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Prosper Ndlovu and Wallace Ruzvidzo
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa meets Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi and Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi in Maputo today to preside over the signing of the tripartite agreement on the new Techobanine deep water port in Mozambique.
The facility will handle increasing traffic from Zimbabwe and Botswana.
The proposed construction of the deep water port in Matutuine District and a 1 700km railway line linking Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Botswana, at a cost of about US$6,5 billion, is a milestone for Southern Africa and speaks to the broader regional integration dream of widening mutually beneficial investments while promoting intra-regional trade.
Scaling up collaboration and revitalising synergies has become more critical, at a time when the region is focused on bridging the infrastructure gap as part of efforts to enhance investment attractiveness and transform economies, in line with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) ideals, which closely connect with the African Union “Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want”.
The implementation of the Techobanine deep water port has been under discussion since around 2011, with the major hurdle being lack of funding.
Speaking ahead of today’s event, Deputy Chief Secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet responsible for Presidential Communications, Mr George Charamba, said by virtue of being centrally located within Southern Africa, Zimbabwe was visualising its own growth as a transport hub for the whole region.
“We have moved away from the old notion of a landlocked country to a land-linked country,” he said in an interview yesterday. “Moreso, where you have a neighbour who is as friendly as Mozambique, with a vast coastline, which provides lots of opportunities for sea-bound traffic.
“So really what we are looking at is collaborative efforts to combine Zimbabwe, Botswana and Mozambique to create a railway line that passes through Zimbabwe but terminates in Botswana in order to make sure that Botswana has that logistical advantage that it has not always had historically.”
Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Mozambique, Victor Matemadanda, confirmed that the three leaders would ink the deal today, while also discussing the way forward.
“I can confirm that President Mnangagwa will be in Maputo to sign the tripartite agreement on the Techobanine deep water port to be constructed by the three countries. That’s the main thing he is travelling for,” he said.
“But as you know, there have always been plans to construct a railway line that will feed the SADC region. While they may talk about the railway line, it’s not the main attraction. What they have come for mostly is the Techobanine deep water harbour.”
Amb Matemadanda said following today’s signing ceremony and discussions, progress would start on the implementation of the historic project, with discussions for the railway line and electricity projects already in progress.
“The issue has been under discussion since about 2011. They have been signing agreements on doing the construction but unfortunately each country was supposed to pay US$1 million towards the feasibility study of the whole project and none of the three countries has paid so far,” he said.
“We are going to hear the commitments tomorrow (today) and the way forward, but for other projects like the railway and electricity projects; these are ongoing, and discussions have been there both at bilateral and tripartite level.”
Mozambique’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Verónica Macamo, on Monday said it was about time that the project was implemented, while noting that a lot of work needed to be done by the three countries to ensure its successful implementation.
“I think it’s time, because there has been a lot of talk, but a tripartite agreement has never been signed. This is important because, if we are attentive, this project needs a lot of synergy and resource mobilisation and now the three countries will be collaborating so that the project can actually happen,” she said.
“We are actually going to sign very important instruments to boost not only relations between our peoples. We decided that we wanted to raise economic, political and diplomatic relations. We need to give our fellow citizens a better life.
“The discussions for the implementation of the project in question are expected to be finalised, taking into account the meeting at the highest level between Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi and his Botswana counterpart (Mokgweetsi Masisi)…,” she said.
Zimbabwe’s Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister, Felix Mhona, and his Mozambique’s counterpart Minister Mateus Magala, earlier this year toured the adjoining Forbes and Machipanda Border Posts, with the latter expressing commitment to ensure increased collaboration between the two countries.
“We had an opportunity to discuss and agree on major issues that we need to address in order to have efficient, modern and progressive infrastructure that facilitates trade and integration of our countries. We basically want to open borderless countries because Zimbabwe and Mozambique have a unique history.
“I am very happy that we managed to agree on what we need to do and stressed the urgency of those actions. One of them is that in the next three months, we want to see the railway line from Machipanda to Mutare operational at the highest standards,” said Minister Magala.
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