In the dark recess of African leaders, By Owei Lakemfa

Billions of believers believe that in the beginning, when God created the world, there was darkness on the face of the earth until the Almighty said: “Let there be light,” and there was light. Since then, humans have been working to bring more light into the world, with electricity being the most ambitious.

Since 1821, when the British scientist, Michael Faraday, invented the electric motor and followed it ten years later with electricity, large parts of humanity have considered the availability of electricity.

However, in Africa, large parts without electricity, and even parts of it, have to suffer from power outages. In recent weeks, three African leaders have had to address the issue head-on, but in different ways. The way Mozambican President Felipe Jacinto Nyusi should be proactive, if from South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa almost declared an emergency; and President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria, with an average of 15 hours a day, to relax and produce a magic wand.

In the last few months, Mozambique has made rapid progress in electrifying the country. The priority is the most vulnerable housing areas, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and refugees, especially from the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is a country that has been at war since it started its liberation struggle in 1964 against Portuguese colonialism. They have also had to take part in the civil war against Western-backed RENAMO rebels, South Africa’s apartheid military, and for the past two years against the terrorist offensive led by the Islamic State, ISIS, which is seeking to establish a foothold in the south. Africa.

Despite this, the country has taken electrification seriously. The electrification rate was just five percent in 2001 rising to 29% in 18 years. In 2020, it will go from 34% to 44% in 2022. Despite being categorized as one of the poorest countries in the world and the seventh poorest in Africa, the leader wants to provide every Mozambican with electricity in 2030. In giving priority to IDPs, the front- want to make life and the host community, more viable. In addition, they strive to ensure that the poorest Mozambicans are not left behind. Mozambican leaders have also shown common sense that the country’s development will depend on the availability, accessibility and affordability of electricity for all.

In South Africa, where people see the availability of electricity as a human right in a technology-driven world, and, power cuts as a denial of rights, President Cyril Ramaphosa had to cancel his trip to the 2023 World Economic Forum in Davos to address it. the problem. For him, power cuts and demands from workers, civil society and business leaders that his government take verifiable steps to address the problem are tantamount to declaring a state of emergency.

The organization has written a letter demanding that Andre de Ruyter, the Chief Executive of the electricity company Eskom Holdings, and, the Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan, end the power cuts, or make a schedule to do so. He also demanded the reversal of the nearly 19% rate hike. He gave a deadline of Friday, January 20, threatening that if his demand is not met, he will be in court three days later to seek relief for damages caused by the power outage. The threat was issued by the United Democratic Movement, Build One South Africa, Inkatha Freedom Party, and the National Union of Metalworkers.

Power cuts, he said, led to radical economic decline and affected all aspects of life, including education, health and business. For this, he demanded: “So that the state should compensate everyone who suffers a measurable financial loss due to the reduction of the burden.” More pressure was piled on the government when the main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, also threatened to ask the court to declare the cuts and the government’s response, as inconsistent with the constitution and therefore illegal.

The Davos summit from January 16, held in the shadow of the Russia-Ukraine War, has the theme: “Cooperation in a fractured world.” It seems very important for President Ramaphosa to be the leader of the BRICS countries pushing for a new economic order.

With internal divisions, he chose to meet with the protesting organizations on Monday to come up with an amicable solution. Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, reported that “businesses and labor are coming forward with ideas, concerns and a strong desire to work with government to find solutions to the current energy crisis”. The government has promised to add 9,000 megawatts of electricity this year, and also to import more electricity to reduce power outages. In addition, Eskom has promised to end the energy crisis by increasing its generating capacity to 65% in 2024 and 70% the following year.

Unlike South Africa, Nigeria’s Big Brother is not disturbed, and its businesses, civil society organizations, and trade unions are not united to demand better services. The issue of long power outages, which has become a cultural thing, is not at the fore as the country moves towards presidential elections on February 25. President Buhari, who promised to solve the country’s power problems during his first term, has only watched the situation escalate as consumers are forced to pay ever-increasing tariffs.

On October 17, 2022, a national newspaper reported that the national grid has collapsed for the 98th time under Buhari! When he came to power in 2015, the distribution of electricity was about 4,100 MW; after seven and a half years as president, the distribution is less than 4,000 MW. Mr. Sunday Oduntan, the Executive Director, Research and Advocacy, Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED), whose members are the sole distributors of electricity in the country, said: “Since 1960, the country has not produced as much as 6,000 MW. of electricity…”

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However, with less than six months left in his presidency, President Buhari, clearly waving his magic wand, told Nigerians in December 2022 that what he could not do in the last 90 months as President, he will do before he leaves office. The Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, speaking at the Aso Rock Presidential Palace, stated: “We will leave the installed capacity of almost 22,000 megawatts.”

The Buhari administration is behaving like a bed drunk, constantly making loud and laughable promises that no rational person will take seriously, but they treat the people they call idiots. While I see President Nyusi and Ramaphosa striving to shine more light on their country, I don’t see that drive in President Buhari.

Owei Lakemfa, former secretary general of African labor, is a human rights activist, journalist and author.