UN Representative Lays Out Zambia's Ambitious Energy Expansion

Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN), Muhabi Lungu, has said the New Dawn Government is determined to make energy affordable, reliable, and sustainable. He said the government aim to give all citizens easy access to both hydro and solar generated power.

Mr Lungu said the Zambian Government has put in aims to create a constructive policy environment that will attract private investment in power generation, transmission, distribution, and retail.

Delivering Zambia’s statement at the ongoing 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA76), Mr Lungu said the Government was committed to enhancing cooperation with its development partners to realise the ambition of making energy affordable to all citizens. He acknowledged that reliable energy was one of the key to economic growth and sustainable development.

“Energy is one of the key enablers of economic growth and sustainable development. It is key in achieving speedy recovery to the 2030 Agenda and the goal of net-zero carbon emission by 2030. Zambia under President Hakainde Hichilema is therefore implementing an ambitious energy investment plan to increase power generation capacity and expand the energy mix with renewable energy being at the centre,” Mr Lungu said.

Mr Lungu said Zambia had so far placed 75 percent of the 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into its 7th National Development Plan (7NDP) and incorporated them in the 8th National Development Plan (8NDP), which will run from 2022 to 2027.

He stated that the country had recorded milestones in some sectors of the economy such as education, health, gender, and energy despite the challenges the country has been facing in its development agenda.