Coordinator’s Corner — February 2020
Friends,
After seven wonderful years, I am stepping down as Power Africa Coordinator to assume a new role as Chief Development Officer at the new U.S. International Development Finance Corporation. I’m excited about this new opportunity to expand private sector investment in development. I surely will apply lessons learned from Power Africa. Power Africa’s joint effort now includes more than 170 public and private partners who have committed $56 billion to end energy poverty, making us the largest public-private partnership for development in the world. We’re also saying goodbye to Katie Auth and Richard Nelson, who served as Deputy Coordinators in Washington, DC and Pretoria, South Africa, respectively. They’re two of the greatest human beings with whom I’ve ever worked, and I’m sure both will continue to accomplish great things.
Power Africa’s work to date promises to bear fruit for decades to come. We’ve helped the first independent power projects (IPPs) move from concept to commissioning in more than a dozen African countries. We’ve worked side-by-side with committed African officials to better plan and manage their nearly limitless energy resources. We’ve provided them with support to negotiate fair, sustainable power projects at record low prices — ultimately benefiting the consumer. We all have worked together to bring electrical light for the first time to nearly 75 million people. And we have shown the world how 12 U.S. Government agencies and 20 international development partners can work seamlessly together on actual infrastructure projects.
We survived media scrutiny, Congressional scrutiny, an Inspector General audit, and our own scrutiny. Our errors miraculously have been few — but that’s because we brought together a diverse team of authentic, hard-working, committed people and made it clear that this effort was a team effort — no individual had the answer. We each brought different skills to the table. We all enjoyed working with one another. I’ve described our building of Power Africa as making a giant pot of stone soup (for those of you familiar with the children’s story). We had little to start with and many were slightly suspicious of us, but eventually everyone pitched in — USG agencies, private companies, NGOs, development partners, the U.S. Congress, think tanks, and most importantly, African governments — producing great results. We shared and pursued ideas, and we changed course when something wasn’t working. We all celebrated our accomplishments together.
I’m very proud that USAID, as the White House-designated coordinating agency for Power Africa, has never sought to lord over any other U.S. Government (USG) agency or other partner. Everyone has a seat at the table. In fact, USAID generously shares its resources — financial and human — with other USG agencies, African governments, and other development partners — helping each partner do more of what it can do well. Interagency and development partner coordination has flourished in an unprecedented and effective way.
Companies have come to rely on and greatly appreciate Power Africa’s one-stop shop model, helping them find whatever tool is necessary to overcome the obstacles that their deals face. I’ve been on the phone with companies as frequently as I was on the phone with colleagues from other agencies or countries — which is to say, daily. We have been collaborative and transparent — no withholding information from others and no turf wars — showing how agencies can work well together and how government works well for the taxpayer. We have driven hundreds of millions of dollars of U.S. exports to Africa — all while leveraging billions of dollars of private sector investment into development projects. And we have shown that U.S. exports can arise because we partner with other countries simply because we become aware of projects early on and are able to pass on trade leads. The Power Africa model is one that every member of Congress agreed works when they unanimously passed the Electrify Africa Act.
Coordination hasn’t been easy or perfect. Each agency and partner still has its own mandates and goals, and we don’t always see eye-to-eye — but we talk about our differences, respect one another’s mandates, and recognize that we’re all working towards the same goals, albeit in different ways. And there are detractors out there. Barely a day went by over the last seven years when I didn’t rely on advice a mentor provided to me when Power Africa first started: “If people aren’t taking swings at you, you’re not doing your job.” But I know that every member of our team, including you, truly is exceptional.
I sleep well at night, knowing that there are children who will never know what life was like breathing kerosene fumes around the family table. That’s right — even a solar lantern makes a difference; and if you don’t agree, I challenge you to turn out the lights in your office and burn a kerosene lamp on your desk for a while and tell me how that goes. But we all agree that a lantern is not enough for a modern energy future. Even having a television being powered by solar panels is not enough if a family is still using wood and charcoal for cooking. We must, and will, accomplish much more in the future, bringing people a truly modern energy lifestyle, using all technologies available.
Today is a far contrast from the early days of Power Africa when my head literally would pound from stress and fear at a time when we had very few resources and very high expectations. But working together we still set goals higher than those that others thought we could achieve, and we are achieving them.
I remain frustrated that some countries have not made more progress in these seven years and that 550 million people in Africa still do not have access to electricity. Nevertheless, for the first time, people are gaining access to electricity at a faster rate than population growth, so we will achieve our goals. I remain even more passionate today about Power Africa’s mission and have not lost my drive to work with all of you to succeed. I will bring that same passion to my new job.
As we look forward, I hope that you all will focus more on the countries that truly need our assistance — those countries where it is difficult to work, that have not yet gotten their first IPP across the finish line, that have few people with the skills necessary to manage an efficient power sector, and where there are cities with millions of people who still have no access to electricity. That’s why we still need this initiative. Let’s keep helping government officials learn how to better manage their power sector, let’s crowd in the private sector, and let’s make sure that all countries can emerge from energy poverty in the next decade. But those countries must demonstrate true political will to ensure that investments will be safe. The power sector remains a massive, untapped investment opportunity, but remains susceptible to predatory lending practices that can saddle countries with massive debt if the countries themselves are not in control of their resources and the deal-making process. Power Africa has offered a sustainable, fair alternative to those bad practices, and in the process has created tens of thousands of jobs for Africans.
I hope you all will keep thinking differently, keep thinking critically, and keep thinking big. Our blogs over the last few years have aimed to speak truth to power, as in our “Seven Deadly Challenges” blog, and to predict what the future might hold, as in my recent blog on “How to Achieve Universal Energy Access with Electric Motorcycles.” Have the courage to stop doing things that aren’t producing results, and when people tell you to slow down, don’t.
I can’t thank each and all of you enough for all of your support and hard work, and a special thanks to all of you and your families for your commitment to this effort. I estimate that more than 50 babies have been born to Power Africa team members since we started this effort. There are a lot of cutie pies out there who wore Power Africa onesies at some point! As Katie said on her last day, “many of us became adults with Power Africa.” It’s changed me. It’s changed how the U.S. Government conducts business. It’s changed how everyone does development. Nobody can change that. Power Africa’s extended, very capable team remains in place and will continue to work together to bring an end to energy poverty.
Andrew M. Herscowitz
