[ad_1]
The Chronicle
Mashudu Netsianda, senior journalist
President Emmerson Mnangagwa called for a complete overhaul of the country's rail network and the re-equipment of the Zimbabwe National Railways (NRZ) workshops to enable the parapublic sector to serve the entire Sadc region.
In his weekly article in The Twin News, The Sunday News and Sunday Mail, President Mnangagwa said NRZ was a key entity in trying to turn around the economy. The country's rail network should therefore be reviewed because it slows traffic and causes derailments. .
The country's rail system is obsolete and dilapidated, which has slowed the country's economic recovery. Some sections were so bad, especially on the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls route, that the maximum speed allowed is less than 40 km / hour.
"NRZ workshops need to be re-equipped to serve the moving parts of the entire network. Much remains to be done on our rail network, which slows down rail traffic and causes frequent derailments. Currently, rail speeds of 30 km to 50 km per hour can not make us an efficient economy, let alone a preferred transport hub for the region, "he said.
Since then, the government has granted NRZ's $ 400 million recapitalization program the status of a national project and the parastatal target of transferring 14 million tonnes of freight a year once the necessary funds are obtained.
Every year, in the 1990s, the parastatal transported about 18 million tonnes of freight. This dropped to only about 2.8 million tonnes, representing an 85% reduction in activities due to poor infrastructure and mismanagement.
NRZ was one of the largest employers in the country with attractive salaries. At its peak in the 1990s, NRZ employed approximately 20,000 people. It has only 4,000 workers.
In February, President Mnangagwa ordered the first batch of equipment leased to South Africa. The DIDG (Infrastructure Development Group) / Transnet consortium has partnered with NRZ to recapitalize the parastatal company to the tune of $ 400 million. As part of the interim solution agreement, NRZ will lease 13 locomotives, 200 wagons and 34 cars to Transnet in order to fill the main resource gaps of its operation during the finalization of the recapitalization plan negotiations.
Already 150 wagons, seven locomotives and seven coaches from South Africa for the revival of the NRZ have been delivered.
The President said that it was also necessary to harmonize transit policies in the SADC in order to ensure a smooth flow of goods between the borders of the region.
"The fundamental question of the harmonization of transit policies in our region is related to all this. It is both a legal and infrastructural problem. We need to harmonize, simplify and standardize rules and documentation as goods transit our borders, "he said.
President Mnangagwa said the creation of single border posts was also a key element in promoting trade in the region.
"The creation of single border posts has made a lot of progress in this regard. That's why Beitbridge is being reorganized and for which we have an agreement with South Africa to work as one border worker on the African continent. . We need similar arrangements with all our neighbors if we want to become a real regional hub, "he said.
The president said the country needed to build the capacity to build a modern transport infrastructure.
"First and foremost, we must always keep in mind that all these infrastructures are" economies "from which returns must come," he said.
President Mnangagwa said that although Zimbabwe does not have a waterfront, its economy can still be effectively linked and integrated in the Sadc region, on the continent and in the world.
"A landlocked country does not necessarily have to be a landlocked economy. That does not mean we're cut off from shipping or global markets, "he said.
The President said that the coastal countries of Sadc such as South Africa, Tanzania, Angola, Namibia and Mozambique would automatically become transit countries, while those with no coastline, especially in the north, would become potential clients of Zimbabwe, whose economy and infrastructure played a role of sub-regional land bridge.
"Our goal should therefore be to make Zimbabwe a sub-regional transport and communication center. In all modes of transport and communication: road, rail, pipeline, air and ICT. This means planning an integrated blueprint for regional transport links similar to the so-called Communication Initiative for the Greater Mekong Subregion in Southeast Asia, which connects China, Vietnam, Cambodia , Myanmar and Thailand, with Laos as a hub, "he said.
Source link
