Albertina Nakale
With rural electrification reach recorded at a mere 20% nationally, Swapo member in the National Council Melania Ndjago stressed that more needs to be done to escalate the efforts of the government in giving necessary power supply to the needy, especially in the rural communities.
“We are seeing increasing electricity prices day by day and many citizens, even those in urban areas, cannot afford to have continuous electricity supply. Rural electrification with the use of renewable energies or hybrid systems can improve the individual quality of life, facilitate community services such as health and education through consumption, and will allow for business entities to carry out professional activities for rural populations,” Ndjago stated.
According to Namibia’s national household data, there are 235 884 rural households, of which 35 855 are connected to the grid while 18 324 have access to solar energy, giving rural electrification a rate of 20%.
As the chairperson of the Standing Committee on Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources, Ndjago was responding to New Era on the slow pace of rural electrification in Namibia. She said the utilisation of locally-available resources such as the sun and wind can bring energy security and energy independence, which could also be pollution-free and be sustainable in the long run. At the same time, she expressed contentment with recent developments with regards to envisioning possible energy supply such as the green hydrogen project, which is drawing enormous interest from the international community and businesses.
“These projects seem to be able to alleviate the challenges we have experienced in the past couple of years when it comes to electricity supply, and I hope Namibia will soon become very competitive, especially in the SADC region, and will also be able to provide electricity to neighbouring countries,” she observed.
Ndjago, who is the Karibib constituency councillor, believes Namibia can do more as it is well-placed to lead the clean energy development pathway. “The country is endowed with natural resources required for renewable energy supplies from the sun, wind and biomass from invader bush. Rural electrification through renewables can be done through faster implementation, which can create local employment and boost the local economy by providing access to electricity in a reliable way,” she remarked.
In efforts to strengthen the renewable energy sector in Namibia with a focus on promoting off-grid electrification in the rural areas, Deputy Minister of Mines and Energy Kornelia Shilunga recently launched the Green People’s Energy project under the solar revolving fund (SRF) of the ministry.
The Green People’s Energy collaboration is a joint project between the Federal Republic of Germany through GIZ and Namibia.
“It aims to contribute to universal and sustainable energy access for the people of Namibia. The GIZ has provided financial assistance to the tune of €330 000 (over N$5.5 million) to the SRF for the new funding window,” Shilunga said. The SRF is a credit facility with the aim to stimulate demand for the deployment of renewable energy technologies in off-grid areas, especially for communities living in rural areas, but also for urban clients. It offers subsidised loans at a 5% interest rate per annum over five years.
Ndjago thus believes that rural electrification is indeed part of the government’s economic development policy to expand electricity supply infrastructure to rural areas.
Electricity largely improves the socio-economic conditions of the country’s citizens, and creates the necessary incentives for economic development in the targeted areas.
The government, through the mines and energy ministry, is busy with the implementation of renewable energy and energy-efficient programmes.
This is to provide energy access to off-grid public institutions, and implement and monitor policies as well as to provide information for investment purposes, create awareness on energy-related issues and lastly to facilitate research and capacity-building in the energy industry.
Through these programmes, Ndjago trusts that the ministry can come up with alternatives to cheaper electricity supply to rural areas. The ministry, with its off-grid energisation master plan, is electrifying government institutions such as schools, police stations and clinics which are situated in off-grid localities by using containerised photovoltaic systems. This, she said, is indeed a welcome move, which will ultimately solve the challenges around electricity supply.