By Juno Angula
Every morning in Windhoek, thousands of people stand in queues. Workers want to reach their jobs. Students want to reach class. Job seekers want to reach interviews.
For them, transport is not a convenience. It is a daily obstacle, and an expensive one.
The Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) confirms it. In June 2026, transport recorded the highest annual inflation of any spending category, 12.9% against a national average of 4.4%. Khomas had the highest regional inflation, at 5.8%. For a low earner, the fare can decide what is left for food and rent.
Demand is only rising. The 2023 census shows our urban population grew from 903,434 in 2011 to 1,512,685, about 67% more, and urban areas grew far faster than rural ones. Windhoek alone has 486,186 people.
A 2025 study of 1,000 Windhoek households found that nearby stops and frequent services drive public transport use. Buses on paper are not enough.
Namibia has built roads. But a road helps vehicles move. A transport system helps people move.
The speed hump lesson
In June, humps went onto the B1 Western Bypass. Transport Minister Veikko Nekundi ordered them to protect pedestrians after crashes. They cost about N$704,000 and are meant to be temporary, until pedestrian bridges, reported at nearly N$100 million, can be funded.
The goal is right. Pedestrians have died. But motorists and road experts point to jams and rear-end crashes, and it was reported that Roads Authority engineers rejected humps on this road in 2021.
The High Court dismissed an activist’s bid to remove them, yet the judge noted the state had not explained what led to the decision. In Parliament, Dawid Eigub asked whether traffic studies came first. Nelson Kalangula called the move “reactive and short-sighted.”
Both sides want safer roads. What is missing is public evidence.
The rail that could help
TransNamib runs 2,687 kilometres of railway, yet only about 48% meets the minimum regional standard for axle load.
On an average day, just 23 to 26 of its 78 locomotives ran. Its 2022/23 report said passenger service was largely limited to the festive season. In 2024, the African Development Bank sought a study on commuter rail from Windhoek to Rehoboth and Katutura. The public deserves to know what it found.
New chiefs, same cycle
Part of the answer lies in how TransNamib is governed. Johny Smith became CEO in 2018 and left in March 2023, declining a five-year extension. Webster Gonzo acted for about thirteen months.
Desmond van Jaarsveld took over in April 2024, after a recruitment drive that ran for over a year. Before all that, in August 2022, the chairperson and deputy chairperson resigned, one saying directors were not meeting their fiduciary duties.
Meanwhile, the hard questions stayed put. An Ernst & Young forensic report flagged irregular property contracts and recommended action against four executives who shared N$700,000 in bonuses. In 2023, the board found nothing that required discipline. In February 2026, two executives were suspended over property allegations.
By May, a new board was inaugurated and the minister told it to bring them back. Analysts warn that disciplinary power belongs with boards, not ministers.
Chief executives come and go. The appointment model, the oversight and the unanswered findings do not. A fresh CEO who inherits the same arrangement inherits the same problem, and the commuter in the queue pays for it.
Where Welwitchia University comes in
Welwitchia University (WU) is known for health, social sciences, business, education and law. It does not need to pour concrete. It can supply what this debate lacks: facts, voices and fresh ideas.
- Data. With the NSA, WU can measure how far residents travel, what it costs and how long it takes.
- Health. Public health researchers can study road injuries.
- Money. Commerce researchers can show what poor transport costs families and employers.
- Law. The minister argued that Namibia has no gazetted freeway. Law researchers can review how roads are classified and who must be consulted, and how boards are held to account.
- People. Social work and education students can listen to commuters, taxi operators and pedestrians.
WU could also convene the ministry, the City, parliament, TransNamib and commuters at one table.
The rule is simple: evidence before concrete. A fast-growing Namibia cannot afford to think small about how its people move, or about who is steering the institutions that should move them.
Sources: Namibia Statistics Agency (2023 census; June 2026 consumer price index); The Namibian; New Era; The Brief; Windhoek Observer.
* Juno Angula, Marketing and Brand Officer, Welwitchia University
