The Secretary General of AADFI – Mr. Joseph Amihere,

Senior Officials of our Partner Institutions – the ADI, AADFI and DBSA,

Speakers here present,

Participants,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me take this opportunity to recognize and congratulate all participants for their commitment and dedication in going through this programme over the past week.

It is my fervent hope that you have found this experience productive and worthwhile, and that the programme has enhanced your knowledge and understanding of the key issues in the energy sector in general, and in particular, the challenges of seeking out and utilizing alternative and renewable energy resources, so critical to our regional development programmes.

More importantly, you have been able to position your institution as potential and key players in the financing of such projects, and that, not only may these become an important component of your portfolios but that you would also be leaders in the development programmes of your respective countries and indeed the region in this sector.

I am aware that you have had various presentations on the subject matter and the last thing you want to listen to is yet another lecture on renewable energy. But, kindly bear with me if I walk over the same territory for this would be only for purposes of illustration and emphasis.

There is no doubt that generation and provision of energy is one of the biggest challenges in the continent. The current energy crisis, especially in the Southern Africa region, bears ample testimony to this, and only underscores the need for prioritizing the identification and development of alternative and renewable sources of energy.

The positive and significant effect on the economic and social lives of our peoples cannot be overemphasized. It is a fact that huge resource gaps exist for development of vast infrastructure projects and their maintenance, among these the energy sector. The situation is even direr given the competing development needs of our countries and the region on the whole.

In this regard, it is important that we adapt our facilities in terms of scale and location to meet the needs of our communities on a smaller scale without massive and prohibitive investment in supporting services. It is also important to take advantage of the abundance that nature provides through solar, wind, bioenergy and geothermal power systems, and countless other innovations which can be readily harnessed by our communities in a manageable and affordable way.

I need not emphasize this, but research has shown that only about 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewable sources. And this means that we are not optimally utilizing natural resources to generate energy. Africa has enough natural resources to generate renewable energy and, in this respect, it is critical that utilization of renewable energy is actively promoted.

As the experts would have demonstrated during the course of your workshop, we will, of course, not have to reinvent the wheel. For instance, countries like Brazil are well recognized for some of the largest renewable energy programmes in the world, involving production of ethanol fuel from sugarcane and other sources. Today ethanol now provides 18% of the Brazil’s automotive fuel. Opportunities to learn from these countries are abundant and should be pursued as we develop our own programmes.

I would therefore urge DFIs, as you leave this workshop, to examine carefully the field of energy provision and to develop suitable financing instruments, either singly or in cooperation with regional and multilateral financial institutions to catalyze the renewable energy sector which is crucial to the upliftment of and the eventual alleviation of poverty among our populaces. I cannot emphasize further the role of DFIs in leading and positioning yourselves as key advisors to your respective governments in the development of renewable energy plans, policy and regulatory frameworks and the requisite institutional structures such as renewable energy units. As mandated development finance agencies, it is only fitting that you take the lead as advisors to governments in the renewable energy space.

The DFRC recognizes the critical importance of this sector, and welcomes the opportunity to engage with partner institutions – the AADFI, DBSA, IDC (SA) and the African Development Institute – in bringing these issues to the fore and, in particular, to the attention of the DFIs. This workshop has also provided an opportunity for global and African experts on energy to conference with DFIs from across Africa and share experiences and prospects of tapping on this significant economic opportunity.

The DFRC has continued to build strong cooperative partnerships with the AADFI, DBSA and the African Development Institute in various areas. It is important for us to actively engage with each other at the continental level and to learn from each other’s successes and challenges, establish common standards and contribute significantly to Africa’s development goals.

We are confident that this cooperation will lead to harnessing of the best minds in Africa, and channeling technical and financial resources in an efficient and effective manner to address contemporary developmental challenges, and catalyze the development finance sector to make it, as mandated, a significant contributor to the development process in Africa.

On our part, the DFRC will continue to pursue programmes in capacity building in the coming year. We will also remain actively involved in promoting Public Private Partnership (PPPs) through the SADC PPP network which we host, contribute to the operationalization of the Project Preparation and Development Facility (PPDF) and the establishment of the SADC Development Fund. We see, for instance, synergies between PPPs and renewable energy projects as some may require the collaboration or partnerships between the public and private sector investors.

All these emerging structures complement each other and constitute development system of SADC of which DFIs are a key component. In SADC we have the Protocol on Finance and Investment which provides the overarching superstructure within which these development structures are coordinated.

DFRC will therefore continue to be active in the establishment of institutional structures and capacity development challenges in the region, a prerequisite for effective resources mobilization and their efficient allocation to critical areas of development. This is our mandate.

In conclusion, I would like to pay tribute to and to congratulate the ADI, AADFI and DBSA for the effort made in conceptualizing, developing, resourcing and implementing the programme. Thank you for a successful programme. Let’s have many more.

To the participants, we thank you for your time and we look forward to your more rigorous participation in supporting the renewable energy sector. I hope that the workshop has not only allowed you a platform to learn and share experiences but has also given you the opportunity to establish contacts for networking as you develop your own programmes.

Last but not least, the speakers and various contributors to the workshop, your support has been invaluable. Your work has not ended with this workshop. We will definitely be calling upon you in future as we continue to build capacity in this important sector of renewable energy.

May I wish you safe journeys to your respective destinations.

With these few words, I would like to take this opportunity to declare the programme officially closed.

I thank you.

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SADC – DFRC

9th March 2012