A Sadc high-level Ministerial Round Table Dialogue on Infrastructure to support the North-South Corridor is currently underway in Harare.
Our Reporter, Freeman Razemba, is covering this meeting and will provide live coverage.
Zimbabwe has since assured SADC Member States that it is committed to the upgrading of the North-South Corridor, which is a vital international trunk road essential for the country’s trade with neighbouring countries.
The African Union has also forecast that the corridor will become one of the continent’s busiest transport corridors by 2040.
Government is on record saying with the increased promotion of regional economic integration through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), it has become even more imperative to facilitate trade with neighbouring countries.
UPDATE :
High-level panel attend meeting The meeting is being attended by:
Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Felix Mhona, who is also the Chairperson of the Joint Committee of Ministers responsible for Transport, ICT, Information and Meteorology.
Ms. Angèle Makombo N’tumba, the SADC Deputy Executive Secretary responsible for Regional Integration
Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Dr Jenfan Muswere
Minister of Information Communication Technology (ICT), Postal and Courier Services, Dr Tatenda Mavetera
Permanent Secretaries and their regional counterparts
UPDATE :
Connecting the whole of SADC Early this week, Engineer Joy Makumbe, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development and co-chairperson of senior SADC officials responsible for Transport, ICT, Information and Meteorology, said discussions for the North-South Corridor were on their agenda.
“So what we have been discussing at this meeting is that as a region, we need to do more with regards to integration, and we are looking at issues to do with the North-South Corridor, that is linking South Africa all the way to the DRC.
“We have started at Zimbabwe, where you have seen us doing the Harare-Beitbridge Road, and also the Harare-Chirundu, where we are linking Beitbridge to Chirundu Border Post. But then the issue is, what next when you get to Chirundu? It doesn’t help if, for example, the road network or border is not good when you get to Zambia.
“So we need a holistic approach to make sure that the transportation network is good. As a region, we need to look at where we can get the funding. We need to approach this as a bloc.”
UPDATE :
Minister Mhona speaks on the need to invest in infrastructure Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Felix Mhona, who is also the chairperson of the Joint Committee of Ministers responsible for Transport, ICT, Information and Meteorology, has said investments in infrastructure, particularly roads and railways, are crucial to the development of the SADC region.
He said there is need for SADC to collaborate on infrastructure investments.
“Cooperation is not new to our great nations. It is anchored on historical, strong foundations, with most of us having shared the same trenches in the struggle for independence.”
Minister Mhona said the Roundtable Discussion will enrich the Ministers’ aspirations and strengthen their resolve for an interconnected Southern African region within the framework of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA).
The AfCTA is the largest free trade area in the world, which seeks to leverage on a massive regime of transport and logistics.
“Collaborative efforts enable us to tap into the annual flows from the international financial institutions and other sources of development finance.
“Africa’s population is growing faster than that of any other continent, and our citizens are on the move faster. These trends will drive demand and create opportunities for fast mobilities, massive logistical arrangements and connectivity, in a manner that has never been witnessed before,” he said. “Investments in roads and railways are crucial to the development of our region. With the current boom in exports of chrome ore, ferrochrome, granite, lithium, iron ore, coal and many other bulky minerals, we need to up our game and collaborate more.”
UPDATE :
We need to collaborate: SADC Deputy Executive Secretary The SADC Deputy Executive Secretary for Regional Integration, Ms Angele Makombo N’tumba has said the trade-carrying infrastructure and development corridors remain at the centre of the region’s socio-economic development.
She said infrastructure development continues to receive the most attention at national, regional and global levels.
The dialogue is running under the theme, “Promoting Innovation to Unlock Opportunities for Sustained Economic Growth and Development Towards an Industrialised SADC”.
“The trade carrying infrastructure and development corridors remain the prime movers of the region’s integration and overall socio-economic development.
“It is in this regard that the SADC High-Level Ministerial Round Table Dialogue has been introduced as part of what we hope will become a regular annual event to build momentum on infrastructure development as a key pillar for regional integration.”
“We plan to regularly create an opportunity for ministers to dialogue with each other and development partners,” she said.
“The topics for dialogue will be aligned to the SADC annual theme and will also prioritise pressing matters of mutual interest.
She reaffirmed the SADC Secretariat’s commitment to continue to facilitate development across the region.
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