By Aldridge Dzvene
VICTORIA FALLS — The Southern African Development Community, SADC, must urgently synchronise its regulatory frameworks, tariffs and enforcement mechanisms to create a unified and investment-ready regional energy market, Zimbabwe’s Minister of Energy and Power Development said at the official opening of the SADC Sustainable Energy Week in Victoria Falls.
Addressing delegates at the high-level forum on Monday, the Minister positioned regulatory alignment as the missing link in consolidating the regional energy market under the oversight of the Southern African Power Pool, SAPP. He said harmonisation would not only reduce market fragmentation but also enhance investor confidence and position SADC as a secure destination for both domestic and international capital.
“Realising the importance of regulation, we need to strengthen our regulatory systems through synchronising laws, tariffs and application of the system,” he said. “This will strengthen us as SADC and will make us a regional bloc.”
Held under the theme Driving Regional Economic Growth through Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency, the second edition of the conference has drawn policymakers, energy experts and industry leaders from across the region to Victoria Falls, Matabeleland North Province. The platform is designed to accelerate the transition to sustainable energy, improve energy security and stimulate economic growth through coordinated regional action.
Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Energy and Power Development is co-hosting the conference with the SADC Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, alongside government departments and private sector sponsors. The week-long programme includes plenary and sponsored sessions, bilateral engagements and technical field visits focused on renewable energy deployment, energy efficiency and deeper regional integration.
The Minister acknowledged that while renewable energy expansion remains a priority, conventional thermal and hydropower stations continue to play a stabilising role in the regional energy mix. He emphasised that energy efficiency across industry, mining and manufacturing must accompany new generation capacity to maximise economic returns.
“Our machinery in industry, in mining and across the entire economy must be energy efficient if we are going to realise benefit from the available energy resources,” he said.
Zimbabwe is expected to present its Energy Compact during a ministerial segment, which the Minister described as a strategic blueprint aligned with the country’s Vision 2030 objective of attaining upper middle-income status by 2030. The compact is set to outline reforms, investment pathways and infrastructure priorities aimed at strengthening domestic generation while deepening regional interconnectivity.
Beyond infrastructure and generation targets, the Minister highlighted persistent gaps in regional energy data collection, particularly in generation, transmission, distribution and retail statistics. He called for improved reporting standards and coordinated information systems, noting that accurate data remains essential for market transparency and long-term planning.
Delegates attending the summit include Eswatini’s Minister of Natural Resources and Energy, His Royal Highness Prince Lonkhokhela Dlamini, senior government officials, SADC representatives, ambassadors, sponsors and energy ministers from across the region, including Zambia.
Analytically, the conference reflects SADC’s broader attempt to reposition energy as a catalyst for industrialisation and regional value chain development. By prioritising regulatory alignment and cross-border cooperation, the bloc is seeking to move beyond policy rhetoric toward a more structured, bankable and interconnected power market.
The summit will conclude with site visits to sustainable energy projects in Victoria Falls, including community biogas digesters and solar thermal installations at a local hotel, underscoring efforts to translate high-level dialogue into practical implementation.
As deliberations continue, Victoria Falls has effectively become a strategic hub for regional engagement on sustainable development and energy transformation, with policymakers under pressure to convert commitments into measurable outcomes that strengthen regional resilience and economic competitiveness.
