By: Kandjengo kaMkwaanyoka
Observations show that every time Namibia faces some sort of tragedy, Namibians of all calibres turn to the heavens and call for prayer sessions.
The same is being observed after quite a deadly long-weekend. WhatsApp statuses and all social media are full of prayers and calls for people to pray for their journeys/safety on the road.
It is quite absurd and shallow; not because I am not spiritual, but because we cannot pray away social and economic issues that need efforts, innovations, investment, and attitude changes.
Let us focus on the Swakopmund-Usakos road – the most economically important road stretch in the country.
The road that brings in everything and takes out everything – it is infested with trucks carrying all sorts of cargoes from all over the world into Africa and vice versa.
Moreover, it has tourists, mostly foreigners, driving through along with holidaymakers.
Despite that, it is the narrowest road, with many blind spots, and it experiences visibility issues due to the coastal weather.
Apart from said visibility issues from fog, everything else about that stretch of road can be upgraded/changed.
It is quite puzzling that Namibians want to pray about it instead of taking action.
We cannot pray away the sharp turns, the blind spots, and the narrow lanes. These accidents are not a result of heavenly punishments, they are man-made actions or inaction.
There is a direct correlation between the Swakop-Usakos’ road lane sizes, the number of trucks, Namibian drivers’ attitudes, and the number of accidents.
If mathematically that is the case, then there is something that the country can do to reduce the accidents on such a road.
One of those variables can be worked on to alter the outcome/number of accidents. Either the country expands its narrow lanes and changes driving requirements to include things such as defensive driving, or expands the strategic road network to have a dual lane, specifically to have a lane for trucks.
This option makes sense, especially for the Swakop-Okahandja stretch and the road from Okahandja to Katima and Oshikango.
Because those routes are connecting Namibia as a logistic hub to neighbouring countries, they are full of trucks daily.
We cannot pray the trucks away, because we aspire to be the logistical hub and gateway to the rest of Africa. We just have to structure our roads to accommodate them and the rest of the road users, since we gave up on rail transport.
Given the Swakop-Okahandja road stretch’s economic significance, one would assume it would have upgraded dual lanes first, before any other stretch in the country.
The consequences are clear as tourists, commuters, and cargo trucks all rush to/from the coast, as accidents increase along the part of the stretch that is not upgraded.
That rush and friction won’t go away with long weekends; it will actually increase with the population, the expansion of our port(s), and the marketing of coastal areas.
The solutions require actions, not prayers, not million-dollar feasibility studies, but just some mathematics and assessments to weigh the options available and the implementation costs over time.
While we’re at it – the defensive driving, the attitude change, and harsh punishment for reckless driving – car dashboards are capturing all these events.
Track such people down and let them be punished for endangering people’s lives.
Moreover, we have to start embedding such education in the main education system; let the kids be taught good behaviours on the road as part of schooling. Attitude change is a habit, and it takes time to develop one.
Namibians, we need to stop running to prayers, blaming the devil every time a man-made catastrophic event occurs.
Social and economic issues that the country faces cannot be prayed away; they need efforts and investments from us.
Thus, it sends a message of hopelessness and discouragement to the general public when those who are trusted with decision-making are now telling the public to pray and be safe on the road.
Traffic on our roads means money, transactions, and every single vehicle moving around is distributing wealth across the country.
Thus, mobility must be ensured by investing in transportation infrastructure.
If people are scared to travel, that means money will also stop flowing around the country.
Holidays and weekends are the right moments to distribute earnings across the country. Thus, we need to encourage more travelling.
However, with the number of deaths on the road, those with money to spend are now scared to use 7-seaters, Quantum buses, private hires, and to travel on weekends.
That is income lost to many Namibians who depend on the transport sector and its spillover.
The solution is not to pollute social media with prayers and speeches, but to act, identifying short-, medium-, and long-term solutions to our transportation sector.
Moreover, we should refrain from harsh regulations and directives that strangle economic activities, such as banning trucks from travelling during the night.
Such changes do nothing but just shift truck traffic to the daytime.
Expand the roads, explore rail transportation, and impose defensive driving for every licence holder. For once, let us think, explore alternatives, and assess their economic and social impact.
No haphazardous decisions.
Prayers and over-regulations will not fix our narrow roads, nor will they reduce deaths.
The aim is to promote mobility for both goods and people in a safe and enabling transportation network.
Let the creator of the continent guide all those tasked to plan our transportation network and infrastructure to find enabling solutions.
These are personal and professional views of Kandjengo, not of the Villager and its Editorial team. For further engagement and guidance, you can reach Kandjengo via email at: gerastus16@gmail.com
