The Ministry of Works and Transport has procured reflective ear tags and collars at a cost of N$5 million to curb night-time animal-related road accidents.
Animals, especially domestic livestock and pets roaming freely along the national roads, are contributing to road accidents.
Works and transport minister Veikko Nekundi in mid-November announced that the ministry plans to introduce reflective gear for animals in communal areas to reduce these incidents.
National Road Safety Council acting executive secretary Ambrosius Tierspoor yesterday said the council has ordered about 10 000 reflective ear tags and 10 000 reflective collars for the project’s pilot phase.
He said the Omusati, Oshana, and Khomas regions would benefit from this exercise.
“This is to pilot the project and prepare for a comprehensive roll-out in the 2026 financial year. Once the pilot project has run for three to six months, a new open national bid will be issued to secure new stock. At the same time consultations between the Ministry of Works and Transport and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Land Reform will be ongoing to streamline the use of reflective ear tags through the Livestock and Livestock Products Board of Namibia (LLPB),” Tierspoor said.
Once the comprehensive roll-out is done in the 2026/27 financial year, the exercise will also be extended to other communal areas across Namibia.
“The allocation of the pilot phase will be to farmers and Namibians close to the B1 and B2 highways within the three regions indicated.
“During the pilot project, many factors may be considered before a comprehensive project roll-out plan could be developed. Key to the aforesaid is the aspect of sustainability and Namibians taking ownership in terms of buying such reflectors in the future,” he said.
Tierspoor said the three regions chosen for the pilot project account for a combined 2 286 domestic animal crashes in the past five years.
The Omusati region will be allocated 7 498 ear tags and collars, the Oshana region 7 306, and the Khomas region 5 196.
According to Tierspoor, the pilot project will be launched at Embumba village at Oshikuku today.
“This represents the minister Veiko Nekundi’s drastic approach to tackle those key low-hanging fruits to ensure we save the lives of Namibians on our roads,” he said.
The Motor Vehicle Accident Fund of Namibia’s website reports that about 3 126 crashes, 5 111 injuries and 488 deaths have been recorded countrywide between January and 14 December this year.
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