Erongo RED Chief Executive Officer, Tino !Hanabeb, has urged residents to strongly guard against theft and vandalism of electrify infrastructure, saying it disrupts the smooth provision of electricity.
!Hanabeb, during the launch of the DRC Informal Settlement Electrification Project in Swakopmund on Thursday, noted that the theft and vandalism of copper wires cost the electricity distributor over N.dollars 1.7 million in 2022 and 2023 respectively.
Additionally, Erongo RED has appointed a security company at a cost of N.dollars 72 675 per month to guard electrical equipment and infrastructure.
“No developer has the capacity to reinvest such amounts of money in repairs and maintenance and replace substation and transformers at any future date, except the REDS and Nampower,” he said.
The CEO noted that vandalism and theft not only disrupt the provision of electricity to residents, but also to critical services such as hospitals, clinics, municipal water pumps, banks and schools.
The project, valued at over N.dollars 25 million, is a collaboration between Erongo RED and Swakopmund Municipality, and aims to electrify over 800 households after a once-off connection payment of N.dollars 2 500 per household.
Erongo RED Board Chairperson, Zoe Nambahu, commended the electricity distributor and the municipality’s efforts in ensuring electricity is available in all parts of the region.
She added that Namibia’s overall electrification rate is estimated at about 50 per cent, which means that about 300 000 households are still without electricity, representing a large portion of the population that still does not have access to electricity.
“Access to reliable and sustainable electricity remains the cornerstone of development as it has the potential to increase income, improve education and decrease poverty and today, collectively we are ensuring that we assist our fellow countrymen in improving their living standards through access to this basic commodity, electricity,” Nambahu noted.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency