Namibia has recently hosted the launch of the Transport Register and Information Platform System (TRIPS) and the Corridor Trip Monitoring System (CTMS) in Windhoek, representing the Tripartite Regional Economic Communities. The launch event was attended by Veikko Nekundi, the Deputy Minister of Works and Transport, Chileshe Kapwepwe, Chair of the Tripartite Task Force and Secretary General of COMESA, Ms Gosia Lachut, EU Deputy Ambassador to Namibia, and Mr Conrad Lutombi, Chief Executive of the Roads Authority, among others. The event aimed to take stock of activities, challenges, and achievements of the Tripartite Transport and Transit Facilitation Programme (TTTFP), funded by the EU and the German Development Cooperation to the tune of €18 million. The objective of the TTTFP is to develop a more competitive, integrated, and liberalized regional road transport market in the Tripartite Region to support the implementation of the Tripartite Free Trade Agreement and the African Continental Free Trade Agreement.

TRIPS is an ICT gateway that interconnects National Transport Information Systems to improve information-sharing and authentication of transit documents, licenses, permits, and vehicle and driver particulars between and amongst the 25 participating Member States’ regulatory and law enforcement agents within the Tripartite Region. CTMS, on the other hand, was initially developed for safe transport and trade facilitation during the Covid-19 pandemic. According to Danièle Stübi from the German Development Cooperation (GIZ), CTMS will become an essential tool to improve the efficiency of transport corridors in Africa when integrated with other systems deployed at border posts such as Customs and Immigration Systems.

The launch of the two systems in Namibia is expected to facilitate intra-regional trade, cross-border transport and transit for the 25 participating member states within the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The two systems will benefit not only Namibia but the whole African continent. Minister of Works and Transport, John Mutorwa, in a speech read on his behalf by the Director of Transportation Policy and Regulation, Cedric Limbo, said the objective of the two systems resonates with the ministry's objective and strategy in pursuing and facilitating trade and transport. Mutorwa added that the achievements of the two systems cannot be realized by a single entity, requiring the commitment and participation of different stakeholders such as the public and private sector, as well as information development partners.

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