Maghambayi slams slow electrification in Kavango East

Kavango East regional council chairperson Damian Maghambayi has called upon government to fast-track the implementation of rural electrification initiatives, describing the current pace as very slow.He made the remarks during a recent official handover of an electrification project in Mukwe constituency’s Shamundambo village.He said since the country attained independence 33 years ago, Shamundambo village has been in the dark, and only certain parts of the village were electrified with the limited funds available.“The programme of rural electrification in the Kavango East Region is moving very slowly. In a sense, nothing much was done to distribute electricity to communities, despite recommendations in the September 2015 report on electricity supply industry support mechanisms," he said. “The report was aimed at improving the electrification of households in urban and rural Namibia, which was made known by the Electricity Control Board for the ministry of mines and energy in consultation with electricity supply industry stakeholders such as Nored and others.“The report in question provides for a support mechanism to create the framework conditions for a national household electrification programme in peri-urban and rural areas of Namibia to generate economic value for individual beneficiaries, the wider community and the country as a whole,” he said.Maghambayi revealed that the Shamundambo electrification project came about after the regional council, through the Mukwe constituency office, put aside over N$300 000 to install a 50-kilovolt-ampere transformer and 685-metre power line.Strides madeSpeaking at the handover, mines and energy minister Tom Alweendo said due to limited funds, the rural electrification programme could not be implemented as expected; however, strides have been made over the years.“Our country’s electrification programme began right after independence. Back then, only 3% of villages had electricity. By 2011, and according to the 2010 national census, this figure increased to 20%.“As we are all aware that we are currently busy with another census, this percentage will be much higher,” Alweendo said.He added that in the Kavango regions, hundreds of schools and government institutions have been electrified over the years and acknowledged that the shift should now move towards rural electrification.DividendsMeanwhile, Maghambayi also used the opportunity to highlight the monthly dividends the regional council is paid by Nored, saying it is not enough.“We call for a drastic review of surcharge allocation to the regional council because the same surcharge is used to electrify villages in the region, and at the end, the money still goes back to Nored,” he said.- kenya@namibiansun.com

Maghambayi slams slow electrification in Kavango East

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-08

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Maghambayi slams slow electrification in Kavango East

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-08

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