Rundu colonised by Nored, Kanyanga says
• Rundu residents ‘are suffering’
The mayor has suggested that if Rundu's electricity was managed by the town itself, it would facilitate better coordination on electrification projects.
Mayor Gabriel Kanyanga says despite Rundu buying electricity from Nored, the electricity distributor’s reinvestment into the town remains minimal.
He made these remarks at a consultative meeting with the Electricity Control Board (ECB) and Nored on proposed tariffs for the 2024/2025 financial year on Wednesday.
“We feel colonised by Nored. It is high time to ensure that this practice changes and that the town is given the power to administer its own electricity like Oshakati. We are in the process of establishing a company that will represent Nored in this regard. Of course, we appreciate the donors who occasionally give cash to Nored. We see Nored installing lights here and there. However, they rarely consult with the politicians leading the town. We just see things happening without explanation,” he said.
“The executives of Nored need to realise that the people of Rundu are suffering. We have a large town that remains very dark despite its thousands of residents. Improving this infrastructure will make people happy,” he said.
The mayor suggested that if Rundu’s electricity was managed by the town itself, it would facilitate better coordination on electrification projects.
"It would be easier for us to work with our own company on where and why to electrify certain areas. We are currently in a difficult situation, and if we cannot find an easy solution, we are prepared to take legal action to inform the nation and the world that we are being colonised."
Tariff hike
Nored acting CEO Toivo Shovaleka said: “This is a shareholder issue and we take note of it. Rundu is a shareholder of Nored in its current format. It’s worth noting that Nored’s shareholders in 2014 resolved to unbundle the current shareholder structure. Now it’s probably just to determine how the shareholders can fast-track that process”.
In its 2024/2025 proposed tariffs, Nored announced an overall tariff increase of 7.7%.
The electricity distributor’s acting chief financial officer Elifas Valombola said the increase was motivated by staff costs.
“The increase was also driven by operations and maintenance, which must increase to improve service quality to the required standard. Another motivation is safety issues - which must be addressed to meet legal requirements - and rural electrification, which adds to costs but generates but little revenue – a cost that must be covered.
“Nored is also implementing various measures to contain costs,” he said.
“The cost drivers were NamPower’s 8% tariff increase, which impacted Nored. Safety, health and environment management factors have increased due to safety issues. Bulk purchases’ impact on Nored is 8.2%. Other operating costs increase largely due to the increase in the maintenance network,” Valombola noted.
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He made these remarks at a consultative meeting with the Electricity Control Board (ECB) and Nored on proposed tariffs for the 2024/2025 financial year on Wednesday.
“We feel colonised by Nored. It is high time to ensure that this practice changes and that the town is given the power to administer its own electricity like Oshakati. We are in the process of establishing a company that will represent Nored in this regard. Of course, we appreciate the donors who occasionally give cash to Nored. We see Nored installing lights here and there. However, they rarely consult with the politicians leading the town. We just see things happening without explanation,” he said.
“The executives of Nored need to realise that the people of Rundu are suffering. We have a large town that remains very dark despite its thousands of residents. Improving this infrastructure will make people happy,” he said.
The mayor suggested that if Rundu’s electricity was managed by the town itself, it would facilitate better coordination on electrification projects.
"It would be easier for us to work with our own company on where and why to electrify certain areas. We are currently in a difficult situation, and if we cannot find an easy solution, we are prepared to take legal action to inform the nation and the world that we are being colonised."
Tariff hike
Nored acting CEO Toivo Shovaleka said: “This is a shareholder issue and we take note of it. Rundu is a shareholder of Nored in its current format. It’s worth noting that Nored’s shareholders in 2014 resolved to unbundle the current shareholder structure. Now it’s probably just to determine how the shareholders can fast-track that process”.
In its 2024/2025 proposed tariffs, Nored announced an overall tariff increase of 7.7%.
The electricity distributor’s acting chief financial officer Elifas Valombola said the increase was motivated by staff costs.
“The increase was also driven by operations and maintenance, which must increase to improve service quality to the required standard. Another motivation is safety issues - which must be addressed to meet legal requirements - and rural electrification, which adds to costs but generates but little revenue – a cost that must be covered.
“Nored is also implementing various measures to contain costs,” he said.
“The cost drivers were NamPower’s 8% tariff increase, which impacted Nored. Safety, health and environment management factors have increased due to safety issues. Bulk purchases’ impact on Nored is 8.2%. Other operating costs increase largely due to the increase in the maintenance network,” Valombola noted.
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