Chakwera urges energy mix
President Lazaruss Chakwera has called for regional coordination as Africa pursues an ambitious project to provide access to reliable and affordable energy to 300 million people by 2030.
Speaking at the Africa Energy Summit dubbed Mission 300 which ended yesterday in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania with leaders signing a Dar es Salaam Energy Declaration to undertake projects that will increase access to reliable and affordable energy, the President said regional considerations should take centre stage when nations plan their energy solutions.

Said Chakwera: “For Malawi, interconnectors with Mozambique, Zambia and Tanzania will allow us to enhance power trading and tap into cost-effective energy sources from across the region.
“This is a prime example of how partnerships within the Southern African and Eastern African Power Pool can unlock the continent’s full energy potential.”
He said energy deficiency in Africa was alarming with nearly 600 million people having no access to electricity and close to a billion lacking access to clean cooking solutions.
“These figures are not just statistics, they are stories of a huge potential left unrealised; they are stories of communities held back from progress. As leaders, we must match these challenges with the urgency they demand,” said Chakwera.
The President said the Malawi Government targets to increase electricity access from 25.9 percent to 70 percent by 2030 and intends to expand renewable energy to 96 percent with over 2.7 million households connected through a combination of on-grid and off-grid solutions.
Chakwera added that Malawi has demonstrated the power of public-private partnerships, with Independent Power Producers contributing significantly to renewable energy capacity.
He said: “In Malawi, we are reforming our power utility, the Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi Limited [Escom] to ensure cost recovery, operational efficiency, and transparency.
“This is not just about balancing books; it is about building trust and delivering value to the people we serve.”
In his contribution, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema agreed that there is need for countries to have an energy mix because over reliance on grid electricity has proven costly to his country which is now facing a huge energy deficit due to drought.
The summit was a collaboration between the World Bank, African Development Bank (AfDB) and other global partners.
In his speech, AfDB Group president Akinwumi Adesina called for partnerships between governments and private sector players to achieve Mission 300 goals.
He said: “We need everybody, the heads of State, the private sector, the multilateral development banks, civil society, all of us working together.
“It’s not about us. It’s about those who are not here, the small business enterprises trying to simply have access to electricity to run our economies.”
According to AfDB, the summit brought together more than 1 000 participants, including several heads of State, development partners, and strong representation from the private sector.