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Mont Ngafula, Kinshasa, DRC, May 2020. In addition to making it more difficult to contain the coronavirus, the lack of electricity is blamed for insecurity in certain areas, such as along Lutendele road in the Mont Ngafula neighbourhood of Kinshasa, where a knife-wielding gang called "Kuluna" has been carrying out attacks. © Justin Makangara for Fondation Carmignac

Electricity versus Coronavirus

byJustin Makangara
May 16, 2020
in Electricity and Hydroelectric Plants
Reading Time: 5 mins read

Mont Ngafula, Kinshasa, DRC, May 2020. In addition to making it more difficult to contain the coronavirus, the lack of electricity is blamed for insecurity in certain areas, such as along Lutendele road in the Mont Ngafula neighbourhood of Kinshasa, where a knife-wielding gang called “Kuluna” has been carrying out attacks. © Justin Makangara for Fondation Carmignac

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s Grand Inga dam has the potential to be the largest hydropower project in the world, capable of generating twice as much electricity as China’s the Three Gorges dam. If ever completed, the project – first conceived in the 1950s – could provide 40 percent of Africa’s electricity needs. 

Instead, decades of political instability and misrule, as well as the insufficient investment, mean that progress has been so slow that Congo has one of the lowest electrification rates in the world at just over 9%, with 1% in rural areas and 19% in urban areas.

As coronavirus spreads, especially to low-income countries such as Congo, access to electricity will be key to fighting the pandemic as it puts pressure on every country’s economy and society, according to the World Bank. For developing countries that were already facing major challenges before COVID-19, this pressure will be particularly painful. If hospitals and local communities don’t have access to power, this could magnify the human catastrophe and significantly slow the global recovery, the World Economic Forum has warned.

Mbudi, Kinshasa, DRC, May 2020. After paying to charge his phone at a communal charging station powered by a generator, a youth named David reads from his screen in the darkness in Mbudi, Kinshasa. © Justin Makangara for Fondation Carmignac
Mbudi, Kinshasa, DRC, May 2020. After paying to charge his phone at a communal charging station powered by a generator, a youth named David reads from his screen in the darkness in Mbudi, Kinshasa. © Justin Makangara for Fondation Carmignac

Congo’s government pledged to supply water and electricity free of charge to its citizens for two months when the country went into lockdown in March. But such promises offer little in Congo, a country of more than 80 million people, where the state utility, Société nationale d’électricité (SNEL), has just 500,000 registered connections. Many of those connected to the grid still find themselves without power. Despite its vast potential, Congo’s energy infrastructure is crumbling and there are grid outages of more than 75% of the time.

Kinshasa, DRC, May 2020. Across Kinshasa, public kiosks selling phone credit also have banks of generator-powered extension cables filled with power outlets where people can pay the local equivalent of $1-$2 to charge their phones and computers.© Justin Makangara for Fondation Carmignac
Kinshasa, DRC, May 2020. Across Kinshasa, public kiosks selling phone credit also have banks of generator-powered extension cables filled with power outlets where people can pay the local equivalent of $1-$2 to charge their phones and computers. © Justin Makangara for Fondation Carmignac

Over the past weeks in Kinshasa, we have been without electricity for days at a time. People are relying on generators and on charcoal for cooking, which when used in confined environments can cause respiratory problems that worsen health risks related to coronavirus. The generators require expensive fuel, are noisy, and also produce noxious exhaust fumes.

Kinshasa, DRC, May 2020. Across Kinshasa, public kiosks selling phone credit also have banks of generator-powered extension cables filled with power outlets where people can pay the local equivalent of $1-$2 to charge their phones and computers.© Justin Makangara for Fondation Carmignac
Kinshasa, DRC, May 2020. Across Kinshasa, public kiosks selling phone credit also have banks of generator-powered extension cables filled with power outlets where people can pay the local equivalent of $1-$2 to charge their phones and computers.© Justin Makangara for Fondation Carmignac

The lack of electricity is making life extremely difficult when we are being told to stay at home. Our children cannot follow the learning programs broadcast on television, we are using coal-heated irons to press our clothes, and we cannot refrigerate food so we must go out of confinement to crowded markets to buy fresh food or to charge our phones and computers at communal charging stations. This also costs money and can damage the batteries. It took me five days to get enough charge on my computer and a good enough Internet connection to send the pictures for this story. I know a lot of people around the world are struggling right now, and are having a hard time staying home in the midst of the uncertainty.

  • Kinshasa, DRC, May 2020. A woman named Laeticia uses a coal-heated iron to press clothing due to a lack of electricity in Kinshasa this month. © Justin Makangara for Fondation Carmignac
  • Terminus, Kinshasa, DRC, May 2020. Youths who have no electricity at home last month stay out late playing video games at a local kiosk powered by generator in the Terminus neighbourhood of Kinshasa. © Justin Makangara for Fondation Carmignac
Kinshasa, DRC, May 2020 [1] A woman named Laeticia uses a coal-heated iron to press clothing due to a lack of electricity in Kinshasa this month. [2] Youths who have no electricity at home last month stay out late playing video games at a local kiosk powered by generator in the Terminus neighbourhood of Kinshasa. © Justin Makangara for Fondation Carmignac

But imagine how much worse it would be without electricity. That’s how it is for nearly a billion people worldwide. And with the World Health Organization warning that Africa still faces a growing threat from the pandemic as countries across the continent begin to ease lockdowns, many of us worry that the worst is yet to come.

Tags: Coronavirus
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Justin Makangara

Justin Makangara

Justin Makangara is an independent photojournalist and blogger based in Kinshasa. His work focuses on underreported stories surrounding social justice, politics, music, and daily life. He is a member of APJD African Photojournalist Database, VII academy scholarship holder.

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