Africa-Press – Namibia. NAMIBIA hosted the launch of the Tripartite Register and Information Platform System (Trips) and the Corridor Trip Monitoring System in Windhoek yesterday.
This comes after the Southern African Development Community (SADC) awarded Namibia a five-year contract to spearhead these technological systems.
The systems will benefit the 25 participating member states within the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) and SADC.
The two systems will facilitate intra-regional trade, cross-border transport and transit.
The programmes are funded by the European Union, with support from the German Development Cooperation, and would not only benefit Namibia, but the whole African continent.
Minister of works and transport John Mutorwa, in a speech read on his behalf by the director of transportation policy and regulation, Cedric Limbo, said the objective of the two systems resonates with the ministry’s objective and strategy in pursuing and facilitating trade and transport.
He said this is to promote regional integration through the implementation of the regional free trade arrangement.
“The decision to host these systems in Namibia was very easy, as it plans to play its part in developing Africa,” Mutorwa said.
Mutorwa added that what the African people want will not happen by chance, but would need deliberate decisions and efforts such as the systems launched.
“This is to ensure that we harmonise our processes to support Africa and other decisions of having harmonised systems,” he said.
According to the minister, the achievements of the two systems cannot be realised by a single entity.
“It requires the commitment and participation of different stakeholders such as the public and private sector, as well as information development partners,” Mutorwa added.
He said he is confident that as a ministry championing the hosting of the two systems, it will ensure their successes.
“The Roads Authority will play a role of the implementing agency,” the minister said.
He noted that this was not the first programme or project they were hosting in the transport sector, but it was one of the programmes they have successfully implemented.
“These systems have been set up, tested and have enormous benefits to our citizens, our region and the continent,” Mutorwa said.
Limbo, however, said it is sometimes frustrating at the borders due to delays caused by unharmonised laws between countries.
“You cross over to another country and there are different procedures. These are real issues these systems are trying to eliminate,” Limbo said.
He added that people cannot talk about African continental free trade without harmonising the countries’ systems.
“I think that is one of the important aspects these systems are trying to bring. Namibia is happy to host the launch because we want to become a logistical hub for SADC,” he added.
Speaking at the same event, Roads Authority chief executive officer Conrad Lutombi said the launching of the two systems will be of great benefit to Comesa and SADC.
Lutombi said this would facilitate trade by harmonising laws, systems and standards.
“Trips is an information communication technology gateway, which inter-coordinates national transport information systems in order to improve information sharing and verification of documents, licences, permits and drivers’ particulars between member states,” Lutombi said.
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