WALVIS BAY – The Road Fund Administration has agreed to increase its funding to the Walvis Bay municipality for road maintenance.
The Walvis Bay council was receiving N$6.7 million for the maintenance of the town’s roads which plays an important role in the transportation of high volumes of cargo destined for both local and international markets.
Announcing the opening of council proceedings yesterday, Walvis Bay mayor Trevino Forbes said the high volume of international traffic, including heavy trucks transporting goods are taking its toll on the town’s roads.
“Yet, the burden of road maintenance and repair rested squarely on the shoulders of our ratepayers. Council went as far as budgeting N$19 million for the 2022/2023 financial year for road maintenance and rehabilitation for 60 road sections totalling about 50 kilometres,” Forbes explained.
However, RFA came on board and accepted the responsibility to rehabilitate the port roads by budgeting N$248 million for the next five years.
“It is indeed great news for the council and the town. We now have no more excuses, and work on our roads must commence in all earnest,” Forbes said.
The Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG), last year during a consultation, explored the possibility of the RFA to upgrade the Hanna Mupetami road.
It is the most-used road by trucks entering and exiting the harbour to deliver and collect cargo.
WBCG projects manager Gilberts Boois, during the consultation, explained this specific road carries the most cargo.
“This road carries most of the national cargo, and it is not fair for the municipality to carry the burden of the road alone. It only makes sense for one to upgrade that road to a national road,” he said during the meeting.
Last year, the Namibian Association of Local Authorities in Namibia (Nalao) also demanded N$1 billion from the RFA for urban road maintenance.
Nalao indicated that they wanted the money to be spent over two years (2023 and 2024) on road planning, designing and construction, as well as the maintenance of safe and quality urban roads and streets.
In their proposal, the local authorities and the Association of Local Authorities in Namibia (Alan) initially proposed that the RFA allocate N$1 billion from its estimated N$2,4 billion in annual revenue to local and regional councils.
Local authorities currently require an average of between N$10 million and N$20 million annually for the maintenance of surfaced roads alone. This excludes the construction of new roads and additions, such as pavements and kerbs.