Nored CEO Toivo Shovaleka: Princess Hotel Power Restored Despite Debt

• Acting Nored CEO Toivo Shovaleka ordered the restoration of electricity to Princess Hotel, which owes N$325,000.
• The hotel is operated by Nored board director Simeon Uahengo, raising concerns about executive interference and conflict of interest.
• This action contradicts Nored's established policy of disconnecting customers with accounts 30 days or more in arrears.
• Nored has a history of financial instability, including a N$341 million debt to NamPower, and frequent changes in its executive leadership.
• The incident underscores the need for an independent investigation into potential favoritism and stronger corporate governance controls at Nored.

This incident highlights significant corporate governance failures and potential breaches of fiduciary duty at Nored, underscoring the critical need for consistent application of debt recovery procedures and robust conflict of interest policies.

Acting Chief Executive Officer Toivo Shovaleka of the Northern Regional Electricity Distributor (Nored) recently issued a directive to restore electricity supply to the Princess Hotel in Oshikango. This instruction came despite an engineer having appropriately disconnected the hotel's meter on two consecutive days, September 29 and September 30, due to outstanding payments. Shovaleka subsequently intervened to unblock the meter, overriding the engineer's action.

The Princess Hotel is directly linked to an account that owes Nored a substantial N$325,000. Further compounding the issue, the establishment is operated by Simeon Uahengo, who currently serves as a director on Nored's board. This sequence of events strongly suggests a case of executive interference, potentially designed to benefit a board member who was involved in Shovaleka's own appointment.

This incident highlights significant corporate governance failures and potential breaches of fiduciary duty at Nored, underscoring the critical need for consistent application of debt recovery procedures and robust conflict of interest policies. Nored had publicly announced in June 2024 its intention to disconnect customers whose accounts were 30 days or more in arrears. This policy has been consistently applied to defaulting customers across a wide geographical area, from the Kunene region to the Zambezi region, who routinely face disconnections.

The preferential treatment afforded to the Princess Hotel, therefore, raises serious questions about Nored's commitment to its own rules and suggests a troubling double standard in Namibia electricity debt enforcement. The situation also brings into focus the due diligence processes for appointing Nored board members, particularly regarding Simeon Uahengo's 2024 appointment, and the utility's capacity to effectively manage potential conflicts of interest when a director's business owes a significant sum to the very entity they oversee.

Nored's current predicament is set against a backdrop of a fragile financial history and persistent leadership instability. Just three years prior, the distributor faced a severe crisis when NamPower suspended its electricity supply due to a massive outstanding debt of N$341 million. Although Nored announced in July 2025 that this debt had been settled, this past financial vulnerability makes the consistent enforcement of payment rules absolutely essential for the utility's ongoing stability.

The executive suite at Nored has also experienced considerable upheaval, often described as a "revolving door." Former Chief Executive Fillemon Nakashole was suspended in April 2024 and subsequently dismissed, though an internal appeal later reduced this to a final written warning. His successor, Silvester Wayiti, was suspended in September 2026, merely six months into his tenure, without public explanation. Intriguingly, Toivo Shovaleka, the current acting CEO, had himself been suspended in September 2025 pending an investigation, further illustrating the pattern of executive interference Nored has faced.

The implications of this incident extend beyond the immediate parties, challenging public trust in Nored's operations and its role as a vital electricity supplier to seven regions and parts of Kunene. The selective application of debt recovery rules for well-connected individuals, while ordinary customers face disconnection, fosters a culture of entitlement and undermines the principle of equitable treatment.

For any institution committed to good governance, this episode necessitates an immediate and independent investigation. Such an inquiry must determine whether this specific instance of executive interference represents a broader pattern of favoritism within Nored. Crucially, its findings should lead to the implementation of stronger internal controls and procedural safeguards, designed to prevent the abuse of public institutions and ensure that Nored operates with transparency and accountability for all its stakeholders.

This incident highlights significant corporate governance failures and potential breaches of fiduciary duty at Nored, underscoring the need for lawyers and compliance officers in Namibia to review internal conflict of interest policies, executive authority limits, and consistent application of debt recovery procedures, especially for state-linked entities, to mitigate legal and reputational risks.

Source: Original reporting via The Namibian