Senior officials gathered in Windhoek last week for an Urban Mobility Working Session built around an unusual principle: no proposal could be submitted unless those present were willing to commit to it. Organisers said the approach created the basis for a trust-rich pathway toward a more coordinated and effective transport system.

The City of Windhoek last week convened senior leaders from local and national government for an Urban Mobility Working Session aimed at urgently advancing the city’s transport agenda and informing Namibia’s Draft Public Passenger Transport Act.

Transport systems connect almost everything necessary for life. Reflecting the importance of this, the session brought together senior representatives from the City of Windhoek, the Ministry of Works and Transport, the Khomas Regional Council, the Roads Authority, the Road Fund Administration, the Road Transportation Board and other key stakeholders.

The session was underpinned by two principles: commitment and trust. All delegates agreed that proposals could only be submitted during the session if those present were prepared to commit to them. If not, they could not be submitted.

“Too often, workshops produce good ideas with no ownership,” said Pierre van Rensburg, Strategic Executive for Urban and Transport Planning at the City of Windhoek. “Our intention was that every proposal emerging from this process should already have a name, an institution and a commitment attached to it.”

The session was also grounded in co-creating what The Global Trust Project describes as a trust-rich pathway: a practical basis for sustained action built on trustworthiness, shared responsibility and follow-through. Evidence from government and transport systems internationally suggests that higher levels of trust and coordination are associated with more effective implementation, greater public confidence and stronger institutional performance. OECD research similarly finds that institutions perceived as fair, responsive and coordinated are more likely to secure public trust and deliver better outcomes.

Grounded in this approach, the session focused on three practical objectives identified by the City of Windhoek: securing guaranteed funding for transport improvements; finalising the Draft Public Passenger Transport Act; and strengthening coordination between the institutions responsible for planning, financing, regulating and delivering mobility services.

The proposed funding objective includes an annual fiscus contribution and fuel levies to ensure more consistent financial support for transport improvements. The Draft Public Passenger Transport Act is intended to provide the legislative framework required for more effective implementation and governance of Namibia’s public transport system. The coordination objective seeks closer alignment between all roleplayers to support integrated service delivery.

Today, 45 per cent of the world’s 8.2 billion people live in cities, and two-thirds of future population growth is expected to occur there. Namibia reflects that pattern: approximately 500,000 people - nearly one in five Namibians - live in Windhoek. Decisions about mobility in the capital therefore have implications for a substantial share of the country’s economy, access to work, education, healthcare and public life.

The session was facilitated by The Global Trust Project, part of the VUKA Group, and centred on translating those three objectives into practical actions and declared commitments.

“Commitment became one of the principal outputs of the session,” said Dominic Wilhelm, Executive Director of The Global Trust Project. “If an input could not be committed to, it could not be submitted. This provides a meaningful basis for what we call a trust-rich pathway.”

The commitments developed during the session are expected to contribute to the next phase of work on Windhoek’s mobility agenda and the refinement of Namibia’s Draft Public Passenger Transport Act.