Dr. Tapiwa Mashakada calls for legislative framework to guide universal access to energy in Africa

Hon. Dr. Tapiwa Mashakada

A member of the Pan African Parliament from Zimbabwe, Hon. Dr. Tapiwa Mashakada (Zimbabwe) has called for legislative and policy framework to guide the universal access to energy in Africa, particularly in remote areas where most of the vulnerable sections of the populations of Africa, such as women and girls are found.

Dr. Mashakada made the call in a Paper on the “Role of Parliamentarians in the Provision of Clean Energy” presented to a Pan African Parliament’s Joint Workshop of the Committees on Transport, Industry, Communications, Energy and Technology; Committee on Rural Economy, Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment and the Committee on Trade, Customs and Immigration.

He noted that the role of parliamentarians world over is to legislate, approve the estimates of revenue and expenditure, represent the people and provide oversight over the Executive who were responsible for policy formulation as well as the Treasury. Parliamentarians need to ensure that the Executive “put the money where their mouth was or walk the talk” as the saying goes.

According to Dr. Mashakada, the role of parliamentarians in this regard is to monitor government commitment to the provision of renewable energy and ensure that governments delivered solutions. Being the people’s representatives who are always in contact with the grassroots, parliamentarians should also raise public awareness on the alternative sources of energy through holding public hearings as well as use their influence to dedicate part of the Constituency Development Fund, where it was available, to the provision of clean energy, particularly for cooking.

Hon. Jacqueline Amongin 

In her presentation on the “Energy Challenge in Africa” Hon. Jacqueline Amongin (Uganda) stated that no country should initiate its development without a coherent energy policy, noting that in Africa, potential exist to harness energy for development but that the means are lacking.

“In the light of this mismatch between available resources and the absence of the means of implementation of an energy policy, it is the woman who pays the heavy price. The high mortality rate and poverty and poverty among women are the actual problems generated by the energy deficit”.

Hon. Amongin noted that her country Uganda has made a lot of progress in the area of the Paris Climate Conference (COP 21) commitments but that the country remains in a disadvantaged situation because the basic resources for the exploitation of the natural resources which the country possesses are lacking.