Railway milestone hailed

THOUSANDS of people from all walks of life and from all parts of Namibia gathered at Ondangwa on Saturday to witness the official commissioning of the northern railway line by President Hifikepunye Pohamba.

“Today we are celebrating the completion of phase one of the Northern Railway Extension Project and we are also witnessing the inauguration of a railway station here at Ondangwa, which will serve as one of the major points in Namibia’s rail transport infrastructure,” President Pohamba told the cheering crowd. He said the first phase of the project was very special because it demonstrated that, when called upon, Namibians rallied behind the construction and volunteered to work on the project.”Because of your hard work, through your sweat and your toil, Namibia is today proud to have a national asset that will serve the Namibian people for many years to come,” the President said.He thanked all those who contributed to the timely completion of the first phase of the railway – a 246,5 km stretch from Tsumeb to Ondangwa.He called upon all Namibians to show the same commitment to the second phase – the construction of a 55-km line from Ondangwa to Oshikango on the Angolan border.”I hope we will finish this distance in six months’ time,” he said.Pohamba thanked his predecessor, Founding President Sam Nujoma, for his vision and dedication to the project and the development of Namibia in general.”In an exemplary manner he has always been ready to pick up a spade or a pickaxe or to push a wheelbarrow whenever he joined the work on site.”To you, Comrade Founding President, I say thank you very much for your enormous contribution.”Pohamba called upon community leaders to mobilise their people for the second phase and other future development projects.”I think this spirit of co-operation and unity of purpose will take our country many steps forward on the path of socio-economic development and the realisation of our national goals such as Vision 2030,” the President said.He said the extension of the railway network would bring many new opportunities and benefits for the country by providing affordable, safe and reliable transport for goods and passengers and by boosting regional trade.He said the railway would give impetus to the realisation of a transport corridor between Walvis Bay and the Angolan port of Namibe as envisaged in the SADC Protocol on Transport and Meteorology.”The railway line will also strengthen the country’s tourism sector by providing travellers with a unique opportunity to see the beautiful scenery of different parts of Namibia,” the President noted.In addition, rail transport would lessen the burden on Namibia’s road network and hence reduce road maintenance costs, he said.Pohamba emphasised that the development of the railway should be seen as part of Government’s broader efforts to address the challenges of poverty and unemployment, especially among the rural poor.Speaking at the same occasion, former head of state Nujoma said all African countries were now politically independent, but without economic independence this was meaningless.”We have to work hard and bring infrastructure to our countries, as we have started now,” Nujoma said.He said the idea of constructing railway lines was to link all African countries to each other.”We have to work hard to link our countries with railway lines, harbour lines, airlines, telecommunication lines and even lines in the river to go continental via rivers with boats.”He said Namibians could develop their own country if they were ready to study and to remain independent from others.”We can even produce bombs and destroy them.Down with imperialists, let us work hard and be economically independent from others,” Nujoma said.He said the first phase of the project was very special because it demonstrated that, when called upon, Namibians rallied behind the construction and volunteered to work on the project.”Because of your hard work, through your sweat and your toil, Namibia is today proud to have a national asset that will serve the Namibian people for many years to come,” the President said.He thanked all those who contributed to the timely completion of the first phase of the railway – a 246,5 km stretch from Tsumeb to Ondangwa.He called upon all Namibians to show the same commitment to the second phase – the construction of a 55-km line from Ondangwa to Oshikango on the Angolan border.”I hope we will finish this distance in six months’ time,” he said.Pohamba thanked his predecessor, Founding President Sam Nujoma, for his vision and dedication to the project and the development of Namibia in general.”In an exemplary manner he has always been ready to pick up a spade or a pickaxe or to push a wheelbarrow whenever he joined the work on site.”To you, Comrade Founding President, I say thank you very much for your enormous contribution.”Pohamba called upon community leaders to mobilise their people for the second phase and other future development projects.”I think this spirit of co-operation and unity of purpose will take our country many steps forward on the path of socio-economic development and the realisation of our national goals such as Vision 2030,” the President said.He said the extension of the railway network would bring many new opportunities and benefits for the country by providing affordable, safe and reliable transport for goods and passengers and by boosting regional trade.He said the railway would give impetus to the realisation of a transport corridor between Walvis Bay and the Angolan port of Namibe as envisaged in the SADC Protocol on Transport and Meteorology.”The railway line will also strengthen the country’s tourism sector by providing travellers with a unique opportunity to see the beautiful scenery of different parts of Namibia,” the President noted.In addition, rail transport would lessen the burden on Namibia’s road network and hence reduce road maintenance costs, he said.Pohamba emphasised that the development of the railway should be seen as part of Government’s broader efforts to address the challenges of poverty and unemployment, especially among the rural poor.Speaking at the same occasion, former head of state Nujoma said all African countries were now politically independent, but without economic independence this was meaningless.”We have to work hard and bring infrastructure to our countries, as we have started now,” Nujoma said.He said the idea of constructing railway lines was to link all African countries to each other.”We have to work hard to link our countries with railway lines, harbour lines, airlines, telecommunication lines and even lines in the river to go continental via rivers with boats.”He said Namibians could develop their own country if they were ready to study and to remain independent from others.”We can even produce bombs and destroy them.Down with imperialists, let us work hard and be economically independent from others,” Nujoma said.