Pan-African Parliament Pushes for Energy-Digital Compact to Transform Africa by 2030

The Chairperson of the Pan-African Parliament’s Committee on Transport, Industry, Communications, Energy, Science and Technology, Hon. Behdja Lammali of Algeria has stressed the importance of synergizing energy and digital infrastructure investment, asserting that reliable power and affordable digital connectivity are no longer luxuries but essential for Africa's development.

Addressing a session of the Mobile World Congress 2025 (MWC25), under the theme, “Mission 300: Turning Compacts into Action” Hon. Behdja Lammali underscored the urgent need to synchronize energy and digital infrastructure investments if Africa is to achieve inclusive growth and sustainable development.

“Reliable power and affordable digital connectivity are no longer luxuries but essential for Africa’s development,” Hon. Lammali told participants drawn from governments, multilateral institutions, and the private sector.

Mission 300: A Developmental Imperative

At the heart of the discussion was “Mission 300” — an ambitious initiative spearheaded by the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank Group that aims to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030.

“This mission represents a moral and developmental obligation,” Hon. Lammali declared. “We must ensure that no child studies by candlelight and no entrepreneur’s dreams are extinguished by power cuts.”

She emphasized that access to electricity and the internet should be treated as basic enablers of human dignity and economic opportunity, not privileges.

Bridging Africa’s Twin Divides

While celebrating the continent’s expanding mobile economy, which continues to drive innovation, digital finance, and job creation, Hon. Lammali cautioned that Africa still faces deep energy and connectivity gaps. More than 600 million Africans remain without electricity, and millions more are excluded from the digital revolution due to high costs and weak infrastructure.

“These gaps reinforce inequality,” she noted. “We cannot speak of digital inclusion when vast rural populations remain in the dark — literally and digitally.”

A Call for Collective Action

Hon. Lammali’s remarks echoed the spirit of partnership animating MWC25, where governments, private investors, and development institutions are being urged to align their commitments with Africa’s Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals.

She called for “collective action and steadfast commitment from all sectors to turn compacts into concrete outcomes,” stressing that bridging the twin divides will unlock Africa’s vast potential in education, health, trade, and innovation.

As she concluded, the Algerian parliamentarian reaffirmed the Pan-African Parliament’s commitment to providing legislative support and oversight for transformative initiatives like Mission 300:

“Our vision is clear — no community should be left behind in Africa’s energy and digital future.”