Windhoek — Minister of Works and Transport, Helmut Angula wants the public to refrain from bribing officials from the Roads Authority (RA) of Namibia to obtain illegal driving licenses and to register unroadworthy vehicles. Angula this week warned those who bribe RA officials that they will face the full wrath of the law, and in the same vein, cautioned vehicle examiners and licensing officials to act diligently, honestly and to be friendly.

"The consequence of issuing driving licenses to incompetent drivers and issuing of roadworthy certificate to unroadworthy vehicles results in fatal accidents and loss of lives. Thus, strong measures should be put in place to enhance the forensic auditing capabilities in driver and vehicle testing systems, so that we have a tight grip on corruption and systematic malpractices at all NaTIS One-Stop centres," he said.

Angula said that Namibia will never be proud of having safe roads, if incompetent drivers and unsafe vehicles are making use of the country's roads. He raised the concern about the high death rate on the country's national roads, saying innocent people die every day due to avoidable accidents.

The ministry recently adopted a long-term road safety strategy to improve road safety in Namibia. Angula explained that several centres were built countrywide. This week a Natis One Stop Centre was opened in Windhoek. So far, three new centres have been constructed at Katima Mulilo, Rundu and Ongwediva, and several have been upgraded and turned into NaTIS One-Stop Centres.

The construction of a fully-fledged NaTIS One-Stop Centre at Luderitz has commenced, while the construction of a NaTIS centre at Eenhana is envisaged to commence in 2010, to be followed by Outapi, Opuwo and Oranjemund when funds become available. Angula then called upon motorists to drive safely, stop speeding, overloading, and to refrain from drinking and driving during the coming festive season.