Renewable energy project developer One Planet Africa has announced today the appointment of Ambassador Charles R. Stith to the company’s board. Ambassador Stith, who is considered to be one of America’s leading experts on development issues in Sub-Saharan Africa, will bring to One Planet Africa decades of experience and relationships in the region.
Stith served as the United States Ambassador to Tanzania during the Clinton Administration. He is widely known for guiding the embassy during the tumultuous period which followed its bombing in 1998. Stith is currently Chairman of The Pula Group, a holding company dealing in real estate and mining in Africa. He is also a member of the Africa advisory group to the U.S. Trade Representative.
"Ambassador Stith combines considerable diplomatic and business experience in Sub-Saharan Africa," said John Wood, One Planet Africa’s chairman. “His involvement in One Planet Africa will be critical to our success in the region.”
Ambassador Stith seems up to the task. “I’m honored to have been extended this appointment," he said. "One Planet Africa is the right company at the right time to assist Africa in dealing with energy production, one of its most serious challenges. Energy is destiny for the continent of Africa. Without it the continent can’t develop, but with it there is no obstacle it can’t overcome. And renewable energy is the cleanest and most cost effective way for Africa to meet this challenge.”
One Planet Africa is a subsidiary of One Planet Infrastructure, a US-based developer specialized in delivering renewable energy and infrastructure projects in developing countries. The company’s founders were early pioneers in providing renewable energy in the Caribbean, and One Planet Africa’s objective is to duplicate that success in Sub-Saharan Africa.