Sankwasa wants Nored shareholding report revealed

**Lylie Joel **

RUNDU— Minister of Urban and Rural Development James Sankwasa called for the Northern Regional Electricity Distributor (Nored) shareholding report to be made available to every shareholder, saying disclosure would let councils verify what they own and receive.

He was speaking at the High-Level Stakeholder meeting to resolve the long-standing Nored, Regional Council Electricity Company (RCEC) and Local Authority Electricity Company (LAEC) shareholding and financial reporting matter programme in Rundu.

“The Nored report should not be private. It should be made available to all shareholders,” Sankwasa said.

He said transparency was necessary when shares were distributed, so every participating authority could verify its allocation. He called on officials to establish current ownership percentages, the valuation method and the legal basis for arrangements between regional councils and local authorities.

Sankwasa said recurring audit findings raised concerns about recognition, classification, valuation and documentation of councils’ investments in Nored. The deficiencies, he said, weakened institutions’ ability to demonstrate statutory compliance and accurately represent public assets.

“It goes beyond technical accounting considerations,” he said, warning of damage to public confidence.

The engagement, he said, would review the legal and historical basis of the shareholding, check whether original agreements were followed, and agree on valuation and accounting disclosures.

He urged participants to verify share certificates, supporting schedules and documents held by shareholders and authorities.

“We have to zoom in and resolve any overdue ambiguities and establish a clear, documented, and implementable solution going forward,” Sankwasa said. He asked councils to examine five years of audited statements alongside Nored’s full financial statements and supporting schedules.

The records, he said, would help assess past financial positions, movements and asset values.

He also questioned Nored’s governance, including board membership, compliance with the law and the clarity of shareholding and funding agreements.

“We have to look at who qualifies to be a member of Nored’s board of directors, who doesn’t qualify,” he said.

Sankwasa called for a time-bound plan to resolve audit observations and set out responsibilities for affected councils.

He warned governance problems could prompt members to leave Nored and form a separate electricity company.

“There is a problem with Nored in management, from the board to the executive, which we need to revisit,” he said.

He called the matter resolvable through cooperation and open discussion, adding: “Where governance is challenged, the end result is chaos.”

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