CAPS, new gas megaproject, aims to power Central Africa, but at what cost, critics ask

More than 60% of people in Central Africa have no access to electricity. An ambitious proposal aims to change that with a network of pipelines, refineries and gas-fired power plants stretching across 11 countries in the region. But critics say the proposed Central African Pipeline System is a mistake.

...environmentalists warn that the use of fossil fuels cannot be a step toward the future.
“We know these things have failed,” said Dean Bhekumuzi Bhebhe, a member of Don’t Gas Africa, a civil society campaign against fossil fuel energy production. “This is a dangerous and short-sighted aspiration to pursue such projects. What we need to do is to deploy access to renewable energy.”

Bhebhe said oil and gas projects under development, such as the East African Crude Oil Pipeline in Uganda and Tanzania, or the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim gas project off the coast of Senegal and Mauritania, will not benefit the local populations.