Copper cable theft has been on the rise in Namibia, causing significant problems for electricity distribution companies and the communities they serve.

The town of Okahandja has become a hotspot for this dangerous criminal activity.

In the early morning hours of Sunday, residents of Smarties extension 9 in Okahandja were awakened by a loud sound, followed by a power outage.

At sunrise, residents noticed that three copper cables had been cut from a transformer supplying power to their houses. They promptly alerted CENORED officials, who responded quickly.

Although housing provision in Outjo has been ongoing efficiently, Acting Chief Executive Officer Jaco Labuschagne says the provision of services has been a challenge.

Labuschagne says the Namibia Housing Action Group (NHAG) and the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia (SDFN) are by far the most effective entities to provide proper, affordable housing.

Outjo has about 20,000 inhabitants, with about three-quarters of that number living in the more than 3,000 erven in the informal settlement.

Otjiwarongo residents have been complaining about their high electricity tariffs, following an increase imposed by the Electricity Control Board in July last year.

It is against this background that Cenored hosted a community meeting to educate residents on the electricity tariffs. 

Although Cenored had the lowest increase by the Electricity Control Board, at 7.6 percent compared to the other REDS, residents have been questioning why the tariffs are so high.

The Otjinene Village Council, in collaboration with Cenored, is set to electrify 47 houses constructed under the Shack Dwellers Federation programme. 

The first phase of electrification has a budget of N$1.2 million. 

The Chairperson of the Otjinene Village Council, Lesley Kauandara, emphasised that this exercise is long overdue due to financial constraints. 

But now, with assistance from Cenored, this much-needed service is being extended to Shack dwellers.

The acting Chief Executive Officer of CENORED, Gawie Awaseb, has assured the residents of Okahandja that the power supply will not be disconnected.

This follows NamPower's announcement of the electricity disconnection of all its defaulting clients.

Awaseb clarified that CENORED does not owe NamPower money, but the joint venture company, CENORED Okahandja JV, and Okahandja Municipality. 

CENORED owed NamPower over N$60 million in 2017, which Awaseb says has since been reduced to N$2 million.

NamPower has announced a country-wide electricity disconnection of power in stages for all its defaulting clients.

Clients affected are those receiving electricity through the central and northern electricity distributors, Cenored and Nored.

In the ||Kharas and Hardap regions, all defaulting villages and town councils except Keetmanshoop will be without electricity from June 5 if they don’t settle their overdue accounts by May 31.

In the |Khomas Region, Windhoek will be spared the shutdown, while Brakwater and Groot |Aub are affected.

CENORED has appointed its Network Executive, Gabriel Awaseb, as the acting Chief Executive Officer.

His appointment in an acting capacity follows the resignation of Robert Kahimise, now the new CEO of the Electricity Control Board.

Board Chairperson Moses Matyayi says Awaseb will act for three months while a new CEO is being recruited.

President Hage Geingob helped kick off the new rural electrification project Kalkfeld settlement in the Otjozondjupa Region on Sunday. 

The peri-urban rural electrification under CENORED, is targeting to connect 100 housing units that were constructed in 2015.

The houses to be electrified were built under the Shack Dwellers Federation.

Continued copper wire theft is worrisome and hampering progress in Otjiwarongo's new Extension 12 residential area.

The Central North Regional Electricity Distributor's (CENORED) Corporate Communications and Marketing Officer, Charlie Matengu, says criminal rings are targeting vacant or foreclosed homes as they are a lucrative source of installed copper.

The Rogate Primary School in the Otjozondjupa Region has been rated as the worst-performing school in the region.

In order to motivate learners, Cenored sponsored the best-performing ones to encourage others to do better.

The majority of learners at Rogate Primary School are from underprivileged backgrounds.

Over the years, the school was rated as the worst performer, but there have been slight improvements since 2019, as 49 teachers try their best to support the learners.