Stakeholders in the //Kharas region have prioritised the upgrade of key gravel roads to improve access and safety.
The upgrade of the Tses-Berseba road forms part of the //Kharas region road master plan, which was discussed at a consultative meeting by the Roads Authority (RA) with regional and local authority councillors and chief executive officers, as well as //Kharas governor Dawid Gertze on Monday.
Speaking during the meeting, acting chief regional officer at the //Kharas Regional Council, Ralph Sachika, suggested that the road between Keetmanshoop and Aroab be second in line for an upgrade from gravel to tar.
He said even though a previous feasibility study showed that the road is not viable economically, it is socially viable as many people make use of the road.
“Over the years, we have lost a lot of lives on it; we have the statistics. We have also seen that when it rains, Aroab is cut off, and people cannot travel to Keetmanshoop for the services that they need. So let us prioritise this road,” he said.
Other roads in need of improvement as part of the road plan include the road between Aussenkehr and Rosh Pinah, Aus and Helmeringhausen, Karasburg and Warmbad, Keetmanshoop and Koës, Berseba and Bethanie, and Karasburg and Aroab.
Gertze said stakeholders should ensure that the roads they plan today will serve the generations to come in terms of safety and access.
“Today, we come together not just to examine roads on a map, but to affirm a vision for development that reflects the lived realities of communities across the //Kharas region. When investments are made in roads, we invest in dignity, in access, and the future,” he said.
Gertze said infrastructure is not about bitumen and gravel alone – every road built is a path to opportunity, linking families to clinics, farmers to markets, children to classrooms, and elders to the grants and services they depend on.
