EDITORIAL: Is NamPower broke?
When NamPower rang the alarm bells last week over defaulting clients owing it over N$1 billion in municipal debts, it caught many by surprise.
NamPower has over the years been a model parastatal when it comes to financial stability, but now it finds itself on unfamiliar ground - and municipal debt isn’t making the job any easier.
Namibia is already on tenterhooks over its neighbour South Africa’s ability to continue supplying it with power. The last thing NamPower needs are avoidable debts that burden the power utility’s revenue streams, ultimately crippling service delivery.
It remains a mystery why NamPower would sit back and watch how its clients racked up insurmountable debt. This also begs the question: Is NamPower broke? Is that perhaps why it’s going around threatening to switch off the lights to those who fail to honour their financial obligations?
The power utility is too strategic of a state-owned enterprise to flirt with financial challenges.
Stakeholders such as the regulator and the line ministry must keep a close eye on NamPower to ensure that its affairs are in order.
We all know in Namibia that the debt cycle amongst parastatals is vicious, so much that it has already crippled several SOEs in the country.
It is therefore imperative for NamPower to pursue sustainable fiscal hygiene.
NamPower has over the years been a model parastatal when it comes to financial stability, but now it finds itself on unfamiliar ground - and municipal debt isn’t making the job any easier.
Namibia is already on tenterhooks over its neighbour South Africa’s ability to continue supplying it with power. The last thing NamPower needs are avoidable debts that burden the power utility’s revenue streams, ultimately crippling service delivery.
It remains a mystery why NamPower would sit back and watch how its clients racked up insurmountable debt. This also begs the question: Is NamPower broke? Is that perhaps why it’s going around threatening to switch off the lights to those who fail to honour their financial obligations?
The power utility is too strategic of a state-owned enterprise to flirt with financial challenges.
Stakeholders such as the regulator and the line ministry must keep a close eye on NamPower to ensure that its affairs are in order.
We all know in Namibia that the debt cycle amongst parastatals is vicious, so much that it has already crippled several SOEs in the country.
It is therefore imperative for NamPower to pursue sustainable fiscal hygiene.
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