TITLE:
International Renewable Energy Finance Mechanisms and the Role of Local Stakeholders in Project Design and Implementation: Perceptions from Zambia
AUTHORS:
Malama Chileshe
KEYWORDS:
Local Stakeholders, International Finance, Project, Design, Implementation
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Business and Management,
Vol.11 No.6,
November
14,
2023
ABSTRACT: Internationally financed renewable energy
initiatives play a key role in the promotion and deployment of renewable energy
in Zambia. Some scholars argue that financing initiatives have largely excluded
meaningful local actor participation in the process of rolling out the various
interventions. This article explores the interactions that occur between some
of the financing initiatives and government agencies in the energy sector in
Zambia. The article presents the perceptions of experts in the sector on how
the local stakeholders, have interacted with development partners in designing,
implementing, and monitoring renewable energy initiatives in Zambia. The
results reveal that generally most respondents were of the view that the local
actors were given enough room in the project design and implementation process.
However, almost 30% of the participants believed the role played by the local
actors was minimal and needed to be improved. Therefore, in this era of
advocating for a just transition towards clean energy, local stakeholder
involvement facilitates an equally important concept of procedural justice
which is essential to have a meaningful decision-making process that allows
stakeholders on all sides to understand the key players in the process but also
the impacts and burdens that may result from those decisions.