How best can transportation facilities be improved in Namibia,a country of only 2million people - Dissertation Example

The main objective of this study is to do a critical analysis of how a non performing transport sector affects the economy; understanding the challenges facing the different transport sectors by providing the necessary policy recommendations; outlining of other possible contributing factors; and, finally trying to find both long and short term solutions available to the sectors relative to the specific transportation challenges. There is not much research done in this area in the past which is the basic reason for my conducting this research.

Background Namibia, then called South West Africa, became a German colony in the 1880’s. After the defeat of Germany in the First World War, the mandate to rule the territory was handed to South Africa, which by implication brought apartheid in Namibia. In 1990, Namibia gained its independence, after a brutal war of Independence from South Africa. Since independence, Namibia has been looking into increasing its exports in terms of its natural resources and products on the international front and it has advanced in this aspect.

However, the biggest challenges hampering effectiveness of increased trade lies more towards the logistics aspect and the management of its respective SOEs. Namibia’s geographical position and transport infrastructure is such that it has become a transit country for Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia, which are its bordering and surrounding countries. These countries carry out export and import business across overseas countries through Namibian maritime transport. Other coastal countries and regions to which Namibia provides its transport facilities for business purposes include the region of Gauteng in South Africa; the Kunene and Cuando provinces in Angola; the Katanga province and Lubumbashi town in Congo.

Due to this fact, these challenges are hampering the performance of the transport sector, and the fact that the services are spiraling down it does not really help the situation. According to Bernan (p.80), “Namibia considers the development of transit transport as contributing to the overall economic development of the country” and due to this fact, the government of Namibia has invested tremendously in the maintenance of its transit transport infrastructure. Currently, Namibian transport sector faces challenges related to the “expansion, modernization, upgrading and maintenance of road, rail, air and maritime transport facilities”, affirms the National Planning Commission, Namibia (2004, p.478). Bernan (p.81) suggests that the railway should be extended into Botswana all the way to South Africa because the railway infrastructure is still limited to only a few hundred kilometers near the border of Botswana somewhere between Walvis Bay and Gobabis.

The major challenges that Namibian transit transport faces is financing and managing the infrastructure, and harmonization of vehicle dimensions, overload control, custom procedures and user charges for transit transport. Namibia transport is also expensive and one of the biggest challenges is that the resources of the country are not ample enough to finance transport facilities. This study aims to find solutions to these challenges which could help lead to the proper solution implementations requiring less national budget going wasted in struggling rather than using it for national development purposes since a revived economy is vital to the future of the country. Research