Govt’s big plans for

Mmegi: In recent months, we have seen the Ministry push forward with railway projects towards the east and west, moving closer towards project development. What is the over-arching goal in securing the construction of these railways?

Molale: This is the second stage; first we did the roads, the ring around the country and exits, east, west, north. We are now starting on the railways the goal being that the railways should complement the roads and both should support economic growth, speedy economic growth, not only for Botswana but for the region.

We are working very hard on the west, the Trans-Kalahari Railway (TKR), which previously was justified by the moving of coal. We have since moved away from that and the justification becomes even more fertile for that railway, especially with the advent of the copper mines in the Gantsi, Maun area.

We are also looking to the east, which is twofold. One is the Mmamabula-Lephalale, which is short at 57 kilometres and we are on track with it. We now have to sign a bilateral agreement with South Africa on the modus operandi of the railroad construction and other things that are incidental to the actualisation of that.

But east is also through Zimbabwe and we are targeting the port of Beira in Mozambique. That one is still on the slow side because Zimbabwe still has its own economic challenges. The infrastructure is there, but it’s weak and if we use it our trains have to move at not more than 50 kilometres per hour. We need to refurbish the rail line right up to Chicualacuala which is the border with Mozambique and we have actually agreed that our trains now can now ferry the cargo through Zimbabwe to Chicualacuala and hand it over to the Mozambicans. So there is progress but very slow.

Then there is the north which is Mosetse– Kazungula–Livingstone. We have started work on it regarding the pre-project preparations aligning ourselves with the Zambians in as far as them agreeing to and seeing the urgency of the railroad. We have an association called the Southern African Railways Association which is also keen on that rail line.

So these are the three main corridors, east those two lines, north is the Mosetse-Kazungula and then the TKR to the west. We are currently working on them but at different rates; we are focusing on the two, which are the TKR and the Mmamabula-Lephalale one.

Mmegi: In the past month or so, we have been seeing a lot about the congestion and infrastructure breakdown within Transnet, within the port at Richards Bay and the fact that this is hurting the economy of South Africa. This challenge is also expected to affect us because of the imports that strategically come through there. From your end as a Ministry, do you see those troubles as an opportunity or as a challenge?

Molale: In fact, we learnt during the US-Africa Summit that the waiting period at SA ports to offload and load, the minimum is two weeks. They wait floating on the sea. So we

The troubles facing Transnet in South Africa and the eagerness of exporters for alternative routes are adding momentum to long-awaited railway projects such as the Trans-Kalahari. Transport and Public Works minister, Eric Molale tells Staff Writer, MBONGENI MGUNI that beyond these, a railway revolution is underway in the country

see ourselves as best placed if we could open our corridors, especially for companies in the Witwatersrand region like Johannesburg and the Pretoria area of Gauteng. This is because for them, either way, going west or east, they cover the same distance. Some of them have even come to us, especially car manufacturers who export to Europe and other destinations as well as those with other products that are destined for markets especially in the Middle East for fear of using the congested Suez Canal. They prefer using Namibia then going to the Mediterranean to the Middle East and so forth.

Mmegi:

When ideally, would the Ministry like to see the TKR up and running? When you met last time in the bilateral, were there any timelines to say by this point we should have achieved this or be at this point?

Molale:

Well, there were one or two timelines for Expressions of Interest which were met on time and then the Request for Proposals came. Once the proposals have been received, because we want to do it through private sector funding and there is a sign-off for that, then we will be able to give timelines including issues like citizen empowerment to say who has to do what to be part of the overall rail line construction. The Namibians have the shorter part of the rail because the key thing that they have to do is refurbish the Gobabis-Windhoek line as it’s not in good shape. But that’s not like building a new rail line altogether. However, after that, we will have to be looking at, saying “when we buy rail wagons and related machinery, do we manufacture here or buy elsewhere and what are the value chains involved in that”.

So the timelines will be much clearer when the Requests for Proposals have been finalised and the bilateral agreements finally signed off. But the issue was that for all of this, we are looking at by mid2024, those things should have been achieved, which will then pave the way for the project to begin. A s many analysts say, apparently there is a lot of money out there in the world and unsolicited bids have been coming in. However, both Namibia and Botswana are governments and we have to do it within our procurement laws as transparently as we can. There’s nothing wrong with such bids as long as ultimately you then say to them, “this is the process, let’s all go in”.

Mmegi:

We also note that in these projects, government appears eager to have the private sector take the lead in both financing and development. Please explain government’s general approach going forward in such projects.

Molale:

Both our governments don’t have money, but the business has a very good payback and investors can be able to recoup their investment quickly because as I said earlier, there are other private sector players waiting to evacuate their products through that rail. So for us, through our TKR rail coordinating office, we are looking at all possibilities of Public-Private Partnerships so that when we come to do the Requests for Proposals, we will know the best option for both countries.

But the world is telling us that they are awash with money. The UAEs, the Qataris, the Chinese, and the Indians have all come to say this is not a long line for them and comparatively it’s a very short line which they can do very quickly. They say they have built longer.

Mmegi: Please explain how these projects fit into the country’s ambition of becoming the SADC region’s preferred logistics hub and the greater goal of creating linkages between SADC and countries north of the region.

Molale: The key thing for us to be competitive is our productivity. That will be the key determiner. The location is already given and the infrastructure as well, provided it’s something that can be done quickly like we did with the Trans Kalahari. That bridge was a masterstroke as far as opening up the African hinterland and it made a whole lot of

difference.