WINDHOEK, March. 1 — Namibia On Tuesday hosted the launch of the Transport Registers and Information Platform System (TRIPS) and the Corridor Trip Monitoring System (CTMS) at an event held in Windhoek, the Namibian capital.
The event marked the start of Namibia providing facilities for hosting the TRIPS and CTMS on behalf of the Tripartite Regional Economic Communities of Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), East African Community (EAC), and Southern African Development Community (SADC) to facilitate intra-regional trade and cross border transport and transit.
Namibian Minister of Works and Transport John Mutorwa in a statement said the objectives of TRIPS and CTMS resonate with the strategic objective that Namibia is pursuing facilitation of trade and transport and promoting regional integration through the implementation of regional and continental free trade arrangements.
“The achievement of the program and project goals cannot be realized by a single entity but requires the commitment and participation of different stakeholders such as the public and the private sector as well as the international development partners,” he added.
The TRIPS and CTMS are being implemented by COMESA, EAC, and SADC through the Tripartite Transport and Transit Facilitation Programme (TTTFP) funded by the European Union to the tune of 18 million euros (about 19.15 million U.S. dollars), as well as the pilot implementation of CTMS co-funded by the EU and German Development Cooperation.
EU Deputy Head of Mission to Namibia Gosia Lachut congratulated the TTTFP on its development of TRIPS and CTMS, and its successful piloting in four Tripartite member states, namely Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The event also profiled the progress made in the facilitation of road transport harmonization in the Tripartite region as a pillar to support the implementation of the Tripartite Free Trade Area Agreement.
Namibia submitted an offer to host the TRIPS on Sept. 18, 2019, in response to the bid invitation by the SADC.
