AFRICA has been urged to provide political support for infrastructure projects, so the region can develop and boost intra-regional trade, the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) has said.
BY VICTORIA MTOMBA
DBSA chief executive officer, Patrick Dlamini last week told guests at the opening ceremony of the Sadc-PIDA Acceleration Pilot: Beira and North South Corridor taskforce meeting last week that intra-regional trade for Africa was low at 13% due to poor infrastructure.
“There is need for political commitment in infrastructure development in Africa. For example, when ministries change, fingers are sometimes pointed at corrupt activities on projects being implemented and those projects are then suddenly stopped. We really need to appreciate the economic benefits that can be derived from corridor development, which are mind blowing and all we need is for our political leaders to lead the process and show us the way,” he said.
DBSA is one of the major infrastructure project funders in Africa and it completed the Plumtree-Mutare highway and is reviewing some of the projects that were put on the Sadc Beira, North and South corridors.
In an interview, Sadc official, Remmy Makumbe said Sadc ministers adopted the priority list for the Beira North and South Corridor projects.
“Ministers adopted the prioritisation of projects noted worked by consultation right status of the projects depending on the status of the projects.”
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Some of the projects in the North South Corridor include the rehabilitation of five North South corridor roads in Botswana, Malawi and Zimbabwe through the Nepad infrastructure project preparation facility, Chinsali-Nakonde road rehabilitation and Kazungula Bridge.
Makumbe said on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the stakeholders would continue working for Beira, North and South corridors. He said countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, and Zambia want to join the Beira corridor and the signing of the MoUs would be done in October this year.
He said for the North and South corridors, the countries have agreed on all other issues in the past four years, but South Africa is still finalising some issues and by October they will be done.
He said member States agreed that implementation of projects should continue in spite of the processes that were going on.
The Beira Corridor MoU was signed in 2007 between Mozambique and Zimbabwe for the coordination of rail and road networks in the region.
The Sadc region has 18 corridors, the longest one being the Central corridor.
