Chairman
of Heirs Holdings, Mr. Tony Elumelu, yesterday, while receiving the ‘Person of
the Year’ award at the Africa Investor CEO Institutional Investment Summit
hosted alongside the UN General Assembly in New York, extolled stakeholders in
the public and private sectors committed to improving access to power in
Africa.
He
first acknowledged the staff and management of Transcorp Power, the biggest
producer of thermal energy in Nigeria, providing about 18% 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.”
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.”
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
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.”
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.”
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