Plans to end poverty through improved governance, transparency, and accountability in the West African energy sector have been made public by the Economic Community of West African States, the Commission of the West African Economic and Monetary Union, and the Commission of the European Union under the 11th European Development Fund.
According to reports, the program, titled “AGOSE-AO,” cost €32 million to develop and was due to conclude in April 2022. It was officially inaugurated in April 2018.
However, a two-year extension at no additional expense to cover the period from May 2022 to April 2024 was allowed due to delays in project implementation brought on by the COVID-19 epidemic.
The news was announced at the fourth steering committee gathering, “Improving Governance of the Energy Sector in West Africa,” held on Tuesday in Abuja and hosted by ECOWAS.
The EU representatives to Nigeria, the Benin Republic, and Burkina Faso were present at the meeting, which was held at the Stratton hotel in Abuja.
The West African Power Pool, the ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority, the German Agency for International Cooperation, the Energy Charter, the British Council, and NTU International A/S were all represented at the meeting as well.
According to Mr. Bayaornibe Dabire, Director of Energy and Mines for ECOWAS, there is a framework for cooperation and an agreement between ECOWAS, the EU, and other bodies involved to improve the West African energy sector.
Dabire said, “The programme aims to lay a foundation for enhanced governance, transparency, and accountability in the energy sector in West Africa.
“This would also pave the way for universal access to modern, affordable, reliable and sustainable energy services, which is a precondition for sustainable development and for alleviating poverty within the region.”
Meanwhile, the programme team lead, Emmanuel Ramde, also spoke to press during the event.
“The AGOSE-AO project is a €32million programme, and several projects have been executed within it with impactful results. However, these documents are setting a harmonized regulatory and legal framework within the energy sector of the region, thereby creating a conducive environment for better access to energy services, for improved living standards and for the socio-economic development of West Africa in line with the Sustainable Development Goals and with the international commitments on Climate Change.
“Inadequate access to modern energy services and poverty are highly correlated. We believe that we must go beyond just the social dimension and provide energy for productive purposes,” Ramde said.
“This will help them come out of poverty and improve their living standards. Hence, there’s a need to harmonise the legal and regulatory framework across the 15 member states of the ECOWAS, and to ensure a secure, transparent, stable and vibrant common market which will attract investors from within and outside West Africa,” he added.
