EDITORIAL: City, ECB fight turns ugly
The back-and-forth spat between the City of Windhoek and the Electricity Control Board of Namibia (ECB) over the creation of a regional electricity distributor for the central regions needs an urgent and sustainable solution.
As the administrative hub of the country, we cannot afford a situation where our capital is faced with uncertainty over its municipal affairs.
ECB feels the City is unwilling to cross-subsidise rural communities within the greater Khomas Region and that it will not be able to efficiently provide electricity to its residents in the long-term.
On the other hand, the City feels the regulator has taken on the role of referee and player, and reiterated that it should be allowed to handle its own electricity affairs.
Perhaps the City and the regulator do not see the delicacy of this matter, one which is at the very core of the country’s administrative affairs.
The fight also highlights how regulators of various industries have been undermined by those they ought to regulate.
On the flip side, one can also conclude that the increasing incidents of entities challenging their watchdogs is a sign of those regulators not executing their mandate accordingly.
A wise man once said “ego is the anaesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity”, but in this case, one can easily say it dulls the pain of stubbornness. Both the City and ECB are seemingly too stubborn to sit around a table to chart the way forward.
As the administrative hub of the country, we cannot afford a situation where our capital is faced with uncertainty over its municipal affairs.
ECB feels the City is unwilling to cross-subsidise rural communities within the greater Khomas Region and that it will not be able to efficiently provide electricity to its residents in the long-term.
On the other hand, the City feels the regulator has taken on the role of referee and player, and reiterated that it should be allowed to handle its own electricity affairs.
Perhaps the City and the regulator do not see the delicacy of this matter, one which is at the very core of the country’s administrative affairs.
The fight also highlights how regulators of various industries have been undermined by those they ought to regulate.
On the flip side, one can also conclude that the increasing incidents of entities challenging their watchdogs is a sign of those regulators not executing their mandate accordingly.
A wise man once said “ego is the anaesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity”, but in this case, one can easily say it dulls the pain of stubbornness. Both the City and ECB are seemingly too stubborn to sit around a table to chart the way forward.
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Namibian Sun
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