Mar 07 - Xinhua News Agency - CEIS

African ministers of energy and water affairs were to cooperate on developing hydropower's potential to provide affordable energy to Africans, said South African Minerals and Energy Minister Lindiwe Hendricks here Monday.

"Africa is lagging behind the rest of the world, both with respect to the development of our energy resources and our water resources. And due to the variation in climate in Africa, both within one year and between years, we can not rely on the run of rivers alone for water supply or for hydropower supply," said Hendricks at the African ministerial conference on hydropower and sustainable development, which opened here Monday.

Hendricks said the South African government felt it was important to host the conference so a plan of action could be prepared to harness the huge potential of hydropower that Africa has, and to contribute to providing affordable, clean energy to Africans.

To reach the objectives of the conference, the ministers would need to investigate the potential of hydropower to contribute to the objectives of Nepad (New Partnership for Africa's Development), compare the attributes of hydropower to other sources of energy, and ascertain how far hydropower resources had already been developed, and what potential remained for further development, she said.