Namibia’s transport network
11 April 2012
Informante - 11 April 2012
Editorial
One could assume that the firing of Titus Haimbili as TransNamib CEO came too late for tears as he has not only run the transport entity into the ground, but has also caused the collapse of one of the best transport companies in southern Africa. During his tenure, taxpayers forked out millions of dollars to buy inferior trains from China and all of them are currently grounded as a result of mechanical problems and unsuitability to our conditions. God knows who benefitted in commissions from that deal!
We also saw how a company with the capability to design, construct and maintain railway lines was stripped of its skills and knowledge-base and the company’s line Ministry (Works and Transport) assumed a subordinate role. While TransNamib’s Board of Directors did the right thing in the end, it will take almost a decade to rebuild the image of the transport sector and of railways in particular.
It is clear that political meddling in railways and road transport affairs has partly flopped, but has also succeeded in stripping the company of its mandate. Now the country’s economic backbone is paralyzed, robbed and dazed, all with the help of people who should have known better in order to serve the national interests. For reasons only known to him, former CEO Haimbili was more inclined to answer to politicians outside TransNamib than to his immediate superiors, the board of directors.
Category: Transport