As treaties are ratified and hopes rise for a sustainable solution to energy poverty, NGOs question who stands to benefit...the South African cabinet ratified a signed treaty on the Grand Inga hydropower project with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)...If successful, this would be the world’s biggest hydropower project with the potential to power half of Africa...“The Inga project capacity is almost double China’s Three Gorges dam – currently the world’s largest hydroelectric project producing 22,500 MW,” said Isaac Kalua, founder of Nairobi based environmental group Green Africa Foundation. However, the dam is not without its critics. There are questions about its financing and what’s in it for the bankrollers...“The project will strengthen DRC’s institutional capability by establishing an autonomous and transparent Inga Development Authority. The project will also finance technical, environmental, and social studies to develop the Inga III and selected mid-size hydropower projects sustainably,” said the World Bank...“[The dams] will not solve the issue of energy poverty. Africa’s poorest live in rural areas. It is not cost effective to supply grid electricity to rural populations. Grid electricity is only cost effective in areas with a population density of at least 50 people per square meter,” sais Asanzi [Africa programme assistant for environmental lobby group International Rivers.]...Rather than cut poverty, Asanzi argues that the project could potentially have a negative effect on communities. “People affected by Inga I and Inga II have never been compensated. Most of them will again be affected by Inga III. The resettlement action plan cites only five villages to be subjected to relocation, excluding many others.” The livelihoods of local communities are also at risk as the river is a major source of income for them. Kalua [founder of Nairobi based environmental group Green Africa Foundation] suggests this fear could morph into something bigger: “Huge volumes of water will be diverted. Drying rivers can lead to political unrest, since communities living downstream face the brunt of the reduction in volumes.”