| Project Detail |
The roads of Namibia are the lifelines of this vast country. In 1999, the Namibian Government transferred certain remits of the Ministry of Works and Transport to newly established paratstatal institutions. Ever since, these organisations have been responsible for planning, constructing and maintaining the nation''s road network as well as for road safety. One legacy of the long years of Apartheid, however, is the nation’s glaring lack of experts in these fields. The many unfilled positions in Namibia’s regulatory authorities and especially the lack of qualified engineers have unavoidably led to deficient steering of these new parastatal sector institutions. The importance of the public transport systems and individual, non-motorised forms of mobility continue to grow as Namibia’s urban population increases. Despite this need, urban public transport remains inefficient and very expensive. Objective The road transport sector has qualified experts at its disposal. Urban transport systems are being better planned. The economically disadvantaged urban population is benefiting from lower transport costs in the public urban transport system. The costs to the nation’s economy due to road accidents have diminished. Approach GIZ is providing training for the staff of all parastatal institutions involved in the road transport sector. The programme focuses on the provision of advice directly to specialists and managerial staff. It reinforces that work by supporting exchange initiatives which bring academics from German universities and institutions of applied sciences to Namibia. At the forefront of these efforts are the close academic exchanges between Namibia’s two universities and German partner universities, including the Aachen University of Applied Sciences, the Technical Universities of Darmstadt and Kaiserslautern, the University of Munster and the University of Siegen, aimed at raising the number of qualified civil engineers. The Namibian universities are benefiting from German experience for the development of their curriculums, syllabuses and teaching activities. Student and instructor exchange programmes are also ongoing. The programme has supported the efforts of the Ministry of Works and Transport to develop a master plan for sustainable urban transport. Intended to provide a basis for decision making in the fields of transport and urban planning, this plan should serve nationwide as a model for affordable and environmentally friendly urban transport. Results achieved so far As part of GIZ’s programme, a comprehensive road safety strategy has been developed, including a TV advertising campaign, a training programme for police, revised curricula for engineering students, and the establishment of a Road Safety Agency. In 2010, after years of rising accident rates, Windhoek, where 50% of all motor vehicles in Namibia are registered, reported its first ever drop in accident numbers. The number of fatalities due to road accidents also fell by a quarter. Namibia’s Ministry of Works and Transport is the first of the country’s ministries to make use of service level agreements for monitoring and steering its affiliated parastatal enterprises. The companies’ performance has improved measurably since the introduction of these contracts. With support from GIZ, the Polytechnic of Namibia and the University of Namibia have established departments of civil engineering. The number of students registered in the new degree programmes has risen continuously, from 96 students in 2005 to 224 in 2011. Roughly 600 students have graduated in civil engineering since the start of the cooperation. The Sustainable Urban Transport Master Plan was launched In 2012. This has received wide international recognition, and also won a prestigious UITP (International Association of Public Transport) Award for innovative solutions for better public transport. |
