Windhoek — To become a competitive country in an ever-globalising world, industrialised economies' input costs - like power and other utilities - must remain competitive. Equally, energy supply for households must be affordable and accessible. This is according to Minister of Finance Calle Schlettwein, who is in Lusaka, Zambia, attending the annual meeting of the African Development Bank Group.
"Currently tariffs are around 30 percent higher in Namibia compared to the southern African region, making Namibia uncompetitive," said a concerned Schlettwein during a dialogue on climate change and energy in Lusaka. He added that to remain competitive and relevant in an increasing competitive environment, power projects must be sustainable, reliable and affordable and that countries must finance these projects with their own resources as this avoids loan "conditionalities", which tend to increase the developmental cost.
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