03 Mar 2020

Working together as a bloc is a logical step to overcoming common challenges in rail sector development,  Ministry of Transport and Communications permanent secretary has said.

 Ms Alicia Mokone told a Southern African Development Community (SADC) Railway Sub-Sectoral Committee meeting in Gaborone Monday  that disjointed railway corridor operations were an impediment.

 They inhibited planning, marketing and budgeting coupled with lack of integrated corridor as well as communication system for the monitoring and tracking of regional train movements, she said.

Ms Mokone said improvement of transport networks was important for meeting increasing demand for transport as well as ensuring that companies, products and services remained competitive in the global market.

She said rail was important for building more efficient, sustainable and resilient freight supply chain and easing congestion as well as unlocking growth of cities.

“The importance of rail to our economies cannot be overstated. Whether it is boosting growth in our regions, reducing carbon emissions, or getting more heavy trucks off our roads and giving people real transport options in our cities,” she said.

  Ms Mokone therefore encouraged the committee to develop railway sector capacity for an efficient and effective regional rail corridor.

    SADC director for infrastructure, Ms Mmapolao Mokwena said the meeting was important for member states to discuss how the region had fared, challenges and missed targets and also consider issues to be carried forward into the indicative regional plan.

She said infrastructure development was a prerequisite for the industrialisation of the SADC region.

“As we meet here as member states, we should reflect on what our role is. Infrastructure connectivity is important in terms of transport and logistics,” she said.

Ms Mokwena said issues of interconnectedness and open access should be considered important.

Urging member states to look beyond their territories, she said “issues of sovereignty at some point, you have to let go as member states”.

She said the SADC secretariat was committed to supporting member states to realise the organisation’s Vision 2050. 

 

The three-day meeting was expected to reflect on reviewing the implementation of the 2015 regional indicative strategic development plan which comes to an end this year. ENDS