Efficient energy supply vital to reducing poverty

The provision of reliable efficient and modern energy supply has been described as an important part of the government’s efforts to reduce poverty and enhance private sector expansion. The Gambia’s minister of Economic Planning and Industrial Development, Hon. Mambury Njie said this in a speech delivered at the opening of a one-day validation workshop of a project targeting the promotion of renewable energy based mini-grids for productive uses in rural Gambia.

According to Hon. Njie, energy supply is an important component of the government’s priorities, noting that as almost all of the country’s energy service requirements are met from imported fossil based energy sources, this is not only imposing a huge drain on the country’s foreign exchange reserves and making the country vulnerable to fluctuations in world prices. These, he said, are added to the fact that such use of fossil fuel results in greenhouse gas emissions.

The government of The Gambia, he added, has made efforts in collaboration with African Development Bank between 2005 and 2007 and conducted a study to assess the renewable energy resource potential in the country with the aim of identifying priority projects for the development and promotion of the renewable energy sub-sector.

“Since the completion of the renewable energy study, the government has been working in close collaboration with her development partners to implement renewable energy projects in the country so as to diversify the country’s energy sources. This project which is being jointly undertaken by the government of The Gambia, Global Environment Facility (GEF) and United Nations Industrial Development Organization is precisely in line with the renewable energy study,” he enunciated.

He maintained that the project which seeks to support productive enterprises in the rural areas of The Gambia will no doubt help to fight poverty which he characterized as the cornerstone of the development agenda of the government as well as reducing over-dependence on petroleum products as sources of modern energy services and reduction of greenhouse gas as morally required by all countries and legally binding  on all signatories to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Hon. Njie further assured the gathering of the government’s commitment to developing renewable energy in the country as a way of widening her basket of energy sources and joining the global efforts to protect the environment by fighting against climate change. He then thanked the Ministry of Energy, the National Environment Agency and UNIDO for their tireless work to put the documents together.

On his part, UNIDO Industrial Development Officer, Alois Mhlanga declared that the collaboration received from the Ministry of Energy and NEA is testimony to the commitment of The Gambia government to be at the forefront in efforts to increase access to modern energy services and improve energy security which is a pre-requisite and central to the achievement of MDGs, environmental protection and supporting economic prosperity in the country.

“At the international level, we have had unprecedented economic crisis last year, adding greatly to the vulnerabilities already caused by previous food and fuel crises. Although there are clear signs of economic recovery, we still have increasing energy access and security concerns coupled with serious challenges of climate change that threaten the environment and the well-being of the majority of people not only in the Gambia but around the world,” he said.

Mr. Mhlanga added that there is emerging consensus on the interdependence between economic development, poverty reduction and energy access and said that the notion is amply supported by the fact that investment in the renewable energy sector has continued to grow from USD 63billion in 2006 to over USD140 billion in 2009 whilst bewailing the fact that not much of these investments have been realized in Africa as a whole.

He said that a vast potential for energy efficiency improvements across the energy supply and delivery chains still remains largely untapped in the country, thus creating a clear opportunity for the development of these resources in the country.

“The development and deployment of renewable energy and energy efficient technologies in The Gambia can bring multiple benefits that include (1) increased access to modern energy services in remote and secluded areas; (2) increased energy supply security through a diversification of the energy mix; (3) reducing dependency on oil thereby saving foreign exchange; (4) increased productivity and value addition by local small and medium scale entrepreneurs; (5) employment creation at the local level, and (6) promoting inclusive and equitable growth.

He noted that it is UNIDO’s mandate to promote sustainable industrial development, the development which could not occur unless there is an assured supply of reliable and clean energy as well as a move to efficient use of energy while harnessing opportunities being offered by renewable energy.

Mr. Mhlanga further noted that UNIDO's approach is also governed by the fact that energy must be used to generate income and wealth, thus they focus on the efficient and productive uses of renewable energy.

“The main focus of UNIDO's renewable energy programme is on the following three key areas: enhancing access of rural poor to modern energy services; promoting renewable energy for productive uses; and supporting renewable energy technologies for industrial applications in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

“Therefore, the [present] project is premised on the understanding that renewable energy must be used to increase productive capacities and thereby creating wealth. This approach will ensure successful deployment of renewable energy technologies in the long-term,” he said.

Also speaking, the executive director of the National Environment Agency, Mr. Momodou Sarr said that The Gambia is pleased with the progress it has made since the Cotonou regional agreement and also noted that the renewable energy sector offers a great deal of opportunities in significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions  and thereby combating climate change.

“All of the demonstration projects can easily be replicated either in the Gambia or in other parts of Africa. In my capacity as GEF Council member for nine Sahelian countries, I will push as hard as I can to get this project endorsed at our next meeting in December in Washington DC,” he pledged.