The 9th UNESCO Africa Engineering Week 2023 heard a powerful call for a Pan-African approach to energy infrastructure when Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, Minister in the Presidency for Electricity, delivered the keynote address on the second day of the conference. Hosted by the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA), the 9th UNESCO Africa Engineering Week (AEW) and 7th Africa Engineering Conference ran from 25 to 28 September 2023.
A Pan-African view on energy infrastructure at Africa Engineering Week 2023
Addressing delegates at Africa Engineering Week 2023, Minister Ramokgopa placed engineers at the centre of resolving the continent’s infrastructure challenges.
“Engineers in developing infrastructure, are central to the resolution of issues of perineal under-funding and policy missteps over time, resulting in South Africa being plunged into darkness and that other African countries learn from our mistakes.”
He argued that regional integration and private sector investment were essential to achieving energy security across the continent.
“We require a collective approach for Africa to achieve its potential. Our region is not energy secure and to achieve this we need to systematically undermine sovereign borders. Electrical infrastructure is important in driving growth and prosperity. Within South Africa, ESKOM does not have the resources, and therefore, we need to take advantage of private sector liquidity.”
“Chronic underinvestment in infrastructure is preventing African producers from ramping up production to meet global demand. Currently half a billion people on the continent do not have access to electricity. Regional integration will ensure that we become energy secure – as long as we are disjointed, we will be super exploited!”
He concluded by stating: In every crisis there is opportunity – opportunity can only be seen by engineers and therefore we are looking to you as engineers to resolve this problem!
A call for diversity and inclusivity
At the start of his address, Minister Ramokgopa reflected on the conference’s strong diversity and inclusivity theme, noting: Until hearing the presentations by our distinguished women speakers, I had no appreciation of what women go through to become engineers – at Eskom, we have 14 coal fired power stations, 1 nuclear power station and 3 peaking stations and there’s only 2 female general managers.
He thanked his fellow presenters for highlighting the importance of diversity and inclusivity.
Deputy Governor of Ogun State, Nigeria, Noimot Salako-Oyedele, warned that at the current rate it will take 140 years to achieve workplace equality for women, noting that “Women engineers in Africa account for 10% of all engineers, in South Africa only 12% of registered professional engineers are women and in Nigeria this drops to 7,5%.” She added: “Diversity leads to greater profitability and economic growth and therefore it is crucial to break down barriers.”
Prof. Elizabeth Taylor told the audience that the International Engineering Alliance (IEE) focused on engineering mobility beyond jurisdictional borders, noting that South Africa and Nigeria are, out of 30 countries, the only two African members of the alliance. She stated: “Active engagement by all results in rich outcomes. Diversity leads to greater profitability and economic growth.”
Innovation and service to society
Dr Sandile Malinga, Group Executive for Smart Mobility at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), described the CSIR as “accelerators of socio-economic development and prosperity in South Africa through innovation working closely with engineers, connecting research, innovation and technology through collaboration.” Dr Msizi Myeza, CEO of the Council for the Built Environment (CBE), provided the plenary vote of thanks, stating: “It is about the service that we as engineers deliver to society!”
Discussions continued through the parallel sessions, which focused on Technical Papers; Business-to-Business (B2B); Women in Engineering; and Student and Young Practitioners.
Original Press Release
About ECSA
The Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) is the statutory body established under the Engineering Profession Act, 46 of 2000, mandated to regulate the engineering profession in South Africa. ECSA is responsible for the accreditation of engineering programmes, the registration of engineering practitioners, and upholding professional and ethical standards across the profession.
Issued by the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA).
ECSA Media Contact
Sybil Dlamini, Manager: Marketing and Communication
Email: sybil@ecsa.co.za | Tel: 073 623 8275
Website: www.ecsa.co.za
This article is based on an official ECSA press release. Read the original statement.
