“Let there be light” - lessons for developing countries

The Bible gives an account of how this earth was created. At the beginning of creation, the earth was devoid of light and was full of darkness. So God said, “Let there be light; and there was light.” He made two great lights (sun and moon) and the stars. The sun to provide light during the day and the moon and stars to provide light in the night. Just as God called forth light unto the earth, so must developing countries facing power crisis put on the light. 

According to the IMF, about 30 out of the 48 countries in sub-Saharan Africa have suffered acute energy crisis in recent years. Ghana for instance has experienced 5 major periods of power crises since 1980s. Ghana is said to be among the top 10 countries in the world that have experienced and continue to experience crippling load shedding. South Africa, which produces electricity more than the rest of the entire Africa put together, has also been suffering from power crisis since 2006. Power crisis is adversely affecting the economies of several developing economies such as Ghana and South Africa. 

Let there be light in developing countries! Available, affordable, quality, reliable and sustainable electricity supply in developing countries will enhance economic growth and development. This can be achieved by drawing some key lessons from how God solved the maiden power crisis. 

Firstly, God identified the problem and took decisive steps to solve it permanently. Secondly, God prioritised solving the first power crisis before creating anything else. Lastly, God created different sources of power (sun, moon and stars) and put them to optimum use at different times (day and night); sun for the day, moon and stars for the night. 

The lessons to draw are the following: there is a need to recognise that the erratic supply of power in developing countries is indeed problematic. Further, leaders in developing countries ought to prioritize the solving of power crisis over all other things since energy is central to the effective functioning of every sector of an economy. Lastly, all sources of energy must be utilised for optimal results. Let there be light!