Regulations give electricity thieves a free rein

The City of Windhoek and other stakeholders are to revise the Electricity Supply Regulations, which at this stage only allow for fines and not for the arrest of people who make illegal electricity connections. Chris Katjitundu of the City’s Electricity Department yesterday said that the regulations have tied the municipality’s hands. “We do not have the right to cut off their electricity. It is a difficult situation,” he said. He said even if they find that someone has several illegal electricity connections, they cannot arrest such a person but only give a fine. According to Katjitundu these fines do not stop offenders from repeating the offence. A person is currently fined N$3 200 for an illegal connection. “But people are making money out of this. It is their business.” Katjitundu explained that a house can have up to five illegal connections, with the person charging N$700 to N$800 for each. He said when someone is fined for an illegal electricity connection, one person would be at the municipality the next day to pay the fine while another would already be at the shop to buy another cable to restore the connection. Katjitundu said the Electricity Supply Regulations will be revised to incorporate the best ways to address these issues. “Local authorities find themselves in a catch-22 situation. If we are given the right to act immediately, it might be a different situation,” said the spokesperson of the City, Joshua Amukugo. He stressed that people who make themselves guilty of illegal electricity connections should refrain from doing so, as the City has planning procedures and processes to follow before being able to render municipal services to new settlements. According to him the City has so far managed to provide electricity connections to about 400 housing units in various low-cost housing areas such as Otjomuise, Okuryangava, Goreangab Dam, Havana and Wanaheda since the beginning of the last financial year.