At the Africa Energy Indaba on Tuesday, a panel of speakers asserted that Africa was apparently capable enough to solve the energy challenges which it faces, and bring about notable changes in its economic scenario.

Addressing the Africa Energy Indaba, World Energy Council head Christoph Frei said it is essential that South Africa creates a coherent energy policy; otherwise it will have no respite from its ongoing issue of relying on power utility Eskom. Frei further added that if the country fails to come up with a coherent energy policy, millions of South Africans will continue to remain in energy poverty.

Noting that South Africa has been slow with regard to renewable energy projects, Frei said that it is imperative for the country to create one single policy on energy.

With a sharp drop in energy security causing South Africa to fall two places to 57 out of the 93-strong membership on the World Energy Council's 2012 Energy Sustainability Index, Brian Statham - Chairman of the South African National Energy Association - said that the country's slowness in creating renewable energy businesses resulted from the difficulties it faced in competing against low electricity prices.

Pointing out that "electricity was cheap here for many years so there was not much incentive to open businesses creating power that were not coal-based," Statham said: "But, in the last few years, the private sector has become involved in renewable energy because companies like Eskom have not been able to serve everyone."