Zim yearns for one-stop border, rail project
Keto Segwai | Monday February 12, 2024 06:00
This came out here on Tuesday at the on-going fourth session of the Botswana-Zimbabwe Bi-National Commission (BNC). Senior government officials, ministers and the business community, are attending the meeting. The two countries’ ministers from various sectors were to meet yesterday (Thursday) while on the sidelines, the Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC) and ZIMTrade will be hosting a business forum. President Mokgweetsi Masisi and his Zimbabwean counterpart, Emmerson Mnangagwa, will join the Maun meeting on Friday.
The broad nature of the BNC cooperation covers defence and security, immigration, environment and tourism, transport and infrastructure, labour and employment, energy and water security, trade and investment, health and others. In a preparatory meeting of the line ministries’ permanent secretaries and other senior officials, Zimbabwe’s acting permanent secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Rofina Chikava on Tuesday appealed to her colleagues. “I know this has been said many times before... but to just reiterate the urgency of the establishing a One-Stop-Border Post at the Plumtree/Ramokgwebana border post and the conclusion of the Ponta Techobanine Railway Line Project.” She described the projects as having, “high level public interest as they are designed to achieve some important development and social objectives. Central to all of them is the noble idea of advancing border efficiency, ensuring free movement of people and trade facilitation. I am aware that all of these issues are work in progress, but I am glad that we have already taken some of the most significant steps forward to realise these objective.”
Similarly, the acting permanent secretary in the Botswana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Clifford Maribe reiterated the importance Botswana attaches to economic diplomacy, which entails intensified economic and trade cooperation between the two countries. “There are abundant opportunities that remain untapped in this area, particularly with regard to trade and investment opportunities,” he said, before announcing the convening of a business forum on February 8. However, the projects that Zimbabwe urgently need are seemingly out of reach, at least in this financial year.
When presenting the 2024-25 budget on Monday, Finance Minister Peggy Serame noted that the pilot Kazungula One-Stop Border post is operating successfully. She disclosed that work would begin on Mamuno (to Namibia) and Pioneer Gate (to South Africa) border posts on May 24 and June 24 respectively. While the conversion of Tlokweng and Ramatlabama border posts (both to South Africa) into One-Stop Border facilities will “follow in the coming years”. Besides, any conversion at this stage of the Ramokgwebana/Plumtree border post into a one-stop facility will raise the ire of Batswana, as that will be interpreted as part of the hidden plan to implement the “free movement of people” between the country and Zimbabwe. Early 2023, Botswana entered into an agreement with Namibia whereby citizens can use national identity cards (Omang) to travel between the two countries. Namibia has a population of 2.53 million and Botswana 2.58 million and as they have similar economic and political strengths. During his travels in the North-East last year, President Masisi informed a kgotla meeting that his government was considering entering into a similar Omang arrangement with the government of Zimbabwe. The rebuke from his listeners was swift; with the ensuing national outcry even louder. Various reasons against entering into such an arrangement with Zimbabwe were advanced, chief amongst which were high economic and population disparities between the two countries. Zimbabwe has a population of 16 million while its economy is 10 times bigger than that of Botswana.
In addition, the collapse of law and order in the neighbouring country was cited and the fact that this is already impacting negatively on Botswana. The critics of Masisi’s proposed Zimbabwe immigration largesse point out that the prevailing lawlessness, political violence and brazen election rigging in Zimbabwe, could influence events in Botswana, which goes to the poll in October this year. The habitual election rigging by the long-ruling ZANU-PF of Zimbabwe and Frelimo of Mozambique and the outbreak of terrorist attacks in the Cabo Delgado region of Mozambique had not helped the Ponta Techobanine project. It is envisaged to be funded jointly with the private sector. Further, they argue that the impunity of Botswana’s eastern neighbour in particular, had had direct effect on the off-take failure of the 1.100 km Ponta Techobanine railway line project. The heavy haul passenger and cargo railway line project component was envisaged to start from Francistown, to Bulawayo down to Mozambique and was to cost about P8.131 billion (US$600 million). The entire project that included the port construction was estimated at about P94.8 billion (US$7 billion).
And Mozambican President, Filipe Nyusi, lauded it during his state visit to Botswana in April 2022. President Masisi was also upbeat about the project at the time: “We are committed to developing this deep sea port. The interest for Botswana is to provide opportunity for security of supply as an alternative route, particularly for our major strategic imports such as fuel and other from the sea,” Masisi said. On the other hand, the Trans-Kalahari Railway Line project received expression of interest (EOI) bids in November 2023. It is expected to be funded under design, build, finance, operate, maintain, and transfer (DBOOT) model. The 1,500km heavy-haul railway line is expected to run from Mmamabula coalfields to Walvis Bay in Namibia. It is part of the Trans-Kalahari Corridor, comprising three member states of Botswana, Namibia and South Africa.