Namibia

Rural’s second major opportunity came in the form of the Namibian Electricity Industry in 1999. At the time, the municipalities of Keetmanshoop, Karasburg and Aranos were in dire straits with i) their accounts to NamPower severely in arrears, ii) their ability to operate on the ground being acutely hampered and iii) large scale power supply interruptions being the order of the day - Keetmanshoop even celebrated a Christmas in the dark.

Two options were tabled to the municipalities in question at the time. One by Nampower and the other by Rural. Whereas NamPower was offering to buy the electricity infrastructure from the Councils, Rural in contrast proposed upgrading the infrastructure whilst paying a monthly royalty for the right to use those assets as Rural deemed the rate-payers to be the only rightful owners of the town infrastructure. This approach was favorably received and, without World Bank assistance or consultants, Rural as a small private company from South Africa entered the utility industry. Through direct financial investment and network rehabilitation efforts, Rural properly rehabilitated the networks of the respective municipalities, assisting communities to benefit from a sustainable and reliable electricity distribution network ever since.

SELCo

The operations in Namibia are conducted through Southern Electricity Company (Pty) Ltd (“SELCo”), a specialist ring fenced entity, housing REMIG’s Namibian electricity distribution business only. All related municipal staff were taken over by Rural/SELCo together with the NamPower debts. This project was hugely successful as not only were electricity supplies to the customers normalized but the regular monthly royalty payments made to the Councils dramatically improved their ability to deliver in other key focus areas. In addition to the technical challenges that had to be overcome, SELCo has also had to contend with political change, which has to date been successfully addressed. Potential political interference in the delivery of “essential services” can however never be underestimated, a point which the Group has a much better understanding of today.