Namibia launched a Solar Revolving Fund (SRF) in April, moving it from private financiers to government control; however, the government is facing issues acquiring payment from clients who received loans through the Fund’s previous administrators.
The SRF has financed 149 systems, costing about $476,000, but the Ministry of Mines and Energy said that residents that received financing from Konga Investments (Pty) Ltd., the Namibia Development Corp. (NDC), and Premier Electric had so far failed to settle their debts. According to local news source The New Era, the Ministry said the Fund will need to come up with a strong debt collection measure to recover the debts from outstanding accounts.
The SRF program is based on an ownership model where the end user purchases a solar system using a revolving credit scheme. The owner is responsible for maintenance and upkeep of products such as solar home systems, solar water pumps, and solar water heating systems.
The Ministry took on 1,035 customers from the previous administrators, but only 287 had settled their loans. Additionally, 149 new clients have joined since the SRF was launched. The southern African country is trying to decrease its dependency on energy imports from South Africa, but admits that it will need its utility NamPower to consider load shedding as well as other conservation methods.
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