South Africa’s minister of electricity, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said on Friday that the fact that South Africa still provides electricity to Namibia is evidence of the close ties that exist between the two countries.

Ramokgopa told the media in Windhoek that his country still exports electricity to its northern neighbour despite South Africa experiencing an acute power crisis.

“Our relationship is a symbiotic one. The fact that we still continue to provide electricity to Namibia, even in the midst of electricity challenges, I think just confirmed the strength of the fraternal relationship we enjoy with Namibia,” he said.

Ramokgopa was appointed as South Africa’s first electricity minister earlier in March by President Cyril Ramaphosa in an effort to find a solution to the country’s record-breaking power crisis.

Following his talks with the Namibian minister of mines and energy, Tow Alweendo, Ramokgopa said they are making progress, despite regular load shedding.

“First for us is to resolve the immediate problem that is confronting us, which has to do with the energy deficit in the country. We are making significant strides. The intensity of load shedding is beginning to lessen, firstly as a result of the improvements that we are making on the generation side. We are registering significant improvements in the performance of the units that are giving us electricity in the country,” he said.

The minister noted that the private sector is also contributing to the generation capacity with renewable energy.

In addition, Ramokgopa said that his trip to Windhoek is part of the plan to engage with neighbouring countries to determine whether they have excess generating capacity that South Africa can buy.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency