Logistics in Namibia: issues and challenges, re-engineering for competitiveness

Logistics is perceived to be important for Namibia’s growth and development, but it is a matter of conjecture as there is a dearth of documented information about the industry in Namibia. Furthermore, it is uncertain what the understanding of “logistics” is for key stakeholders in the country. This project’s objectives are to address some of these issues and lay the foundation for a more thorough investigation. The findings from key stakeholders of the logistics industry in Namibia 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.
The conclusions were published in the form of a conference paper showing the challenges and opportunities facing logistics in Namibia in 2012 (Jenkins et al., 2012). They were also disseminated as a report (Savage et al., 2012) and at a workshop in Walvis-bay, Namibia in September 2012. These reports, additional interviews and subsequent discussions highlighted some potential opportunities and problems. This paper summarises the initial phases of the project showing the methodology and findings; it then builds on that work to prioritise measures required to re-engineer Namibia’s logistics industry.