Chronicle Editor
Beitbridge will never be the same again.
The border post and the town are being transformed under a US$300 million modernisation programme.
The Government partnered the Zimborders Consortium to execute the project that involves building a new border facility, a fire station, an animal quarantine, sewer oxidation dam, a landfill, roads upgrading, construction of 220 staff houses, and 11, 4 megalitres reservoir. The project is being implemented under a 17-and-a-half-year build operate and transfer (BOT) agreement.
An ultra-modern border post has been built. In the next few days Zimborders will hand over a new fire station to the Government as the investor continues to deliver.
Zimborders Consortium chief executive officer, Mr Francois Diedrechsen said the fire station has been completed.
“One other major project is the water reservoir which is almost complete,” we cited him as saying yesterday.
“We are in the process of having the security offices built at the site after which it will be ready to be hand over to the Government by end of July. As per the tender and scope of works the fire station will be operated by the local municipality.”
Indeed, Beitbridge will never be the same again and the local community is delighted over the tremendous transformation that is happening in their area. The new border post will be more spacious, well-equipped, more convenient and appealing to the eye. The local authority will have more critical infrastructure – the fire station, infill, larger water treatment works, better roads and so on.
But Beitbridge Border Post would most probably not have been as new as it is becoming in such a very short time if Government resources were being used entirely to try to modernise it. The fiscus is always under pressure. Also, development partners such as the World Bank that ordinarily fund such projects elsewhere, aren’t doing that in our country because of Western sanctions on Zimbabwe.
Seeing that it lacked resources and that development partners weren’t forthcoming, the Government decided to go the public-private partnership (PPP) way. Zimborders is using its own resources to build a new Beitbridge Border Post and some pieces of infrastructure in the town, will operate the port of entry, collect revenue for 17 and a half years after which it would have over the facility to the Government.
We see this as a win-win arrangement in the circumstances. Yes, it is too early to judge competently but on the evidence of what Zimborders has delivered, the quality of that delivery and the speed at which it is delivering, we are confident that this is a great partnership.
We therefore, would suggest that the Government continues its modernisation agenda working in close partnership with the private sector using the model that is doing wonders at Beitbridge. Other border posts, especially Plumtree can be attractive for private investors seeking a collaboration. Yes, the business that Plumtree generates is not as much as that which is generated at Beitbridge, but we are confident there is a partner out there who sees the potential there.
The PPP concept can be relied upon to build other infrastructure such as roads, railways and so on. On rail, we already have the Bulawayo-Beitbridge Railway collaboration that has performed really well.
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