On paper, regional integration in Southern Africa has made advances — with countries being knit together by protocols and agreements of every stripe.
It’s a pity there isn’t a similarly comprehensive network of roads and railways, say transport analysts — who point out that true regional integration will remain a pipe dream if goods cannot move efficiently between Southern African states.
Angola, recovering from civil war, has only 850km of functional railway lines. The state of transport links is even giving cause for concern in South Africa, the most-developed country in the region.
”Our infrastructure is falling apart. Our rail network, which has been allowed to go bad in the past 15 years, is falling into pieces,” says Paul Browning, of the Pretoria-based Lesiba Mudau Transport Consulting. And, it does not stop there.
”Our ports require a big investment: the ports are clogged. Customs procedure needs to be improved and speeded up,” Browning added, blaming mismanagement in the transport sector for the current state of affairs.
The decay of railway infrastructure has placed unhealthy demands on South Africa’s roads.
”We have unhappily witnessed a general shift from rail to road, even of some cargoes that should ideally be transported by rail for safety and other reasons,” Minister of Transport Jeff Radebe told the International Railway Safety Conference 2005, held near the coastal city of Cape Town earlier this month.
”Between 2002 and 2004, leaking tankers accounted for some 418 incidents, and there were 117 derailed tankers, 661 incidents of decanting and 53 spillages,” he noted.
These concerns are echoed by Alex Visser from the department of engineering at the University of Pretoria, who says that the road network as a whole is in need of attention.
”South Africa’s secondary roads are badly deformed,” he says. ”We also have 240 000km of unpaved roads. They need funding in order to [be maintained].”
Acknowledging that poor infrastructure is crippling development across the continent, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad) has placed a priority on improving transport links.
Transport initiatives already under way include the $5-billion Maputo Development Corridor, launched in 1996, which stretches between the Mozambican capital and South Africa’s northern Gauteng province. This region is the economic nerve centre of the country.
The Beira Corridor links Mozambique and Zimbabwe, while the Congo-Bas Corridor joins the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola and the Congo.
In addition, Angolan President Eduardo dos Santos has announced that his government will spend $4-billion over the next decade to rebuild Angola’s railways, with an emphasis on transborder networks.
Shortcomings with the Southern African transport network are compounded by delays at border posts.
”Zambia faces serious cross-border transport problems,” says Silane Mwenechanya, head of the Zambia Business Forum. ”It takes almost a week to clear a vehicle at Chirundu [the main border post with Zimbabwe].”
From Chirundu, Zambian trucks proceed to South Africa’s port city of Durban to deliver cargo for export.
”Clearance at Beitbridge is faster,” Mwenechanya said. Beitbridge is the border post between Zimbabwe and South Africa; about 600 trucks pass through it daily.
According to Radebe, border delays cost the 14-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) about R314,8-million a year.
Browning has also expressed concern about the slow pace of implementing joint transport ventures in the region, as required by the SADC Protocol on Transport — citing the plight of an estimated 60 000 migrants from Lesotho who work in South African mines.
”Thousands of people from Lesotho work in the mines in Free State province. And, 90% of the taxis [commuter vehicles] that transport the migrants to South Africa are owned by South Africans,” he said.
Browning is involved in upgrading South Africa’s 100 000 ageing taxis, an initiative that is expected to cost about R20,3-billion over a period of five years. — Sapa-IPS