POLOLKWANE - Mr Sarmad Hussein, an Adviser on Transport and International Affairs to the German Federal Government, this week strongly recommended international networking and partnerships to improve transport systems in Africa.

He was addressing the International Transport Convention in Polokwane, on behalf of absent German Transport Minister Iris Gleicke, who was unable to attend the event.

In giving a German perspective on the task of managing the transport logistic environment, Hussein said enterprises had never been as internationally networked and exposed as now, with goods and services moving in a market which had global dimensions.

Limpopo Partnership

Hussein pointed out that relations between Germany and South Africa were very good on all fronts, and added that the deepening of these ties would receive constant attention.

He announced that the recently established partnership between Limpopo and the German province of Toringen would be extended to include more projects and other exchanges. According to Hussein, transport was so important to the German economy that the federal government had recently sunk a massive One Billion Euros into the upgrading and maintenance of the country’s rail, road and air systems.

“The transport system is so necessary, and at the same time so much a matter of course, that in Germany one is hardly aware of its functioning and its efficiency; if, however, this system fails, then the whole society catches its breath,” he explained.

The German transport policy was aimed at making international mobility possible in a sustainable way, he said.

Toll systems

Hussein sketched a few facts regarding his country’s road toll system, known to be one of the most advanced in the world.

With the aid of satellite-based positioning and mobile telephony, it was now possible to register and settle motorway charges without any disturbing interference with the traffic flow, he explained.

Not surprisingly, many delegates questioned him closely on the details of this high tech system, with a view to implementing it in Southern Africa, with its high volume of slow and heavy commercial traffic.