking to Ban Generators in Nigeria Has Passed First Reading at
the Senate’, http://www.newswirenger.com, accessed March 28, 2020.