Works and Transport Minister John Mutorwa says Namibia's road safety efforts must be supplemented by continued research and benchmarking to ensure the safety of road users. 

Mutorwa's speech was presented at the three-day Annual Road Safety Conference at Ongwediva. His remarks came against the backdrop of a decrease in road fatalities.

The conference being held under the theme 'Improving Road Safety Performance Management' is attended by local and international industry players.

Advertising the tender to complete the construction of the Dr. Hifikepunye Pohamba Highway will result in delays that can cause congestion and road accidents.

The Minister of Works and Transport, John Mutorwa, says the current contractor should be allowed to complete the construction.

The Dr. Hifikepunye Pohamba Highway, which links Walvis Bay and Swakopmund, is in the dunes.

It is a key component in Namibia's dream of becoming a logistics hub in southern Africa.

The tarring of the Uis-Henties Bay Road is 52% complete, despite several delays.

The Roads Authority's (RA) Chief Executive Officer, Conrad Lutombi, says the project was supposed to be completed this year but was underfunded.

The 96-kilometre Uis-Henties Bay road is part of the government's vision to strengthen Namibia's western corridor.

Thus far, the government has spent N$700 million on the estimated one-billion-dollar project.

The intention is to link the Walvis Bay harbour to the southern part of Angola through the Trans-Kunene corridor. 

The Omaheke regional leadership has proposed resilient-related programmes to assist in the event of disasters like drought, fire outbreaks, and hailstorms, amongst others. 

This was shared during a consultative engagement with the Deputy Prime Minister, John Mutorwa, at Gobabis in the Omaheke Region. 

The regional leaders noted more needs to be done, although the government has been doing well in assisting communities with drought relief measures like food distribution and livestock subsidies.

The Minister of Works and Transport, John Mutorwa, has announced that plans to construct the Impalila Island Airdrome have advanced as the bid evaluation process for consultancy services was concluded in April this year, with bidders already notified of the evaluation outcome. 

The Deputy Prime Minister, John Mutorwa, is pleased with the drought relief food distribution in the Kavango West Region.

Mutorwa embarked on a visit to all 14 regions to assess the distribution of drought relief aid. 

The Kavango West Region has eight constituencies with more than 27,000 people registered for drought assistance.

Only 2,000 households are benefiting from the programme. 

Four privately owned trucks distribute the food aid from one warehouse in the Kavango West region.

A group of cyclists from Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa, raising awareness about the significance of the Trans-Kalahari Corridor, has arrived in Namibia.

The cycling initiative is a first step toward the elimination of tariff barriers erected at the borders and within countries.

Welcoming the cyclists at the Mamuno-Trans Kalahari Border Post in the Omaheke Region, the Minister of Works and Transport, John Mutorwa, highlighted the significance of the corridor in economic development and cooperation between member states.

Deputy Prime Minister John Mutorwa is concerned about the delays in the distribution of drought relief food in the regions. 

Mutorwa visited the Kavango East Region to acquaint himself with the exercise. 

More than 44,000 people have been affected by the drought in the Kavango East Region. The region received its first consignment of drought relief food in October last year.

Mutorwa stated that the government considers the drought relief programme a high priority.

Namibia's Minister of Works and Transport and his Botswana counterpart are happy with the progress made so far with the implementation of the Trans-Kalahari Railway Line Project.

The two ministers briefed the media on the development at Swakopmund during a Joint Ministerial Committee meeting.

The bilateral Trans-Kalahari Railway Line is expected to link the Port of Walvis Bay via Gobabis to Botswana and the SADC to enhance trade in the region.

The Minister of Works and Transport had an extensive briefing on Wednesday with his senior staff and CEOs of parastatals that fall under his ministry.

After welcoming the staff for the new year, John Mutorwa had to answer a number of questions posed by the media. 

These include, among others, a N$2.6 billion loan to TransNamib for the upgrading of the railway network, the state of the country's airports, and the registration of new engineers.