The head of state, Felix Antoine Tshisekedi is determined to take up the challenge of the electrification of the Congo. Conscious of its historic responsibility, it has engaged stakeholders in the clean-up process to address the six major barriers to investment in the electric power sector.

Indeed, Félix Antoine Tshisekedi shares the conclusion that the liberalization of the electricity sector has been a decisive step forward for the country, with the objective of significantly increasing the production of electricity through private investment. However, the repercussions in terms of expected massive investments are slow to materialize.

Six persistent obstacles
In his opening remarks of the Forum on Electric Energy held in Matadi in Central Kongo, the President of the Republic, has identified six main factors that hinder the attractiveness of investments in this growth sector in DR Congo . These are respectively:

– The lack of implementing legislation to facilitate the operationalization of Law No. 014/011 of 17 June 2014 liberalizing the electric power sector;
– The absence of the Regulatory Authority for the Energy Sector created by Law No. 014/011 of 17 June 2014;
– The incomplete nature of SNEL’s transformation process as part of the reform of public enterprises;
– The need to better segment and organize the 3 sectors of the sector namely: the production, transmission and distribution of electricity;
– The absence of the National Agency for Electrification and Energy Services in rural and peri-urban areas provided for by Law No. 014/011 of 17 June 2014;
– The weak capacity of the Provinces to effectively manage projects in Public-Private Partnerships in general and the granting process in particular.

Service rate 8% in 2019
Despite its hydroelectric potential estimated at more than 100,000 megawatts, DR Congo remains one of the countries in the world with access to electricity and not only the lowest but also declining over the years.

If in 2011 this access rate was 9% opening this way the country to join the UN resolution to achieve universal access to electricity by 2030, eight years later later, it decreased by 1%. A decline from 9% to 8%.

And this, in a context where the energy policy adopted in 2009 set as objective an increase in installed capacity of 360 megawatts per year.

« The sluggish evolution of the electrical energy sector reflects the weakness of management and planning capacities in this area. Of the last three hydropower generation projects initiated in the country, only one, that of Zongo 2, has been completed, despite the additional costs recorded and the lack of an adequate infrastructure for transporting electricity. produced energy, « lamented the head of state.

Donc, 182 MW d’augmentation en 37 ans! Alors que notre population a triplée. Un désastre!

— Guylain Nzembele (@ChouchouNzembe1) August 20, 2019

Moreover, the rate of access to electricity in rural areas is around 1% in DR Congo. This requires adequate support for the creation of mini local area networks. Investors have the opportunity to exploit the potential of 10,000 megawatts from pico, micro and mini hydropower plants, of the 890 sites identified through the 145 territories of the Republic.

Towards the acceleration of the action
Faced with the need to overcome the paradox of a country with electric potential among the top five in the world, but which lies
unfortunately at the last rank in the rate of access to electricity, Félix Antoine Tshisekedi expects stakeholders strong recommendations to accelerate the action of the National Executive in this sector.

« With the remediation we intend to do in this buoyant sector, I am convinced that domestic and foreign economic operators will find the opportunity to invest in this sector, » he said.

https://twitter.com/Presidence_RDC/status/1163801233381036032

All in all, the emergence of the DR Congo and the success of African and global commitments for the preservation of forests and the planet depend on the urgency, seriousness and political will that the Congolese authorities will show in the governance. of this sector.

Already access to electricity is listed as the first economic priority of the five-year program of the President of the Republic, Felix Antoine Tshisekedi.

As a reminder, the work of the Forum on electric energy ends this Thursday, August 24, 2019 in Matadi.

« The strategy of financing the development of the sector and the program of the mandate » is the sub-theme of this last day, which will include speaker Ibrahima Konate of the World Bank and Vital Kamerhe, the chief of staff of the President of the Republic.

Emilie MBOYO