Africa must build nuclear energy capacity in order to power industrialisation. This is no longer a choice but a necessity. This message was clear at the Nuclear Energy Innovation Summit For Africa, hosted by Rwandan President Paul Kagame in Kigali from 18 to 22 May.
Themed “Powering Africa’s Future: Turning Nuclear Energy Ambition Into Investable Reality”, the summit couldn’t have come at a better time. As Africa pushes for industrialisation to grow its economies and create jobs for its youth, its energy mix must include nuclear to guarantee power supply in urban and rural areas and ensure nobody is left behind.
The question that arises is who will fund Africa’s nuclear energy ambitions. The answer is simple: Africans must decide their own destiny.
Investment in nuclear energy will power us into a better, more stable growth trajectory because other energy sources, such as hydro, suffer from global warming, with rivers such as the Zambezi running dry and affecting particularly Zambia and Zimbabwe, who share the Kariba Dam.
But as Kagame noted: “The international financing environment is also evolving and nuclear energy is increasingly recognised as part of the clean energy transition and that creates new opportunities.”
But Africa can’t wait. At the summit, Rwanda and Tanzania showed the way by signing an intergovernmental memorandum of understanding on energy cooperation, committing to cooperate in strategic areas in the energy sector, including investing in infrastructure and cross-border energy cooperation.
On paper, Kagame’s nuclear energy plans look like a roadmap to a more stable energy supply but they need all hands on deck. The summit has given Africa the start it needs. It’s up to us, as Africans, to invest in this.
Rwanda understands that sustainable energy development is key for regional integration, economic growth, industrialisation and social transformation. Energy is at the centre of this economic development, its backbone and drives industrial growth, digital transformation and improves quality of life.
The nuclear energy plans also sit in the AU Agenda 2063 and in the East African Community’s regional integration drive. The region is Africa’s most integrated, allowing ease of movement for citizens and goods. But it is political will that will translate the plans and agreements into action. With Kagame leading it, you can rest assured that it will happen.
Barring its frosty relations with Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda is best positioned in East Africa to drive cross-border energy cooperation. With its solid leadership and visionary leader, political will and a young, dynamic population, the country will have its nuclear energy operational by the 2030s. All of us must aim to follow that path.
Africa must embrace nuclear energy to power economic growth and meet Agenda 2063 goals
