By Edgar Brandt
WINDHOEK – The Ministry of Mines and Energy and the national power utility, NamPower, reached a milestone in their relationship on Friday when the utility’s Board of Directors signed performance and governance agreements in the presence of both the Minister, Isak Katali, and the Deputy Minister Willem Isaak.
During the signing ceremony at the Ministry of Mines and Energy, Katali said he was “very happy” that the date has come for the agreements to be signed with the Board. “NampPower is a very important institution in this country and it is befitting that these two agreements have been finalized,” said Katali, adding that the agreements were a requirement of the State-Owned Enterprises Governance Act.
“The responsibility of NamPower is on your shoulders. You need to ensure that NamPower’s strategies are implemented timeously.” The Minister said that as the national power utility NamPower needs to ensure the country has adequate energy for sustained economic and social growth. “Affordability and access to electricity on a sustainable level are crucial,” said Katali.
Speaking on behalf of the Board, NamPower Chairperson, Maria Nakale-Gaomas, said performance agreements are generally an important part in the corporate world and NamPower cannot be an exception. “We recognize that NamPower has huge challenges in ensuring a reliable power supply and in order to do this we need to have well thought out strategies in place,” remarked Nakale-Gaomas. She noted that the performance and governance agreements would be strictly monitored and added that the board “is here to serve the nation”.
NamPower Managing Director, Paulinus Shilamba, has on numerous occasions sounded a warning that the power supply situation in Namibia would remain critical until the commissioning of a base load power station in 2018. The MD attributed the current situation to an over-reliance on imports, as Namibia’s imports an average 60 percent of total power consumed per year and up to 80 percent during a dry season.