Tanzania and U.S. Sign “Power Africa” MOU Reaffirming Joint Commitments for the Energy Sector

On the eve of the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit, Tanzanian Minister of Energy and Minerals Professor Sospeter M. Muhongo and the United States Ambassador to Tanzania Mark Childress signed a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for on-going and future U.S. Government support under Power Africa. The MOU signing took place on Sunday, August 3, 2014 at the Tanzanian Embassy to the United States in Washington, DC. Both Minister Muhongo and Ambassador Childress were in Washington, DC for the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit.

The Power Africa MOU reaffirms joint commitments for the energy sector taken under the Partnership for Growth Initiative and expands them to include the full range of U.S. Government inter-agency support to Power Africa and the Government of Tanzania’s own Big Results Now (BRN) Initiative to increase generation capacity and expand access to electricity.

Power Africa in Tanzania is supporting the Tanzanian energy sector through transaction assistance for priority power generation projects, technical advice to release the constraints to private sector investment, and capacity building for key institutions. Transactions for power generation projects currently underway include: the Kinyerezi gas-fired plant in Dar es Salaam which will serve the main grid with a source of cheaper and cleaner energy; a small hydro project that will supply power to Mbeya, and a solar power plant that will provide power to Kigoma and the surrounding area.

The Power Africa Initiative, announced by President Barack Obama in June 2013, is designed to increase access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa over the next five years beginning in six focus countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Liberia, Ghana, and Nigeria. A key goal is to add cleaner, more efficient electric generation capacity.