By Adolf Kaure.
A joint collaboration between the Swakopmund Municipality, Erongo RED and the residents of the Swakopmund DRC informal settlement has led an initiative to bring electricity to nine houses of the community.
During the inauguration of the new installation on Thursday, the Erongo Governor, Neville André, said access to modern energy services remains a pre-requisite for sustainable development and the government is playing its role in this process.
“While there is still a lot that must be done to bring these services to the people, we should applaud ourselves as a nation for the good progress made in electrification.”
“Our government has always been committed to bringing essential services to every corner of the country because we believe that every citizen should have the opportunity to have access to basic needs such as electricity,” said André during his keynote address adding that this is an investment for generations to come.
“The impact of this initiative on the residents of DRC cannot be overstated. This is just the beginning of good things to come to DRC and I strongly believe that this is not just an investment in infrastructure,” he said.
According to recent statistics, only 50% of Namibian homes have been electricfied and government’s target is to get all homes electrified by 2040.
One of the beneficiaries to get elecricity to her home, Alma Tsowases (37) expressed her gratitude to the municipality and Erongo RED to bring electricity to her home.
“We are really glad for the municipality and Erongo RED for bringing services to us. I just want to say thank you.”
“Before the electricity came, we used to make a fire to cook. For lights we used to use candles and battery operated lights that we bought at the retail shops,” said Tsowases.
Tsowases, who is a mother of five children, also said that the risk of her shelter catching fire has decreased.
“We were really afraid that when the East Wind conditions come, our shelter would burn down because of the candles and fire that we use here. And when that happens, you have to start from the beginning again,” she said.
The Chief Executive of Erongo RED, Tino Hanabeb cautioned the residents of the informal settlement not to vandalise the infrastructure as it takes more money to replace and subsequentley leads to hikes in tarrifs.
Another 805 homes will receive electricity in the near future as part of the collaboration.
Erongo Governor, Neville André drops the switch for electricity at one of the meter boxes at the DRC informal settlement in the presence of Erongo RED Chief Executive, Tino Hanabeb and residents. (Photograph by Adolf Kaure)
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