PAP, AU Commission Deepen Action on Africa’s Energy and Infrastructure Gaps

NEW YORK, 24 September 2026 — The Pan-African Parliament and the African Union Commission are moving to strengthen parliamentary involvement in efforts to close Africa’s energy and infrastructure gaps, following high-level discussions on the margins of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

The President of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP), H.E. Dr Fateh Boutbig, met the African Union Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy, H.E. Ms Lerato Dorothy Mataboge, at the African Union Permanent Observer Mission in New York.

Their discussions focused on connecting the African Union’s continental infrastructure and energy strategies with the legislative, budgetary and oversight responsibilities of parliamentarians.

President Boutbig invited Commissioner Mataboge to address PAP at one of its forthcoming statutory meetings. She accepted the invitation and agreed to continue discussions with the continental Parliament.

The proposed engagement will give PAP Members an opportunity to examine the African Union Commission’s plans for expanding energy access, mobilizing infrastructure investment and improving the transport, digital and power connections required for Africa’s economic transformation and regional integration.

A development challenge affecting millions

Africa’s energy and infrastructure deficits remain among the greatest obstacles to industrialization, job creation and improved living standards.

The 2025 edition of the global Tracking SDG 7 report estimated that 565 million people in sub-Saharan Africa remained without access to electricity in 2023, despite 35 million people gaining access during that year.

The effects extend beyond households. Inadequate and unreliable electricity constrains hospitals, schools, farms, water systems, digital services, small businesses and manufacturing industries.

Electricity allows hospitals to operate essential equipment and preserve medicines, enables students to study and access digital learning, supports irrigation and agro-processing, and powers the industries needed to create employment.

The World Bank and African Development Bank are seeking to connect 300 million people to electricity by 2030 through Mission 300, illustrating both the scale of the deficit and the level of cooperation required to address it.

Africa also faces major deficits in roads, railways, ports, aviation, water systems and digital connectivity. These gaps increase production and transportation costs, restrict intra-African trade and make it more difficult for businesses to participate in regional and global value chains.

Mataboge invited to address PAP

President Boutbig said an engagement between Commissioner Mataboge and PAP Members would help parliamentarians understand the Commission’s strategy and identify areas where parliamentary intervention is required.

Commissioner Mataboge’s portfolio covers infrastructure, energy, transport, information and communication technologies and related continental programmes. She took office as AU Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy in March 2025 with responsibility for promoting sustainable infrastructure, equitable energy access and improved digital connectivity.

Her department is responsible for promoting, coordinating and monitoring continental policies and programmes in infrastructure, transport, energy, ICT and postal services.

In February 2026, Mataboge identified accelerated delivery in infrastructure, energy, digital transformation, transport and water as central priorities for implementing Agenda 2063 and the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa.

Her engagement with PAP could enable parliamentarians to scrutinise progress, identify legislative obstacles and examine how national and continental programmes can be better aligned.

Why parliamentary action matters

Large infrastructure and energy projects are often presented primarily as matters for governments, development banks, investors and technical agencies. Yet parliaments influence almost every stage of their development and implementation.

National parliaments approve budgets and borrowing, enact laws governing electricity markets and public-private partnerships, scrutinize concessions and monitor the use of public resources.

They also oversee land acquisition, environmental and social protections, procurement, local-content obligations and the treatment of communities affected by major projects.

Parliamentary scrutiny can help determine whether infrastructure agreements provide fair value, distribute risks appropriately and serve long-term public interests.

At the continental level, PAP can facilitate dialogue among national legislatures, promote the harmonization of policies and draw attention to cross-border obstacles that cannot be resolved by individual countries acting alone.

Its Permanent Committee on Transport, Industry, Communications, Energy, Science and Technology provides an institutional platform for this work.

The Committee can engage the Commission, regional economic communities, power pools, regulators, investors and national parliaments on the implementation of continental projects and the laws required to support them.

Connecting infrastructure to African integration

Africa’s infrastructure challenge is continental as well as national.

