Under the Sustainable Development Goal 7, countries aim at having universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services by 2030.
Speaking at the meeting, the Deputy Secretary General in Charge of Administration and Finance of the East African Community (EAC) Christophe Bazivamo said that the region still has problems related with using energy due to the small number of industries and limited access by households.
Energy generation in the EAC countries amounts to 4000MW in total. As a result, one person from the region uses only 136 Kilowatts per year, while in developed countries, each person uses between 3000 kilowatts and 7000 kilowatts.
Bazivamo said that the available energies in EAC are not properly used.
“We are not able to use enough electricity because we don’t have enough industries which would consume it,” he said.
He said that as a way to solve energy problem in the region, EAC Heads of States have agreed on a comprehensive plan of action about energy and cooperation in solving accessibility problem.
“That is where they construct connections linking countries so that where there is high quantity of electricity generation, it can be shared with others,” he said.
Speaking in the meeting, the State Minister in Charge of Energy, Water and Sanitation in the Ministry of Infrastructure (MININFRA), Germaine Kamayirese said that the 2018 has come at a time when the East African Community Partner States are working together to strengthen infrastructure development in the region including energy to stimulate economic growth.
She highlighted the commitment of Rwandan Government to achieving universal access to sustainable energy by 2024 with focus on renewable energy resources, which requires doubling the generation and demand capacities by working closely with development partners.
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