By Abdullahi Lukman
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated on Thursday that Africa has the potential to become a “renewable superpower” and called for increased investment in the continent’s green energy sector.
Speaking at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), Guterres emphasized the need to leverage Africa’s natural resources for the benefit of its people and to build a robust renewables and manufacturing base.
The three-day conference in Japan, attended by leaders including Nigerian President Bola Tinubu and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, serves as a platform for Tokyo to present an alternative to China’s influence in Africa.
Many African nations are currently facing a debt crisis, which has been worsened by reduced Western aid, conflict, and climate change.
Guterres stressed that “debt must not drown development,” urging for more concessional financing and a greater lending capacity from multilateral development banks.
China has been a significant investor in Africa over the past decade through its Belt and Road Initiative, funding major infrastructure projects.
However, new lending has slowed, and a recent report from the Lowy Institute highlighted a “tidal wave” of debt owed to both China and private creditors.
Additionally, Western aid has been reduced, in part due to the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) under President Donald Trump’s administration.
In other news from the conference, Kenyan President William Ruto announced that Kenya is in talks with Toyota for 5,000 “e-mobility vehicles” as part of the country’s commitment to clean energy.
Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba also unveiled a plan to train 30,000 people in artificial intelligence in Africa over three years and to explore a potential Japan-Africa Economic Partnership.
Both Presidents Tinubu and Ramaphosa expressed a desire for a shift from a relationship based on aid to one focused on investment partnerships.