Railways that terminate at borders, incompatible electricity regulations, inefficient border posts and fragmented digital systems weaken the economic benefits of regional integration.

The Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa provides a common framework for addressing cross-border infrastructure needs in transport, energy, water and ICT.

Agenda 2063 similarly calls for world-class infrastructure connecting Africa by road, rail, air, sea, power networks and digital systems.

These investments are essential to the success of the African Continental Free Trade Area. Reducing tariffs will have limited effect if poor roads, congested ports, unreliable electricity and expensive internet services continue to raise the cost of producing and moving goods.

Parliamentarians can help bridge the gap between continental ambitions and national implementation by ensuring that regional commitments are reflected in domestic legislation, budgets and development plans.

Building an African electricity market

Energy integration will be an important area for closer cooperation between PAP and Commissioner Mataboge’s department.

The African Single Electricity Market is intended to create a harmonised continental framework for electricity trading. Together with regional power pools, it could allow countries with surplus power to supply those facing shortages and support more efficient use of Africa’s energy resources.

The African Union has described the initiative as a framework for trading electricity in a harmonised manner across the continent.

Its implementation will require compatible national laws, effective regulators, expanded transmission infrastructure and political cooperation among Member States.

PAP can encourage the alignment of national legislative frameworks and provide a platform for examining the legal and institutional barriers preventing cross-border energy trading.

Financing Africa’s infrastructure ambitions

President Boutbig emphasized that closing Africa’s infrastructure gaps will require cooperation among governments, the private sector and international partners.

The scale of investment required means that public budgets alone will not be sufficient. Domestic financial institutions, pension funds, development banks, private investors and international partners will all have roles to play.

However, attracting investment is not simply a matter of offering projects to private financiers. Projects must be properly prepared, commercially credible and supported by predictable legal and regulatory frameworks.

Parliaments can contribute by passing clear laws, scrutinising financing arrangements and ensuring that projects do not expose countries to unsustainable debt or poorly allocated financial risks.

Domestic resource mobilization will also be essential. Commissioner Mataboge has advocated a model of African infrastructure development based on sovereignty, bankability and greater mobilization of African resources.

This approach can help Africa move away from excessive dependence on external financing while ensuring that infrastructure priorities are shaped by the continent’s development needs.

Ensuring investments serve African citizens

President Boutbig stressed the importance of connecting continental strategies with parliamentary action so that energy and infrastructure investments respond to the needs of African people.

That people-centred focus is critical. A project may be impressive in size without necessarily improving the lives of the communities it is intended to serve.

Parliamentary oversight should therefore examine affordability, accessibility, job creation, environmental sustainability, community participation and local economic benefits.

Energy policy must consider households that cannot afford connections, rural communities that remain beyond national grids and women who bear a disproportionate burden from reliance on unsafe cooking fuels.

Infrastructure planning must similarly address neglected communities and ensure that transport, water and digital investments do not deepen existing inequalities.

Parliamentarians can provide a bridge between high-level continental plans and the citizens affected by their implementation.

Strengthening cooperation between PAP and the Commission

Commissioner Mataboge welcomed President Boutbig’s efforts to raise PAP’s profile and visibility since his election in April 2026.

Her agreement to address a forthcoming statutory meeting creates an opportunity to move the relationship beyond diplomatic engagement towards a structured programme of parliamentary cooperation.

That engagement could lead to regular briefings, committee consultations, joint policy dialogues and mechanisms for monitoring major continental infrastructure and energy initiatives.

It could also strengthen PAP’s participation in Agenda 2063 implementation by giving parliamentarians better access to information about project delivery, financing gaps and regulatory obstacles.

The New York meeting reflects President Boutbig’s commitment to a Pan-African Parliament that works more closely with other African Union institutions while bringing a stronger parliamentary voice to the continent’s development agenda.

The value of the initiative will ultimately depend on the follow-up. If Commissioner Mataboge’s proposed address produces an agreed programme of action, it could mark an important step towards placing African parliamentarians more firmly at the centre of efforts to power, connect and integrate the continent.