Deputy prime minister and minister of industries, mines and energy Natangue Ithete says 23 794 households out of 37 296 in the Zambezi region are yet to be electrified.
Ithete was speaking at the commissioning of joint electrification projects recently.
“There are 37 296 households and only 13 502 are connected,” he said.
He said the ministry plans to connect every household in Namibia by 2030 with a project currently starting in areas like Bukalo, Kongola and Nampengu.
“By connecting places where there are many houses together, the connections become financially viable and technically strengthen the grid for the whole region,” he said.
In areas where households are spread out, Ithete said the ministry is making provision for solar systems.
“Solar systems and mini-grids are electricity provisions that our government is investing in for those of us living far from the main grid and we must embrace them,” he said.
Ithete said the region should not be without electricity or rely solely on the grid. He believes that because the area has ample sunlight, building a strong solar system is a necessary provision. He added that solar power is locally produced and comes directly from the sun, making it cheaper than electricity.
“I am illustrating the importance of solar energy because we will soon begin a project to connect over 700 households at Choto Extensions 7 and 8 at Katima Mulilo,” said Ithete.
He added that electricity is needed for education, health, transport and business institutions to be functional.
“The schools need lights and computers, healthcare centres need electricity to function and businesses need electricity for their machineries,” he said.
He urged communities to work together to make the project succeed, saying that birds flying alone do not go far, but when they fly in formation, each one is carried further by the strength of the other.
Ithete said the ministry plans to have made 200 000 new connections by 2030 and 400 000 by 2040 as part of Mission 300, an African effort to electrify 300 million households by 2040.
Last year, the region received a N$17-million allocation for the rural electrification project, the biggest allocation the region has ever been allocated for this purpose.
This was announced by former mines and energy minister Tom Alweendo during a three-day work visit to the region.
The Northern Regional Electricity Distributor connected 50 households at Bukalo and 100 at Kongola at a cost of N$4 million. The distributor also connected 330 at Extension 7 and 360 at Extension 8 at an estimated cost of N$22 million.
