GOBABIS – The solar plant at the Gobabis Vocational Training Centre was officially handed over by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) earlier this week.

The plant will cover the entire electricity needs of the VTC. 

It includes a backup generator that will go on automatically
when needed.

In a speech read on her behalf by director of technical vocational education and training Muvatera Ndjoze-Siririka,
higher education minister Itah Kandjii-Murangi urged the Gobabis VTC beneficiaries and the community of the town at
large to protect the solar plant.

“Every resident of Gobabis should take full ownership of this plant. Let us join hands with the Gobabis Vocational Training Centre, and protect this plant from theft and vandalism. If you keep this facility this way, maybe 10 years from now, the person who sponsored it and they come here and find it in good condition, might have the courage to give
you something again,” she said.

“This facility is yours, the people of Gobabis and the people of the entire Omaheke region, it is only you who can protect it. Don’t wait for the government to do it for you because as taxpayers, we are all part of the government,” the minister emphasised.

Omaheke regional governor Pijoo Nganate applauded the vocational training centre, which he referred to as the youngest and fastest-growing centre in Namibia.

“The main advantage of solar electricity is the cost-saving aspects. Now, we are able to generate our own green electricity, and will operate in a manner that reduces our environmental
impact and lowers our carbon footprint,” he said.

The total cost of the single plant installation amounts to N$4.1 million, which includes the plant, cameras, solar lights and other materials used for the plant, like fencing.

The Gobabis centre is one of the few solar-powered vocational centres in the country, alongside Eenhana, Ongwediva and Nakayale. They all benefited
from the German government through the BMZ. 

- Nampa