Unlocking Africa’s resources potential requires infrastructure development and this should be pursued collaboratively, Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said on the second day of the Business 20 (B20) Summit, in Sandton, on November 19.

The B20 South Africa 2025 Summit is being held for the first time in Africa, as part of South Africa’s G20 presidency.

The B2O, a substream of the G20, brings together global business leaders, policymakers and partners for three days of dialogue, debate and collaboration.

In a fireside chat with chemicals and energy company Sasol president and CEO Simon Baloyi, themed 'Powering Africa’s Industrial Future: Energy and Infrastructure to Unlock Africa’s Materials Potential', Ramokgopa highlighted Africa’s natural advantages, with significant mineral endowments underpinning the decarbonisation agenda.

Moreover, the region boasted natural advantages in renewable energy endowments, including plentiful solar and wind resources, he pointed out.

Africa also had significant amounts of uninhabited land that did not compete with other economic activities, the Minister said.

“We have everything that is required for us to be able to support decarbonisation and, on the back of that, we are able to industrialise,” Ramokgopa averred.

However, there is a challenge of access to electricity to mine and beneficiate these minerals, as well as the high-end skills to achieve this.

Ramokgopa said that, rather than being perceived as a setback, this presentsed considerable opportunities, hinged on implementing the proper policies and interventions with the private sector to exploit these.

“Africa has an opportunity to resolve these challenges. . .  Through conversations with the private sector, we are able to find each other and the kind of capital that is required to support this endeavour, it sits with the private sector,” he averred, adding that there were good levels of alignment in this regard within South Africa, as well as with other regions on the continent.

Baloyi pointed out that, despite the continent having the natural endowments alluded to by the Minister, many people lived under the poverty line and without access to electricity.

He added that there was a lack of energy and supply chain logistics to further process the minerals; therefore, it was critical to pursue public-private partnerships as advocated by Ramokgopa, as well as work with communities who should also be beneficiaries.

“That collaboration will absolutely be key in making sure that we build the infrastructure,” Baloyi highlighted.

He said transmission infrastructure needed to be expanded for power to be distributed.

Baloyi posited that this infrastructure would be the backbone for further industrialisation.

He also mentioned the importance of focusing on the energy mix and the just energy transition, as more energy was added.

Baloyi stated that it was important, in terms of the energy mix, that energy was reliable, always available and cheap.

Ramokgopa emphasised that the transition must be at a pace and scale that was affordable. For example, in South Africa, which was able to industrialise because of coal, there was a need to ensure that coal-reliant communities and industries were not left behind, before complying with international obligations, he explained.

“As I speak to you, coal represents about 80% of dispatched electricity, and then our projection is that by 2039 coal will be 27%, wind is going to be about 35%, and PV about 27% - so you can see that we are pivoting. But of course, coal remains the backbone . . .” 

Ramokgopa said this was not a binary approach; rather, all sources were being considered, adding: “What is significant is that the lights must be on all the time, the electricity must be affordable, it must be quality electricity, as we drive our ambitions for universal access and broadening the industrial flow.”

He also highlighted work in the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) to identify priority corridors to streamline energy access, with varied energy sources to be shared across this region.

The SAPP is a Southern African Development Community central electricity trading hub.

“We see the region as a single integrated electricity market,” he highlighted, adding that there was an ambition to connect the rest of the continent.

Baloyi reiterated the need for collaboration, noting the need to be clear on elements such as the same standards for grid codes.

“We have to collaborate rather than compete, because that’s going to help all of us to move faster,” he emphasised, adding that there was the potential to broaden this further by pursuing global collaboration on technologies.

Ramokgopa expressed his hope that the G20 and B20 would bolster alignment between the public and private sectors.

Further to this, Baloyi called for a recommitment to solidarity and unity.