NRZ needs $450m for rehabilitation

At least $450 million is required to rehabilitate the operations of the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ), the National Assembly heard on Wednesday.
Transport and Infrastructure Development Minister Dr Obert Mpofu said this while responding to a question from Mutare Central legislator Innocent Gonese who wanted to know the policy interventions that the Government had to rehabilitate the NRZ.

The NRZ has been ailing due to undercapitalisation, aging equipment and a decline in business since 2000 when the country started experiencing economic downturn due to sanctions that Western countries imposed.
Its locomotives and wagons are old and have surpassed their design life.

Dr Mpofu said apart from procuring new locomotives and wagons, the funds would be used to replace communication equipment, signals and rail tracks which were also outdated.

“We have signed non-disclosure agreement with some financial institutions that have expressed interest in funding the projects,” he said.
He also said apart from electrifying the railway line, all the railway infrastructure required refurbishment as it had more or less collapsed.
“It is going to be a mammoth project which requires cooperation of all concerned,” he said.

Dr Mpofu said it was deplorable that the national railway company which used to employ 25 000 workers now had only 6 000 left. Workers at the parastatal have gone for over seven months without receiving salaries.

In February, spouses of NRZ workers staged a demonstration at the company headquarters in Bulawayo against the non-payment of salaries.

“The board wants to retrench a further 4 000 to remain with 2 000 workers,” said Dr Mpofu.
The operations of NRZ depend on the performance of industry which at the moment is operating below capacity.
At its peak in 1998, NRZ used to carry goods in excess of 18 million tonnes compared to 3,7 million tonnes carried in 2011.

The parastatal is one of 10 loss-making companies which the Government has earmarked for restructuring and possible privatisation. — New Ziana.