He first acknowledged the staff and management of Transcorp
Power, the biggest producer of thermal energy in Nigeria, providing about 18
per cent of national output: “In accepting this award, I want to dedicate it to
Transcorp Power staff who remain committed to realizing our dream of improving
access to electricity in Nigeria and making our vision of a well-lit, fully
powered Nigeria come true,” he said.
Transcorp Power has supported U.S. President Obama’s Power
Africa initiative with a $2.5billion commitment. He thanked the broader
coalition of investors in the African power sector, as he urged other
institutional investors to consider long-term opportunities on the continent.
“I also dedicate this to all stakeholders working hard to improve access to
power in Africa. I call on others to please join us in this journey to powering
Africa out of poverty,” he added.
As the economies of African regional powerhouses like
Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Uganda, Nigeria and Angola struggle
due to excessive exposure to commodities’ prices caused by limited
diversification, Elumelu proffered a sustainable solution to reduce Africa’s
historical external vulnerability.
“Africa has been faced with this same challenge, in my view,
for far too long. I choose to look at the recent episodes of economic
contraction across the continent as opportunities to diversify our economies
and invest in building critical infrastructure, especially in power, to reduce
our susceptibility to commodity shocks and break out of the perpetual boom-bust
cycles,” he advised.
He emphasized that to ensure a different type of growth
trajectory for Africa – one that does not rely exclusively on the export of
primary commodities – there must be reliable, accessible, affordable power to
support industrialization. “Industrialization must occur on a massive scale for
our countries to be powered out of chronic dependency on commodities. We must
power Africa’s next phase of development, by targeting and prioritizing growth
of our manufacturing, industries and services.
And power is the fulcrum that will make this happen,” he
said.
Elumelu revealed that while there is an abundance of private
capital available to be deployed to develop the African power sector,
government must play its part in attracting these investments. He explained,
“While there is huge private capital – local and global – seeking investment
destinations, as we know, global private capital goes to where it is most
welcome.
Therefore, the challenge before African governments should
be how to ensure they create the environment that will attract and retain these
investments in our continent.” To the foreign investors gathered at the forum,
he advised, “Though there are challenges in investing in Africa, these
challenges can be overcome by investing in Africa through partnerships with
qualified local partners who possess the right knowledge, requisite capital and
technical know how.”
Speaking further, Elumelu urged private and public sector stakeholders to work together in what he describes as “Shared Purpose”. “It is critical for the public and private sectors to work together in “SHARED PURPOSE”, which is a key tenet of Africapitalism – the economic philosophy I espouse which calls for the private sector to play a key role in Africa’s social and economic development by investing in strategic sectors for both economic profit and social prosperity.”
Speaking further, Elumelu urged private and public sector stakeholders to work together in what he describes as “Shared Purpose”. “It is critical for the public and private sectors to work together in “SHARED PURPOSE”, which is a key tenet of Africapitalism – the economic philosophy I espouse which calls for the private sector to play a key role in Africa’s social and economic development by investing in strategic sectors for both economic profit and social prosperity.”
Elumelu, who is also co-chair of the African Energy Leaders
Group (AELG), a community of African energy leaders including Presidents and
leading corporates, concluded his remarks by examining the role of power in
creating opportunities for Africa’s jobless youth. “In the 21st century, the
level of poverty we have in Africa and the dire youth unemployment, to a large
extent, can be solved by improving access to power, and by extension other
infrastructure deficiencies and deficits. Even though we are making progress,
there is still a lot to be done. We need faster progress.”
vanguard
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