Namibia: Rural Communities Told Solar Electricity Is Not a Second-Class Solution

Deputy minister of industries, mines and energy Gaudentia Kröhne urges rural communities not to view solar electricity as a second-class solution, as it can power their houses the same as grid electricity.

She made this call during the 29th annual Tulikongwe Cultural Festival at Choi village in the Zambezi region on Sunday.

The Mashi Traditional Authority, under the leadership of chief Mfumu Mayuni III, celebrated this year's cultural festivities under the theme 'Ku sileleza chizo chetu', which means 'protecting our culture'.

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Kröhne said many rural households are scattered far from the national grid, where extending kilometres of power lines to connect just a few homes can be costly and delay access for many years.

She added that a properly designed solar home system or community mini-grid can provide many of the same essential services.

"It can often provide services such as lighting, phone charging, radio and television, internet access, refrigeration, security lighting, water pumping and power for small businesses sooner, and at a lower infrastructure cost. In remote areas, solar electricity can be the most practical solution for bringing reliable electricity now, while future grid expansion remains possible. Therefore, solar electricity should not be presented as a second-class solution," she said.

She added that the government has a long road ahead in its ambition for every Namibian to have access to modern electricity services by 2040.

"The government has provided N$250 million from the treasury and a further N$10 million through the National Energy Fund for the 2026/27 electrification programme," she said.

Kröhne said the government has allocated N$10 million for service connections in four conservancy areas in the Zambezi region, of which N$2.5 million is allocated to the Mashi component.

"We can promise that the Mashi people will not be treated as invisible, that the current project will be followed through and that the wider programme will be developed using both grid and solar solutions according to the needs of each locality," she said.

Mayuni says while rural communities are also living in the modern age, electricity is still a luxury in many rural households.

He calls on the government to make rural electricity a basic service so people can charge their phones and power radios.

"In the information age, given the government's meticulous attainment of network coverage, there is a need to have electricity as a basic provision for accessing cellular phones and radio power. The establishment of business enterprises is very much dependent on electricity supply for manufacturing processes," he says.