• Market Watch

Money for electricity flows

• 16 Hours Ago

The Namibian government is serious about electrifying the nation, and last week, through the Ministry of Industrialisation, Mines and Energy, it put its money where its mouth is.



The executive director of the ministry, Ben Nangombe, delivered the keynote address at the signing of service-level agreements with various regional electricity distributors. At the ministry’s head office in Windhoek last Thursday, Nangombe announced that the government will make more than N$135 million available to jump-start efforts to reach the national goal of increasing access to electricity in Namibia from under 60% to 70% by 2030.

“That means connecting more than 200 000 additional households, many of them in rural and peri-urban communities,” the accounting officer for industrialisation, mines and energy said at the occasion.

For the current financial year, the ministry will support the City of Windhoek with N$30 million. “Last year, they executed a similar agreement, connecting over 800 homes with a N$15 million allocation, mainly in peri-urban areas,” Nangombe said.



RED allocations

CENORED will receive N$20 million for household electrification, and an additional N$16 million for major upgrades at the Tsumkwe and Gam Solar Hybrid Stations, he announced. Erongo RED signed for N$20 million, while NORED was allocated N$30 million. “Oshakati Premier Electric (OPE) joins for the first time as an implementing partner. They are allocated an amount of N$7 million,” he said.

In the south, the brand-new regional electricity distributor, //Au-Ob RED, was allocated N$12 million, “supported by both in-kind and financial contributions from local authorities,” according to the ED.

On the same occasion, Nangombe also announced that a new service-level agreement would be signed with the Environmental Investment Fund (EIF), for N$8 million to develop a solar mini-grid for Puros village in the Kunene Region.

“Our approach is clear. We will not only be partnering with electricity distributors; we are engaging other agencies and institutions that can help move the needle forward,” Nangombe said.

However, he admitted that this investment would still not be enough. “Not if we want to stay on track to reach the 70% target of electricity access by 2030. That is why we are asking each of our REDs and partners to go beyond the allocations. We have called on you to bring your own resources, technical teams, donor networks, and procurement capacities to support the interventions and overcome any bottlenecks.”



Commitment

“I am pleased to say that they have heeded the call. Every entity represented here has committed to contribute, financially or in-kind, depending on their capacity,” he said. “That kind of multi-actor coordination is exactly what we need. That is the model we want to replicate across the country.”

According to Nangombe: “No administrative delay will be allowed to stall the implementation. The agreements we sign today will get the ball rolling, and the rest will follow swiftly.”

After introducing the assistance last year, valuable lessons have been learned. “That is why we now demand stronger reporting, clear cost breakdowns, transparent procurement processes, and firm implementation deadlines,” he said. “That is how we keep public trust and investor confidence.”

Full-term reports on the implementation of last year’s round of agreements are to be submitted by 30 June.

“Not every connection can or should come from the national grid. In some areas, solar mini-grids or hybrid systems make more sense,” Nangombe said. He added that the ministry would remain technology-neutral: “We follow logic, not legacy. Our focus is simple: connect people faster, cheaper, smarter.”



Cooperation

Related developments include ongoing engagements with development cooperation partners to advance platforms like the Energy Compact Namibia and the M300 Initiative. “These are long-term visions aimed at scaling access and improving delivery systems,” said the executive director.

“Let us go out and build connections that matter,” he told the gathered electricity distribution sector. “Not just wires and poles, but connections between policy and action, between ambition and reality, between our institutions and the people we serve.

“We are serious about electrifying this country.”