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Freeman Razemba Senior Reporter

The Shipping and Forwarding Agents’ Association of Zimbabwe (SFAAZ) has hailed the government for rehabilitating roads and infrastructure countrywide and at the same time urged it to take advantage of the cordial relations with neighbouring countries to upgrade and develop new corridors within the region.

Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Felix Mhona recently said that the last gaps in the Harare-Masvingo-Beitbridge highway are the primary target of the Government’s infrastructure programme this year, while the modernisation of Forbes and Nyamapanda border posts is set to start.

The Second Republic led by President Mnangagwa has invested heavily in infrastructural development, mainly transport and energy infrastructure, which are seen as key to transforming the economy.

Using locally-generated resources, the Second Republic has so far rehabilitated more than 50 000km of roads while 2 000 structures have been attended to since the start of the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme (ERRP) in 2021.

Zimbabwe has an estimated road network of 84 000km, out of which 93 percent was in fair or poor condition and in need of rehabilitation or periodic maintenance.

Government is also in the process of negotiating with potential investors for the rehabilitation of some of the country’s roads.

In a statement, SFAAZ chief executive officer Mr Washington Dube said their association represents shipping lines, Freight Forwarders, Customs Clearing Agents and Bonded Warehouse Operators in Zimbabwe.

“The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development’s vision is to become, a regional hub for world-class transport networks, logistics and services by 2030. SFAAZ identifies with the Ministry’s Vision. If Zimbabwe becomes a regional hub in world-class transport networks and logistics, this means increased business for SFAAZ members in the form of clearing and logistics business. Zimbabwe because of her geographical location is at the heart of transport logistics in Southern Africa. Zimbabwe provides the shortest route along the South-North Corridor linking Zambia and DRC with the port cities of Durban and Cape Town and also along the Beira Corridor, linking Zambia. Thus Zimbabwe should take her rightful place as the regional hub in Southern Africa.

“The Second Republic led by President Mnangagwa is indeed walking the talk on infrastructure development. The almost complete Harare-Masvingo-Beitbridge highway is one of the projects showing the resolve of the Government to make Zimbabwe a transport hub. The highway is a crucial link along the North–South Corridor, linking the ports of Cape Town and Durban with Zimbabwe, DRC and Zambia,” he said.

Mr Dube called upon the government to accelerate the pace of construction of the road corridors.

“Specifically we call upon the government to prioritise the rehabilitation main north-south corridor, the Harare – Chirundu highway. The Government should conduct Original Destination (OD) studies in Zimbabwe to map new transport corridors. It would be amiss if we do not speak of the new Beitbridge Border Post, which is one of the Second Republic’s signature infrastructure projects. Days of endless commercial traffic queues at the old Beitbridge Border Post are now a thing of the past. The new Beitbridge Border Post is now fully operational and capacity has been increased by more than five times. Not only has the capacity of the border post increased but kudos should also be given to the Second Republic led by President Mnangagwa and the Zimborders Consortium on the top-notch architectural prowess of the border which has left many in awe of the Border, including the President of South Africa, Mr Cyril Ramaphosa. SFAAZ, thus calls on the government to have all hands on the deck to increase the traffic passing through Beitbridge Border Post.

“SFAAZ feels strongly that we have a better value proposition along the North-South corridor and that if all the stakeholders put their heads together we can come up with win-win strategies to increase the traffic at the Beitbridge Border Post. SFAAZ also welcomes the pronouncements made by the government on the rehabilitation of Forbes and Nyamapanda Border Post. To note is an urgent need for the government to liaise with their Mozambique counterparts to encourage them to attend to the one-lane Machipanda Bridge which is a serious bottleneck along the Beira Corridor,” he said.

Mr Dube said for Zimbabwe to become a transport hub, the Government should accelerate the implementation of the Multilateral Cross-Border Road Transport Agreement (MCBRTA) which should lead to improved transport system performance, amongst other benefits.

“The Government should take advantage of the cordial relations with our neighbour countries to upgrade and develop new corridors within the region,” he said.