Minister Kaapanda blows off steam

WORKS, Transport and Communication Minister Joel Kaapanda has expressed outrage at media reports that four TransNamib locomotives were grounded because of mechanical problems.

He termed the report titled ‘New Trains out of Steam’, which appeared in The New Era last month, as “malicious” and “misleading”. Setting the record straight in the National Assembly on Thursday, Kaapanda maintained that only one train purchased from China had experienced engine problems.The other three, he said, were pulled from service temporarily to be checked for similar problems, merely as a precautionary measure.Taking a swipe at the Government-owned newspaper, Kaapanda accused the daily of “spreading rumours and misinforming the public by publishing sensational stories about Government affairs.”He demanded that the newspaper’s management apologise to the public for misleading stories the Minister claimed had been published of late.Kaapanda contended that the journalist had portrayed pre-conceived bias against products from socialist countries, by insinuating that their products were inferior and not suited to Namibian conditions.”I would like to inform this House that the trains were tested and they fit on our railway line without any problem because they were designed for that purpose,” he said.Kaapanda added that the locomotive engines had been manufactured by a British company, which was compensating TransNamib for the time the train was out of action, and that it was not costing the company anything.He did not say whether the other trains were back in service.Setting the record straight in the National Assembly on Thursday, Kaapanda maintained that only one train purchased from China had experienced engine problems.The other three, he said, were pulled from service temporarily to be checked for similar problems, merely as a precautionary measure.Taking a swipe at the Government-owned newspaper, Kaapanda accused the daily of “spreading rumours and misinforming the public by publishing sensational stories about Government affairs.”He demanded that the newspaper’s management apologise to the public for misleading stories the Minister claimed had been published of late.Kaapanda contended that the journalist had portrayed pre-conceived bias against products from socialist countries, by insinuating that their products were inferior and not suited to Namibian conditions.”I would like to inform this House that the trains were tested and they fit on our railway line without any problem because they were designed for that purpose,” he said.Kaapanda added that the locomotive engines had been manufactured by a British company, which was compensating TransNamib for the time the train was out of action, and that it was not costing the company anything.He did not say whether the other trains were back in service.