Logistics in Namibia: Issues and challenges

Abstract

There is a perception that the logistics industry in Namibia is important for the country's growth and development. Prior to this project the justification of this perception could only be a matter of conjecture. Furthermore, it was uncertain what the understanding of "logistics" is for key stakeholders in the country. There is certainly a dearth of documented information about the logistics industry in Namibia. This includes data on numbers of vehicles in use, volumes uplifted, border crossings and other relevant measures. The first phase of this research project started to address some of the above issues and lay the foundation for a more thorough investigation. Its findings produced a preliminary view of the logistics industry in Namibia that will act as a focus for collaboration with industry, and provide a database that could be used to underpin future projects. 25 semi-structured interviews were undertaken with key stakeholders. The output from these interviews was analysed using matrix analysis as proposed by Nadin and Cassell [13] to identify important themes. The themes were then analysed to see whether they were common across stakeholder groups, groups previously unidentified or occurring randomly. Some preliminary findings include: universal agreement on the importance of logistics to Namibia, the variety in the understanding of the term logistics, the strength of the continuing influence of South Africa as the dominant economic power in southern Africa and contrasting views on the main factors limiting logistics development, including: infrastructure, attitude, government, customs, training, railways, corruption and driver shortage.