By Emmanuel Appah
Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has warned that Africa risks replacing its dependence on fossil fuel exports with dependence on raw mineral exports if the continent fails to rethink how it finances its energy transition.
Speaking at the Future of Energy Conference 2026 in Accra, Dr. Forson said high debt-servicing costs are limiting Africa’s ability to invest in energy infrastructure and industrial development.
He cautioned African countries against pursuing an energy transition that simply changes the form of resource dependency.
“You must not replace fossil fuel export with raw mineral export and call it transformation,” Dr. Forson warned.
He called for greater use of blended finance, guarantees, local currency financing, capital markets and public private partnerships, while emphasising that new financing models must remain affordable.
The Finance Minister also urged investors to focus beyond physical energy infrastructure and support industries that can create jobs and add value to Africa’s natural resources.
He said Africa’s emerging energy opportunities could attract significant private investment, but stressed that countries must first strengthen the fundamentals of energy investment and improve the efficiency of their utilities.
Source: Emmanuel Appah
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