KEETMANSHOOP – To improve road safety, stakeholders comprising of politicians, administrators, law enforcement officers and the public gathered earlier this week to launch the //Kharas Regional Road Safety Forum in Keetmanshoop.
Delivering the keynote address, regional governor Dawid Gertze said the forum gives stakeholders a practical platform to coordinate their efforts, share information, identify high-risk areas and strengthen road-safety education. ‘’It should also improve communication with communities so that the experiences and concerns of ordinary citizens inform the solutions we pursue,’’ he added.
The region’s first citizen continued, “Through this forum, stakeholders can bring together their knowledge, responsibilities and available resources; identify risks, agree on priorities, coordinate interventions and follow through on the actions required to make roads safer.’’ Gertze then encouraged members to establish strong working relationships with relevant institutions and complement existing national and regional road-safety initiatives. Referring to this year’s theme, ‘Our Road, Our Safety, Our Responsibility’, he said stakeholders must therefore work towards a road environment in which residents, visitors, transport operators and every other road user can travel as safely as possible.
In his remarks, forum chairperson Commissioner Marius Katamila explained their mission as that of coordinating and strengthening regional efforts aimed at reducing road traffic crashes through education, awareness, enforcement, stakeholder collaboration, infrastructure improvement and responsible road user behaviour. The Namibian Police //Kharas regional commander continued, “Most importantly, we must promote a culture in which road safety is not practised only when law enforcement officers are present but is embraced as a personal and collective responsibility every day.’’
He also said the forum seeks to coordinate, support and monitor road safety interventions by encouraging cooperation amongst government institutions, law enforcement agencies, local authorities, the private sector, civil societies, educational institutions, community leaders and the public. “We also aim to support effective enforcement of road traffic laws, advocate for safer road infrastructure, encourage timely emergency response and strengthen assistance for crash victims and affected families,’’ the chairperson emphasised.
In her statement, Analia Gawa-!Nas, chairperson of the National Road Safety Council, informed stakeholders that government, through a Cabinet decision, approved modalities through which the Decade of Action for Road Safety (2021-2030, as declared by the United Nations General Assembly) is to be implemented. “We believe that, to manage for improved safety in Namibia, council have identified the following four inter-related strategic areas, namely curbing unbecoming road user behaviour, rectifying insufficient law enforcement visibility, expanding pedestrian and non-motorised transport facilities and non-responsive policy and framework [accelerating the modernisation of outdated laws],’’ she informed stakeholders.
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