MARIENTAL – The Ministry of Industries, Mines and Energy on Friday launched a Service Level Agreement with the Southern Regional Electricity Distributor (Sored) company during a groundbreaking ceremony held at Aimablaagte Ext 5 informal settlement in Mariental.

The peri-urban electrification project between Sored and the government is expected to benefit both the Hardap and //Kharas regions. The programme builds on work already undertaken in the two regions while also representing a significant scale-up.

“It is a renewal of government’s promise to work with communities, through their elected leadership, to ensure that access to electricity reaches every household, regardless of location or income level,” energy minister Modestus Amutse said.

Under the Service Level Agreement between the Ministry of Industries, Mines and Energy and Sored, government has allocated N$12 million to electrify 969 peri-urban households across the Hardap and //Kharas regions. The projects will benefit communities in Rehoboth, Mariental, Aranos, Hoachanas and Gibeon, as well as Aroab, Bethanie, Berseba, Aus, Grünau and Warmbad. 

“Looking ahead, the ministry is not stopping at N$12 million. Our intention is to increase this allocation to at least N$20 million, and potentially more, as we strengthen partnerships with other stakeholders and funding partners,” Amutse further informed.A total of 969 peri-urban households have been identified across the two regions to be electrified by Sored.

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, Amutse highlighted the importance of collaboration and acknowledged the contributions made by the Rehoboth Town Council of N$2.5 million, and the Mariental Municipality, which contributed N$1.5 million towards the project.

Government is promoting solar solutions for areas with challenging grid connections by offering affordable financing through a solar revolving fund and partnering with initiatives such as Mission 300 to expand electricity access.

“Electricity infrastructure is expensive to build and even more expensive to maintain over long distances. If we attempt to solve every challenge through grid extension alone, we will slow ourselves down,” Amutse emphasised.

The projects launched on Friday by the minister are already transitioning from planning to implementation. 

Contractors for Mariental and Rehoboth have been appointed, work in Aroab has already commenced, and procurement processes for the remaining towns have been concluded,
with implementation to follow shortly.

– Nampa