Niki Moore
President Thabo Mbeki, Swaziland’s King Mswati III and Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano have given the Lubombo spatial development initiative (SDI) a shot in the arm, which it is hoped will help raise R1- billion for development projects.
The three heads of state signed a protocol at the Southern African Economic Summit in Durban this week. It binds their countries to co-operate in the Lubombo SDI at the highest level, and gives the arrangement a firm foundation in international law.
The Lubombo SDI, which forms a triangle between Mozambique, Swaziland and northern KwaZulu-Natal, has rich potential for agriculture and ecotourism.
Project leader Andrew Zaloumis says the signing of the protocol marked the end of almost four years of planning and negotiation.
“The aim of the SDI is to identify potential development, and then make it easier for the private sector to get involved.
“Areas have been identified for agricultural and tourism projects. We have embarked on a road-building scheme to make the area more accessible, and identified other lead projects to make the region an attractive place for investors.”
In the next few months, there will be a concerted drive by all three countries to attract local and international investors to fund private-sector projects worth R1- billion.
A trilateral ministerial committee will address issues such as job creation, empowerment and creation of infrastructure. It will be tasked with creating favourable conditions for investment, such as securing land tenure, ensuring cross-border co- operation, working on disease control and ensuring a reliable water supply.
Local empowerment is the key issue, and to this end all three governments will identify new investment opportunities and assist each other in marketing the region to visitors and investors.
A task team will convene a workshop on July 14 to set up agreements on six key issues.
The first will be border access and enabling a free flow of traffic between the three countries. The aim is to remove visa requirements, increase the efficiency of border posts and upgrade border facilities.
The flow of people between the three countries has increased remarkably: traffic between Mozambique and South Africa at the Ressano Garcia/Komatipoort border post grew from 19 000 over the 1997 Easter weekend to 39 000 the following year. Already border procedures have been streamlined. Now there is an investigation into creating a free travel zone around the Kosi Bay/Ponto do Ouro area, a prime tourist attraction.
A conservation and marine lead project will look at the creation of cross-border parks. The three countries have agreed to create a common regulatory framework for conservation and marine resource management.
The three governments are committed to a protocol which will bind them to consult on cross-border policies and the appropriate management of conserved areas.
An agreement to combat malaria is already in place. The disease is seen as the single greatest threat to development in the region.
The statistics are staggering: in 1983, 71 cases were reported in KwaZulu-Natal; by 1997 this had grown to 11 425 cases.
Both Swaziland and South Africa have had success in combating the disease, and it has been proved that the current epidemic is brought across the border from Mozambique.
An enormous data-capture scheme is under way that will track the progress of the disease. The same data will then be used by Eskom for provision of electricity, and will also be used for plotting water provision.
The most visible part of the Lubombo SDI – the highway linking Hluhluwe in northern KwaZulu-Natal to Ponto do Ouro in Mozambique, and eventually reaching Maputo – is one month ahead of schedule.
The first three phases of the highway are nearing completion and funding is in place for the last two phases. There is plenty of potential in the road construction for small local businesses, and the date set for completion is early 2001.
The Mozambican government is occupied with sourcing funding for its own stretch – from the border to Maputo. It is believed that once the South African leg of the road begins showing results, funding for the Mozambican sector will be easier to obtain. – African Eye News Service