New-look road boon for Sadc integration
ON April 5, 2017, a haulage truck transporting petrol from South Africa collided with a bus, killing 31 passengers near Mvuma town, on the Harare-Beitbridge Highway.
Statistics from the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe indicate that 1 986 people died in road traffic accidents across the country in 2017, with 600 — almost a third of the fatalities — killed along the Harare-Beitbridge Highway alone.
Most of the accidents were attributed to the bad state of the road, as it had turned into an old, potholed and tortuous highway, after having been constructed before the country’s independence in 1980.
After many false starts, rehabilitation and reconstruction of the 570-kilometre stretch began in earnest in 2019.
To date, 470km of the road have been completed and opened to traffic.
The highway now has a velvety surface that gives motorists a smooth glide.
It is estimated that seven million travellers use the road every year. A total of 1 200 commercial trucks, 200 buses and thousands of light vehicles use the road daily.
The Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency says trade between Zimbabwe and South Africa alone amounts to about US$1 billion annually, which underlines how the road itself is a key conduit for business.
It is also a gateway from Africa’s second-largest economy to the continent.
Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Felix Mhona told The Sunday Mail that rehabilitation of the road was integral to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.
“The Harare-Beitbridge Road will connect parts of the country and region. It is the North-South Corridor, which connects SADC and other parts of the continent. Therefore, it will enhance trade and social activities in the region,” he said.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Transport and Logistics in Zambia Mr Fredrick Mwalusaka said the highway, which they prefer to call the Chirundu-Harare-Beitbridge Road in his country, is of paramount importance to SADC.
“The road is part of the Trans-African Highway network along the North-South Corridor that links four countries, namely, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe,” Mr Mwalusaka said.
“Thus, the Chirundu-Harare-Beitbridge Road is one of the most strategic routes in the region for trade development and the movement of people. Its rehabilitation would result in the smooth movement of people, goods and services in the four countries, thereby enhancing more development in the region, especially along the corridor.
“Most of Zambia’s trade in the region is with the Republic of South Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe. Therefore, the Chirundu-Harare-Beitbridge Road is very important for promoting regional trade and integration.”
The road network, Mr Mwalusaka noted, forms a part of the corridor that essentially transforms landlocked countries like Zambia into land-linked countries.
“The road does not only end at Chirundu on the Zambian side, but continues northwards through Lusaka to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania.
“The Chirundu-Harare-Beitbridge Road is a very important trade route, not only for the four countries, but also the entire Southern Africa region, hence the need to have it in a good condition all the time.”
Authorities in Zimbabwe have divided rehabilitation works on the key arterial route into four — Harare-Chirundu Highway; Harare-Masvingo-Beitbridge Road; construction of the Mbudzi traffic interchange; and modernisation of the Beitbridge Border Post.
The Harare-Chirundu Highway rehabilitation commences next year, while the Mbudzi traffic interchange is expected to be complete by March 2024.
Beitbridge Border Post
In January 2021, modernisation of the border post began and by September 2023, the project was complete.
The border is divided into three terminals: freight and ICT; buses; and the private vehicles and pedestrians’ sections.
Mr Joshua Chibundu, the supervisor at the Beitbridge Border Post, who is also the regional immigration officer for the Zimbabwe southern region, said the separation of terminals has seen a turnaround in clearance of commercial cargo.
“Before the separation of terminals, it would take hours to clear commercial cargo because everyone was cleared at the same terminal,” he said.
It was worse during festive seasons. However, we are now witnessing a smooth flow of traffic, and this has increased movement between the two countries (Zimbabwe and South Africa).”
The border, he further said, was witnessing an increase in volumes of trucks due to the modernisation of the facility and rehabilitation of the Harare-Beitbridge Highway.
“There was a time when trucks were no longer using the Zimbabwean route; however, most have returned and one of the major reasons is the rehabilitation of the Harare-Beitbridge Road and modernisation of the post.”
In April 2012, Professor Mthuli Ncube, who was then African Development Bank vice president and economist, noted that delays at the Beitbridge Border Post cost about US$35 million annually. “The delays, high congestion and inefficient service delivery experienced on the Beitbridge border are very costly in terms of waiting time and transaction costs, ranging from US$29,3 million and US$35 million. The costs are limiting the prospects for intra-regional trade expansion,” he said then. Prof Ncube is now Zimbabwe’s Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion. Zambian haulage truck driver Mr Juvers Shike, of Cargo to Congo Logistics Company, applauded Zimbabwe’s Government for rehabilitating the highway and modernising the border post. “I have used the highway and border post for over 10 years and at one point, most companies were contemplating abandoning the route because of the state it was in,” he said.
“We were having frequent breakdowns due to the state of the road, and this was expensive for our companies. The situation would be worsened by a congested border. However, the Government of Zimbabwe has taken the best action, which is very commendable.”
Communities benefit
The people who live along the road are also celebrating the rehabilitation of the Harare-Beitbridge Highway. District development coordinator for Beitbridge Ms Sikangezile Mafu said the project had brought a new buzz to the town.
“We now have a passport office, modern staff quarters for those working at the border post and a fire station for the town,” she said.
“Rehabilitation of other roads such as the Beitbridge-Bulawayo Road has also begun.
“There was once talk of how trucks would abandon the route once the Kazungula Bridge was completed; however, we are actually witnessing a notable increase in the number of vehicles.
“We are also upgrading our health facilities and health surveillance systems to ensure that our services are second to none at borders in the SADC region.”
In addition to creating over 2 000 formal jobs, rehabilitation of the highway has also generated informal jobs for communities along the highway.
Mr Alois Ndete, who operates at the Chaka Business Centre on the Masvingo-Beitbridge Highway, said: “In 2015, I started selling vehicle tyres at this business centre because the road was bad and it was a lucrative business.
“However, now that the road has been rehabilitated, demand for tyres has gone down and I am now selling vegetables from my garden. Given that the road is busy, sales have not been bad. There has also been an increase in the number of shops and supermarkets due to increased activity along the highway.”
The rehabilitation of the highway and modernisation of the Beitbridge Border Post are in line with SADC Vision 2050, which seeks to “have efficient and effective technologically driven cross-border infrastructure services and networks to support and facilitate deeper regional integration”.
Zimbabwe is also guided by the SADC Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) 2020-2030.
The RISDP seeks to have “quality, integrated and interconnected regional infrastructure and networks that facilitate the movement of people, goods, services and knowledge within the region”.
Also, the framework enjoins member states to put in place policies and strategies that support cross-border infrastructure and services to enhance regional integration.