At the 43rd Joint Meeting of SADC Ministers for Energy and Water in Harare this week, a startling revelation emerged: four Southern African nations—Angola, Mozambique, South Africa, and Tanzania—are sitting on a surplus of energy that could power the region, yet outdated and insufficient transmission lines are choking the flow, leaving millions in the darkelect.
While the Southern African Development Community (SADC) boasts an installed energy capacity of 85,221 megawatts as of May 2025, a regional shortfall of 792 megawatts persists, ballooning to 4,509 megawatts among countries linked by the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP). The bottleneck? A lack of robust interconnections to shuttle excess power from energy-rich nations to those grappling with deficits.
“This is a paradox of plenty,” said SADC Deputy Executive Secretary for Regional Integration, Ms. Angele Makombo N’tumba, addressing ministers and senior officials.
“We have the power, but not the pathways. Our region’s industrial and commercial growth is being throttled by infrastructure that hasn’t kept pace with ambition.”
The five-day summit, which kicked off Monday, isn’t just another bureaucratic gathering—it’s a high-stakes push to unlock billions in investments for renewable energy and water infrastructure.
Dr. Gloria Magombo, Permanent Secretary in Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Energy and Power Development, emphasized the urgency:
“Our industries are hungry for reliable power. We’re seeing massive investments, but without transmission upgrades, we’re pouring water into a leaking bucket.”
The meeting’s agenda is packed with bold proposals: from fast-tracking cross-border transmission projects to mobilizing funds for climate-resilient water systems.
SADC leaders are banking on these initiatives to transform the bloc into a self-sufficient, resource-secure powerhouse. But with rising demand from industries and urban centers, the clock is ticking.
