President expresses grief

THE scale of the accident that claimed 27 lives on the road between Grootfontein and Rundu on Tuesday night prompted President Hifikepunye Pohamba to take the unusual step of addressing the media to convey his condolences in person yesterday.

At a brief press conference at State House in Windhoek, Pohamba stated that it was “with great sadness, shock and a heavy heart” that he had to announce that Namibia had suffered a tragedy in which 27 people lost their lives on Tuesday evening. The scale of the death toll was unprecedented for Namibia, Pohamba said.”This is the first time since Independence that our country has suffered such a huge loss of human lives in a single road accident.”He expressed his, the Government’s and the nation’s deepest sympathies and heartfelt condolences to the families of those who died in the accident, and wished the injured survivors a speedy recovery.The President said he had sent Deputy Prime Minister Libertina Amathila and officials from the Ministry of Health and Social Services to the accident scene yesterday to assess the situation on the ground and advise on the most appropriate action to be taken.He also instructed the Minister of Health and Social Services, Richard Kamwi, to ensure that all injured persons receive the necessary medical attention.Government will continue to monitor the situation and take appropriate action as it becomes necessary, the President said.Pohamba added that he agreed that vehicles carrying passengers on Namibia’s roads were often travelling too fast, rushing to drop off one load of passengers and pick up a next.Something would have to be done to limit the excessive speeds that some people, especially drivers of buses and minibus taxis, were travelling at on the country’s roads, he said.The scale of the death toll was unprecedented for Namibia, Pohamba said.”This is the first time since Independence that our country has suffered such a huge loss of human lives in a single road accident.”He expressed his, the Government’s and the nation’s deepest sympathies and heartfelt condolences to the families of those who died in the accident, and wished the injured survivors a speedy recovery.The President said he had sent Deputy Prime Minister Libertina Amathila and officials from the Ministry of Health and Social Services to the accident scene yesterday to assess the situation on the ground and advise on the most appropriate action to be taken.He also instructed the Minister of Health and Social Services, Richard Kamwi, to ensure that all injured persons receive the necessary medical attention.Government will continue to monitor the situation and take appropriate action as it becomes necessary, the President said.Pohamba added that he agreed that vehicles carrying passengers on Namibia’s roads were often travelling too fast, rushing to drop off one load of passengers and pick up a next.Something would have to be done to limit the excessive speeds that some people, especially drivers of buses and minibus taxis, were travelling at on the country’s roads, he said.