The African Union Commission (AUC) concluded the Fifth Ordinary Session of the Specialised Technical Committee on Transport and Energy (STC-T&E) today in Johannesburg, bringing together Ministers and experts from across the continent to accelerate infrastructure integration and address critical challenges in Africa’s transport and energy sectors.
The four-day session, hosted by the Republic of South Africa from 27-30 April 2026, reviewed progress on continental initiatives including the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA), the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), the African Single Electricity Market (AfSEM), and the Grand Inga Hydropower Project. Ministers provided strategic guidance on priority programmes and elected a new Bureau to steer the Committee’s work for the next two years.
In a defining moment for the global economy marked by structural volatility, fragmentation, and compounding shocks, Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy at the African Union Commission, Ms. Lorato Mataboge emphasized that Africa faces challenges on its infrastructure and energy sectors, including rising fuel costs, inflationary strains, and constrained fiscal space exacerbated by average continental debt levels of 64% of GDP. She noted that the continent’s infrastructure deficit reduces GDP growth by up to 2% annually and productivity losses as high as 40%, with transport costs up to 175% higher than other regions, while 600 million Africans lack electricity and nearly 1 billion lack clean cooking solutions. Despite these challenges.
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Despite these challenges, the Commissioner highlighted that Africa’s fundamental challenge “is not resource scarcity, but structural dependence,” noting that the continent possesses 125 billion barrels of oil reserves, 18 trillion cubic meters of natural gas, up to 40 percent of global renewable energy potential, and abundant critical minerals, resources that can drive economic transformation if backed by adequate infrastructure.
Commissioner Mataboge stressed that the African Union’s Specialized Technical Committee on Transport and Energy is the continent’s principal ministerial decision-making body, acting as a bridge between strategy and execution to enable collective, decisive action. “This STC is not merely a convening platform. It is the continent’s principal ministerial decision-making organ… In a world of increasing fragmentation, this STC represents Africa’s collective instrument for coherence, alignment, and decisive action,” she said. She called for increased infrastructure investment to at least 4.5% of GDP, stronger private capital mobilization, regional integration through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and a relentless focus on implementation. The Commissioner concluded by stressing that the challenge is no longer one of strategy, but of execution and calling for strengthened collaboration among Member States, Regional Economic Communities, and development partners.
Delivering the keynote address on behalf of the Republic of South Africa, Minister of Electricity and Energy H.E. Dr. Kgosientsho Ramokgopa framed the current global context as a strategic inflection point where energy and transport infrastructure have become instruments of power and economic sovereignty. He argued that Africa’s dual constraints, energy deficits affecting 600 million people and fragmented transport systems raising trade costs, are mutually reinforcing and must be resolved through integrated planning that treats transport and energy as a single economic platform. Minister Ramokgopa called for moving beyond raw material extraction to local beneficiation, aligning infrastructure development with industrialisation, and shifting the focus from frameworks to measurable outcomes such as megawatts added, corridors operationalised, and jobs created.
In his opening remarks as outgoing Chair of the STC, Mr Messele Getu, representing H.E. Dr. Alemu Sime Feyisa, Minister of Transport and Logistics of Ethiopia, highlighted progress under the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), the African Integrated Railway Network master plan, and the Africa Energy Strategy. Acknowledging external pressures from global energy market volatility, Dr. Alemu emphasised that such challenges present an opportunity for Africa to accelerate investments in local refining, strategic reserves, and resilient logistics systems. He called for strengthened coordination between transport and energy planning, positioning integrated corridors as strategic enablers of economic resilience under the AfCFTA.
Ministers and leaders at the ministerial session underscored a critical shift from policy design to decisive implementation at scale. They reaffirmed that transport and energy infrastructure is the backbone of Africa’s industrialization and the AfCFTA, while addressing structural constraints such as the massive financing gap, external supply chain reliance, and energy access deficits.
Strong calls were made to develop integrated multimodal logistics corridors linking production zones to markets, and to move Africa beyond raw material exports toward local beneficiation, manufacturing, and value addition.
Key outcomes of the session include endorsement of continental studies on aviation infrastructure gaps, railway development, port digitalisation, and green ports; approval of the African E-Mobility Framework and the Pan-African Action Plan for Active Mobility; and review of progress on the African Energy Transition Strategy and Action Plan.
Ministers also noted the entry into force of the Revised African Maritime Transport Charter (August 2025) and the African Road Safety Charter (March 2026), marking significant milestones in continental governance frameworks.
The new Bureau of the STC-T&E was elected in accordance with the Committee’s rules of procedure, ensuring balanced sectoral representation and geographical distribution.
The Bureau of the meeting was constituted according to STC Rules of Procedure as follows:
- Chair: Central (Gabon)
- 1st Vice Chair: West (Togo)
- 2nd Vice Chair: Northern Africa (Deferred)
- 3rd Vice Chair: Southern Africa (South Africa)
- Rapporteur: Eastern Africa (Ethiopia)
The adopted Ministerial Declaration and Experts’ Report will guide implementation efforts until the next ordinary session.
The African Union Commission reaffirmed its commitment to working with Member States, AUDA-NEPAD, the African Development Bank, UNECA, and other partners to mobilise resources and accelerate project delivery across the continent.