Paulina Ndalikokule

NKURENKURU – The Northern Regional Electricity Distributor (Nored) on Monday launched the safety education and awareness campaign codenamed ‘Takamisa’.

The campaign targets the distributor’s employees as well as members of the public, in line with its strategic objective of ensuring zero harm, urging them to be cautious when handling electricity appliances and equipment.

The campaign is aimed at mitigating injuries and accidents, and ensuring zero harm due to electrocution.

It also seeks to educate members of the public on various electrical issues.

This year alone, Nored lost three employees and a community member in the region due to electrocution.

In her keynote address, Kavango West governor Verna Sinimbo warned residents against illegal electricity connections and theft of copper wires, as this poses danger and hinders development.

“I don’t know if these copper cables are as expensive like diamonds, but you must stop stealing them because it will hinder development,” she added.

Sinimbo said the campaign is not just about education but also about saving lives and property and protecting communities from the dangers posed by mishandling of electricity.

She emphasised that by educating the public on electrical safety, it can help create safe environments in homes, workplaces, and communities and urged everyone to take the campaign seriously.

 “Let›s work together to create a community where electricity is used safely and responsibly, protecting lives and preventing accidents. Takamisa means be careful, so going forward, let’s be careful every time we handle electricity and remember that mishandling electricity can be very dangerous,” she stressed.

Nored board chairperson Johannes Uushini said the current landscape and recent data present the electricity distributor with the challenge of increased electrical accidents and incidents involving both employees and members of the communities they serve.

“A matter which drew our attention as a board and management, is to refocus our approach to effectively rise above the recent unfortunate incidents and ensure a safe environment for our people,” he said.

The campaign will specifically focus on electricity safety in workplaces, homes, schools, businesses, and communities.

“I believe we will make a significant impact on changing the attitudes to and behaviour around electricity safety while also aligning perfectly with our organisation’s lifetime strategic objective of zero harm,” Uushini said.

The campaign’s codename ‘Takamisa’, was derived from the words ‘takamesa’ in Rukwangali or ‘takamitha’ in Oshiwambo, or ‘ki kozi’ in Silozi, means ‘be very careful’, and which is commonly used to warn people about looming danger.

“That is precisely and deliberately so. In this campaign, we intend to warn people about the danger associated with electricity as a commodity and the infrastructure associated with it,” he said.

The three-month campaign will be rolled out across the Oshana, Ohangwena, Omusati, Kunene, Oshikoto, Zambezi and Kavango east and west regions – where Nored provides electricity distribution services.

*Paulina Ndalikokule is an information officer at MICT Kavango.