Africa-Press – Namibia. PRESIDENT Hage Geingob says that the completion of the Namalubi-Isize-Luhonono road is an indication that the Namibian government is committed to connecting rural communities to the country’s mainstream economy.
Geingob said this at the official opening of a road in the Kabbe North constituency in the Zambezi region on Friday. The 52-kilometre road is fully funded by the government at a cost of N$740 million.
“This road will provide the locals with the capacity to engage in commercial activities, thereby obtaining income and sustainable financial opportunities,” Geingob said. He said the government has provided local communities, which were in the past isolated by annual floods, with an all-weather sustainable road.
According to Geingob, the Harambee Prosperity Plan II is committed to completing ongoing bitumen road construction until 2025 as it would strengthen Namibia’s position as a transport and logistics hub.
He then appealed to the residents of Luhonono to take care of the new road, emphasising that its construction was not cheap or easy. “I strongly urge you to drive with great care on this road. Our roads are of a high standard, therefore our driving must also be of a high standard.
“You must adhere to the road rules and ensure that our roads are pathways to opportunity and happiness, and not highways of carnage and tragedy,” he said.
Minister of Works and Transport John Mutorwa, who was also speaking at the event, said the Namibian economy is growing at its potential rate, as a number of people are being employed due to accelerated road construction.
“Our objective is nothing less than a transformation of Namibia’s transport network to match our position in the socio-economic sector,” he said.
Profysen Muluti, the deputy chairperson of the Road Authority board, said the authority is currently busy with the upgrading of a total of 21 kilometre of access road to low-volume seal-bitumen standards at Impalila Island.
The authority is also planning to construct a road connecting Katima Mulilo to Impalila Island via Kasika and Nakabolelwa, he said. “In addition, the 60km-long district road 3507 (from Bukalo via Muyako to Ngoma) will be upgraded to bitumen standards,” he said. According to Muluti, they will also be regravelling several other roads to low-volume seal-bitumen standards.
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