The All People's Party (APP) has urged the authorities to freeze electricity tariff hikes, citing Namibia's worsening economic hardships and regulatory failures burdening already struggling consumers.

APP secretary general Venitus Goraseb says the party is deeply disturbed by the recently announced electricity tariff hikes for Windhoek.

He says these increases come at a time when Namibians are already struggling under harsh economic conditions, a high unemployment rate, escalating food prices, and stagnant wages.

Goraseb says this in a press statement released on Monday.

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"The decision to burden consumers further with higher electricity costs raises serious questions about the relevance and effectiveness of Namibia's regulatory authorities, particularly the Electricity Control Board (ECB), electricity distributors, and local councils. The original mandate of the ECB, as established by law, is clear: to regulate the electricity supply industry in a manner that ensures affordable, reliable, and fair access to electricity while protecting the interests of consumers," he says.

Goraseb claims the cost of electricity has for years been inflated by multiple layers of "middlemen".

"From the ECB's levies to regional electricity distributors to municipal mark-ups, the consumer ultimately receives less than 40% of the true value of what they pay for. The bulk of electricity payments are diverted into administrative overheads, exorbitant executive salaries, and generous perks for officials, while the end user, the ordinary Namibian, is left to suffer in darkness or sacrifice other necessities to keep the lights on," he says.

Goraseb says the APP strongly believes that regulatory authorities are failing in their primary duty to protect consumers.