Divisions
Network Planning & Consultation
The mission of the division is to carry out overall planning of the road network, consult with and advise relevant stakeholders thereby contributing towards the achievement of the Roads Authority’s primary mandate of managing the national road network.
General Objectives:
The Network and Planning and Consultation Division contributes to the overall planning of the road sector, carries out the planning for the national road network, as well as consult and co-ordinate with stakeholders, other countries, regional and international organisations and advise relevant stakeholders, the CEO, the Board of Directors and the Minister of Works and Transport.The core functions include strategic planning for the national road network and preparation of Road Master Plans, preparation of five year budgets for capital and recurrent expenditure and carrying out feasibility studies, research and road infrastructure investigations, including monitoring of the road network usage.
Furthermore, we oversee the Roads Boards functions, oversee the administration of the Roads Ordinance 30 of 1960 and No 17 of 1972 and oversee the co-ordination of overload control strategy and programmes including the development of weighbridge facilities. We are also responsible for the evaluation of abnormal vehicle / load permits applications and adjustment of fees thereof, monitor the state of road structures as well as liaise with the Road Fund Administration on levels of road user charges, and for sourcing of funds for projects and programmes. We also liaise with other funding organisations while also supporting the Transport Advisory Board.
Construction & Rehabilitation
Our mission is to manage the Design, Construction and Rehabilitation of Roads for the best interest of the road user in an economically efficient manner with due consideration to safety and progressive technical standard.
Our responsibilities and functions include:
- Implementation of road development and rehabilitation projects by contracting out design, contract administration and construction supervision services.
- Overall control and setting of standards for detail design, Tender Documentation and Contracts Management of roads projects.
- Control of consultants and contractors.
- Promoting the policy of labour-based works as far as reasonably possible.
- Provision of technical leadership on road construction and rehabilitation works.
The Rehabilitation function is executed on older sections of the road network that have served beyond their service lives to bring them to an acceptable level of quality to reduce maintenance costs and increase road safety. While the Development function is limited to the construction of new roads and the upgrading of gravel road to bitumen standards.Our division utilises labour-based construction effectively and efficiently for the construction of roads as a means of employment creation and alleviation of poverty. We also provide communities with access to road infrastructure and transport services to facilitate access to markets and social events. We also promote self dependency by mentoring and empowering SMME’s.
Our Contract Management function includes compilation of requests for proposals for Consultancy Services, supervision of Consultants during Design and Tender Documentation Phases, control of the Consultant and Contractor during the Construction Phase, and the final check and processing of all payments related to Consultancy and Construction Contracts. Whereas, the Materials Laboratory function involves the provision of testing facilities for contract management to serve as a control and check of the material test results obtained on sites.
Maintenance
The Maintenance Division, which constitutes the biggest part of the Roads Authority’s activities, has the main operational objective of identifying maintenance needs and priorities in consultation with the relevant stakeholders.
The purpose of the Division is to cost-effectively maintain and preserve the national road network, comprising the bituminous (sealed) roads, gravel and earth roads, salt roads, a large number of bridges and other drainage structures, and thousands of hectares of road reserves. This mission is tasked in accordance with the best maintenance practices and technology, and to provide related support services to stakeholders. The Maintenance function is divided into routine and periodic maintenance, where both functions require a constant reliable funding source in order to maintain for the next generation.To perform such functions assigned to it in terms of relevant roads and related legislation, all maintenance works are done through a large number of small contractors, and a few medium and larger scale contractors.
Road Management System
Road Management System mission is to develop and operate coordinated and integrated support tools or systems to facilitate the efficient management of the road network and to provide information on the network.
A well developed Road Management System assists Road Fund Administration and Roads Authority to make the right decisions when it comes to determining the level of funding and the various projects that need to be attended to by flagging potential projects. Transportation Authorities are challenged by increasing demands for better services under constrained budgets and this is the same fate that is challenging the roads sector in Namibia. The Road Management Systems (RMS) started in the early 1960's, and has since been implemented in many countries by several roads agencies. Accordingly, the Roads Authority of Namibia (formerly Department of Transport) implemented RMS in the late 1970s and today it has grown into a state of the art system in line with technological advancements.
The RMS plays an important role in:
- Monitoring the condition of the national road network on a continuous basis
- Analysing the impact of funding scenarios
- Identification and Prioritisation of projects
- Optimisation of available funds
- Minimisation of total transportation cost
Transport Information & Regulatory Services
The mission of the TI&RS is to ensure compliance with relevant legislation through effective enforcement to improve appropriate use of the road infrastructure and thereby contributing towards the achievement of the Roads Authority objectives.
Strategic Objectives:
Our division objective is to have a safe, sustainable and efficient management of the national road network. It aims at ensuring this by:
- Reducing damage to roads caused by overloading through weighing of heavy goods/ passenger vehicles at weighbridges.
- Ensuring compliance with vehicle and load related standards by commercial vehicles (such as minibuses; busses and trucks) through inspections at weighbridges and on national roads.
- Ensuring compliance with the Road Traffic & Transport Act (RTTA) and bi- lateral Agreements by commercial vehicles through inspections at weighbridges and on national roads.
- Ensuring compliance with road user charges such as Cross Border Charges (CBC) and Mass Distance Charges (MDC) in order to support Road Fund Administrator.
- Supporting local authorities and other approved authorities through the enforcement of the transportation of passengers (Taxis) in some towns.
- To achieve these objectives, we proactively engage stakeholders in transport related matters, proactively participate in road safety forums in order to promote road safety as well as promote responsible road usage in order to ensure less traffic offences and low accident rate.
Road Traffic & Transport Inspectorate
Empowered by the Road Traffic & Transport Act of 1999 (RTTA); the Road Traffic & Transport Regulations of 1999 (RTTR) and the Criminal Procedure Act of 1977 (CPA), the RTTI is responsible for the control of overloading thereby reducing road damage. Furthermore, the RTTI is responsible to contribute to road safety by enforcing quality systems; enforce road transport permit regulations and road user charges.
The functions and purpose of the RTTI is to:
- Control overloading by weighing all heavy vehicles above 3500kg aimed at reducing road damage and thus prolonging the lifespan of Namibia’s national roads.
- Enforce vehicle/ load related standards on all commercial vehicles through inspections conducted at weighbridges and on national roads to ensure compliance with relevant legislations.
- Enforce road safety regulations by inspecting all commercial vehicles at weighbridges and on national roads for roadworthiness and thus promoting road safety.
- Enforce legislative compliance to domestic and cross border road transportation through inspections of commercial vehicles at weighbridges and on national roads.
- Support RFA by enforcing mass distance and entry fee charges through inspections of commercial local and foreign vehicles at weighbridges and on national roads.
