The NIALS-Centre for Comparative Law (University of Cape Town) Research Partnership, December 2015 – December 2017

Background Concept

The NIALS/CCLA (University of Cape Town) Partnership, also called the Energy Law and Policy for Development project was a TY Danjuma funded project that was geared towards a research in the Energy Law and Development in Africa. The partnership commenced with a Research methodology workshop comprising representatives of both NIALS and the Center for Comparative Law, University of Cape Town (UCT). This workshop was scheduled for researchers from NIALS to meet with South African energy law researchers at UCT to develop a methodology for the project. The Energy Law and Policy for Development in Africa research workshop was scheduled for 23rd and 24th November 2015 at the CCLA Meeting Room, Faculty of Law, University of Cape Town (UCT). Lead Investigators/Editors were Professor Yinka Omorogbe (NIALS) and Dr. Ada Ordor (CCLA).

NIALS was represented at this Workshop by Professor Yinka Omorogbe, Mrs. Helen Chuma Okoro and Mrs. Nnenna Joy Eboh. Deliberations at the meeting included identifying key research areas in the area of Energy Law in Africa, drawing up timelines within which the project would be concluded as well as identifying the human resources to contribute to the book project. The project period spanned from December 2015 to December 2017.

Activities and Objectives

This research project was concerned with the legal resolution of one of the pressing problems of the 21st century, and a fundamental and critically important issue of our time: the enablement and empowerment of the world’s 1.7 billion people living in poverty and medieval conditions as a result of their dependency on basic biomass for meeting their energy needs, through the provision of modern energy services in their respective communities, wherever they were located.
This internationally recognized issue underpins the declaration of the United Nations of 2014-2020 as the decade of Sustainable Energy for All. It also underpins the realization a few years ago that the Millennium Development Goals were all premised on the provision of access to energy services.

This research was premised on the imperative for the creation of sound and appropriate legal frameworks that promote universal access to energy services to as many previously energy-deprived persons as possible.

This research project was a meaningful effort to advance the implementation of activities to promote energy access, using the law as an instrument of change output.

The research project produced a book titled ‘Ending Africa’s Energy Deficit and the Law: Achieving Sustainable Energy for all in Africa.’ It captures perspectives and national efforts highlighted by academics and energy practitioners within and outside Africa, on the effective implementation of energy access in Africa.