High Table Officials looking at a video clip (not seen in the picture)of a launch of NRECA's 'Let there be light Project' in rural Tanzania.
H.E. Liberata Mulamula, Ambassador of the United Republic of Tanzaniato the United States and Mexico delivering her remarks at the Capitol Hill
Event of Electrify Africa Wednesday 29, 2014
Ambassador Mulamula could not help responding to the many questions
even as she was exiting the Meeting Room from stakeholders who turned up
in numbers in support of the act which will elevate majority of African
economies.
H.E. Liberata Mulamula, Ambassador of the United
Republic of Tanzania to the United States gave astounding remarks on energy
access in Tanzania and how the U.S. can better partner with African Governments
to increase energy access and investment, at the Capitol Hill yesterday
Wednesday January 29, sponsored by the National Rural Electric Cooperative
Association (NRECA) International Ltd.
The event
dubbed “Let there be light” geared to mobilise further support from different
stakeholders to accelerate enactment of the bill and to share with progress
made thus far and how the act will unlock the potential for economic growth,
job creation, improved health and education, and poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa.
In her remarks, Ambassador Mulamula thanked
Congressman Edward Royce, Chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee who
sponsored the Act and co-hosted the event at the Capitol Hill. She was
encouraged by the work of NRECA and other companies present in Tanzania and in Africa
their efforts in making sure that Africans get access to energy which will
boost economic activities.
Speaking to a crowd of about 75 stakeholders,
Ambassador Mulamula outlined how the concept of energy is defined by the
audience and the people of Tanzania. She drew examples from President Obama’s 2014
State of the Union Address that when the U.S. speaks about energy it means
sustainability and self-sufficiency but for Africa and particularly Tanzania,
it simply means access.
She reminded them of the recent power black outs in
different states in the U.S. due to bad weather, how the local governments in
those states had to declare the state of emergency in a few hours of block-outs.
“Imagine how devastating
those blackouts were for those states to declare state of emergency; now in
Africa my colleagues, it is an emergency every other day” she added.
She explained that only 24% of the Tanzanian
population (of 45M) have access to electricity a glaring obstacle to the
country’s economic growth. Currently Tanzania’s economic growth has reached an
impressive 7% but with an increased access to electricity, double digit growth
could easily be reached. With the new discoveries of natural gas and increased
investment of the private sector it is hoped that electricity access
particularly to the rural population will increase to reach 30 percent by 2015.
Ambassador Mulamula gave her personal experience as
she emphasised the urgency for U.S. private and public sector to work with
African countries to increase access to electricity. She referred herself as a ‘rural girl’ from
an endowed-resourced village near the shores of Lake Victoria but yet only 6%
of her fellow villagers have access to electricity. She has made her personal goal to go to her
home village every year and use the visits as her yard stick to ‘walk the talk’
in a process of mobilising support and implementation of government policies
and programmes. She reiterated that this is the only way to ensure that targets
are reached and results are tangible.
She praised (NRECA) International for sponsoring the
discussion which was highly needed for stakeholders to hear the facts about
accessing electricity in Africa, and what that really means economically.
She explained to the stakeholders that the facts
she presented, are an opportunity for American Companies. She challenged them
to take risks although it’s not a common thing in America saying “I never meant
to dampen your spirits this morning by all these figures but I wanted to
present to you a picture that shows there are opportunities for us to work
together. Risks will always be there, but you all know where there are risks,
there are opportunities”.
NRECA
is the U.S. national service organization of more than 900 non-profit rural
electric cooperatives and public power districts providing retail electric
service to more than 42 million consumers in 47 states and whose retail sales
account for approximately 12 percent of total electricity sales in the United
States.
For
50 years, NRECA International has provided people in developing countries with
access to safe, reliable and affordable electricity. These electrification
programs have resulted in increased agricultural productivity, millions of new
jobs in micro and small enterprises, and higher incomes and quality of life for
rural communities in more than 42 countries around the world including
Tanzania.
The
Electrify Africa Act of 2013 was introduced in June 27, 2013 as bipartisan bill
to establish a comprehensive United States government policy to assist
countries in sub-Saharan Africa to develop an appropriate mix of power
solutions for more broadly distributed electricity access in order to support
poverty alleviation and drive economic growth, and for other purposes. It has
so far attracted 42 co-sponsors in the House.
Issued by:
Embassy of Tanzania Washington
D.C.
January 29, 2014
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