Rail volunteers dry up

The construction of the Tsumeb-Oshikango railway line is slowing down because of a shortage of volunteers.

The Minister of Works, Transport and Communications, Moses Amweelo, said this on Saturday when he received a donation of N$10 000 for the project from the Namibia Airports Company. Amweelo emphasised that the Tsumeb-Oshikango railway was a huge national project and appealed to Namibians to volunteer their time and labour to speed up its completion.He said his Ministry alone could not run such a huge project successfully.Amweelo said that 75 per cent of the construction of the first phase of the project would be finished by March.The 60-km second phase (Ondangwa to Oshikango) would follow immediately after the completion of the first phase.Amweelo said a feasibility study on the extension of the railway line from Oshakati to Opuwo and then Cape Fria in the Kunene Region was being conducted.The cheque was handed over by a board member of the Namibia Airports Company and former member of the National Assembly, Pashukeni Shoombe.Shoombe said the company decided to contribute funds and labour to the project because it was of vital importance not only for Namibia’s development, but for the whole SADC region.More than 40 employees of the Namibia Airports Company, with the assistance of some employees of the Works, Transport and Communications Ministry, did voluntary work on the railway this past weekend.- NampaAmweelo emphasised that the Tsumeb-Oshikango railway was a huge national project and appealed to Namibians to volunteer their time and labour to speed up its completion.He said his Ministry alone could not run such a huge project successfully.Amweelo said that 75 per cent of the construction of the first phase of the project would be finished by March.The 60-km second phase (Ondangwa to Oshikango) would follow immediately after the completion of the first phase.Amweelo said a feasibility study on the extension of the railway line from Oshakati to Opuwo and then Cape Fria in the Kunene Region was being conducted.The cheque was handed over by a board member of the Namibia Airports Company and former member of the National Assembly, Pashukeni Shoombe.Shoombe said the company decided to contribute funds and labour to the project because it was of vital importance not only for Namibia’s development, but for the whole SADC region.More than 40 employees of the Namibia Airports Company, with the assistance of some employees of the Works, Transport and Communications Ministry, did voluntary work on the railway this past weekend.- Nampa