Millions spent annually on road maintenance
The Roads Authority will start with the prosecution of overloaded vehicles on the national road network as from Monday.
RUNDU – Government, through the Roads Authority (RA), spends about N$316 million annually on road maintenance countrywide, due to damage caused by heavy vehicles, the minister of works and transport, John Mutorwa has said.
Mutorwa, who was speaking during a stakeholders’ consultative meeting on vehicle loads and road safety at Rundu on Monday, explained that of the N$316 million, N$20 million of the maintenance results from overloaded vehicles.
The ministry, he said, has observed with concern that there has been an increase in heavy vehicles carrying mining extracts and timber on rural and national roads and thus appealed to transporters to ensure that their loads are within the permissible load limits.
“There are unscrupulous transporters who do not have permits to transport timber and have resorted to using rural roads. This is a punishable offense and I would like to issue a stern warning to those transporters to refrain from these illegal activities,” he warned.
As of 1 April 2019, Mutorwa warned, the RA will commence with the prosecution of overloaded vehicles on the national road network.
“We are also in the process of introducing a law to criminalise overloading offenses to ensure that over-loaders pay fees commensurate to the damage caused on the road based on the distance travelled,” he stated.
The works minister went on to say that the most affected route with regards to overloading is the Trans-Zambezi Highway, noting that a truck was found at the Katima Mulilo weighbridge, weighing 98.94 tonnes, in contrast to the gross combination mass or allowable load, which stands at 56 tonnes.
“This is a very concerning and serious matter,” the minister said. - Nampa
Mutorwa, who was speaking during a stakeholders’ consultative meeting on vehicle loads and road safety at Rundu on Monday, explained that of the N$316 million, N$20 million of the maintenance results from overloaded vehicles.
The ministry, he said, has observed with concern that there has been an increase in heavy vehicles carrying mining extracts and timber on rural and national roads and thus appealed to transporters to ensure that their loads are within the permissible load limits.
“There are unscrupulous transporters who do not have permits to transport timber and have resorted to using rural roads. This is a punishable offense and I would like to issue a stern warning to those transporters to refrain from these illegal activities,” he warned.
As of 1 April 2019, Mutorwa warned, the RA will commence with the prosecution of overloaded vehicles on the national road network.
“We are also in the process of introducing a law to criminalise overloading offenses to ensure that over-loaders pay fees commensurate to the damage caused on the road based on the distance travelled,” he stated.
The works minister went on to say that the most affected route with regards to overloading is the Trans-Zambezi Highway, noting that a truck was found at the Katima Mulilo weighbridge, weighing 98.94 tonnes, in contrast to the gross combination mass or allowable load, which stands at 56 tonnes.
“This is a very concerning and serious matter,” the minister said. - Nampa
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