TransNamib on Thursday announced the resignation of its chief executive officer (CEO), Johny Smith, who joined the company five years ago.

In a media statement availed here on Thursday, TransNamib Board Chairperson Theo Mberirua explained that Smith’s five-year employment contract he signed in 2019 came to an end on January 31, 2023, and that the company offered him another five-year term, which he turned down.

"TransNamib will announce the way forward for the company before Smith’s official exit from the company on March 31 of this year," said the statement.

To lessen the burden on road transportation to international markets, TransNamib says it is hard at work to prepare and equip itself to be able to move more of the freight volumes on the railway. 

This was confirmed by TransNamib Chief Executive Officer, Johny Smith, following an assessment visit with the Minister of Works and Transport, John Mutorwa, on the railway infrastructure between Kalkfeld and Omaruru that forms part of the Walvis Bay and Northern Namibia linkage.

TransNamib held a workshop to discuss institutional reform for the railway sector and the future of the state-owned enterprise.

Last year, TransNamib carried out an institutional reform study to help guide the company on what it needs to do with the railway sector over the next 10 to 15 years.

The study looked at how the company can achieve the goals set under its Transport Infrastructure Improvement Project.