MEC for finance wraps Mpumalanga Energy Summit up
The purpose of the summit was to provide opportunities and processes for green economy issues and to act as a conduit for providing feedback to the provincial government.
The two-day Mpumalanga Energy Summit, aimed at positioning the province as the main point of focus for green economy activities, ended today, May 25.
The event started yesterday and took place at The Ridge Hotel, eMalahleni. It was hosted by the Mpuamalanga government.
The summit aimed to create an ecosystem supportive of the green economy, to facilitate the creation of new job opportunities and accelerating growth. It sought to provide a multi-stakeholder platform, panel discussions and breakaways to discuss and agree on key interventions along the relevant sector value chains, to drive accelerated economic growth and job creation in Mpumalanga.
It was intended to create pathways for a just transition, to build provincial consensus on green economy path as an innovative way towards sustainable consumption and production patterns.
Premier Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane hosted the panel of expert speakers and gave her opening speech on Tuesday, May 24.
The MEC for finance, economic development and tourism, Vusi Mkhatshwa, did his wrap-up speech on Wednesday. According to him, over the last two days they have had detailed and specific inputs from academia, businesses, multiple layers of government (the Triple Helix) and community representatives from various backgrounds in the energy sector.
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“These inputs have demonstrated the focus and opportunities available in the province and how affected communities will be integrated in the entire Just Energy Transition value chain consistent with the apt and coherent articulation of the president of the republic of South Africa, that no one must be left behind.”
Mkhatshwa said Mpumalanga has always been the heartbeat of South Africa’s Energy landscape.
“There is an increasingly desperate need for new-generation capacity to be added to the grid to combat load-shedding. We heard from Eskom, technical experts and the private sector that the province has three compelling advantages, which are, first, the human capital and technical capacity to embrace this change, secondly, great wind and solar resources, and, thirdly, we have the grid and the ability to connect projects.”
