Josephina Mwashindange

OMUTHIYA – The Minister of Works and Transport John Mutorwa has urged Namibians to start using railway as a means of transport in order to reduce the number of accidents and trucks damaging the roads. 
This will also minimise the cost of road maintenance.

Mutorwa said this on Monday during the presidential town hall meeting in Omuthiya. 
Generally, Namibians mostly prefer roads as their mode of transport. Although Namibia is one of the countries with good road infrastructure on the African continent, the communities opt for roads rather than railway. However, using railway will generally reduce motor vehicle accidents caused on the road, and sometimes by heavy trucks that are driven during the night. Through TransNamib’s five-year business plan approved by Cabinet in December 2018, reports have indicated that between April and June this year the company has managed to remove 30 trucks on the road daily. TransNamib managed to attain this through improved operational efficiency on certain routes by increasing freight volumes although using only a few locomotives.

Individuals and businesses are thus encouraged to utilise railway as a mode of transport for goods and travelling purposes. During the town hall meeting, the community requested more tarred roads to the western side of the region from the B1 main road, as there is none at the moment. 

“On Thursday, the ministry will hold a workshop in Ondangwa to discuss and review the approved road master plan for all the four northern regions,” responded Mutorwa on how government intends to address road infrastructure development.

*Josephina Mwashindange is an information officer in the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology in Oshikoto Region.