South African High Commissioner to Zambia, Moses Chikane, has observed that a number of SADC countries may not meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 unless efforts to put up a bridge across the Zambezi river in Kazungula district were accelerated.
Speaking when a delegation of nine ambassadors accredited to Zambia visited the site of the construction of the bridge in Kazungula today, Mr. Chikane said the bridge had the potential to turn around the economic status of the SADC region through increased trade.
He said it was possible for the bridge to be constructed if countries concerned quickly agreed on how to do it and put financial resources together.
Mr. Chikane said the private sector and respective governments could play an important role in putting up a bridge across the Zambezi river in Kazungula.
He pledged to persuade leaders of the concerned countries that it was in the best interest of the New Economic Partnership for Africa Development (NEPAD) and the SADC region to have the bridge constructed quickly.
”The people in the private sector can help put up this bridge. If we can agree we can do it by getting resources from our governments. This would lead to economic boom and we can meet our MDGs. But if we don’t put up this bridge, it will be difficult for us to reach our MDGs by 2015,” he said.
And Botswana High Commissioner to Zambia Tuelonyana Ditlabi Oliphant said there has been meetings held regularly over the construction of the bridge, adding that all countries concerned were eager to see work commence soon.
Mrs. Oliphant said it was her sincere hope that the situation in Zimbabwe normalised soon so that work on the project would not be interrupted.
She said all SADC countries would benefit from the construction of the bridge.
And Southern Province minister Daniel Munkombwe said the construction of the bridge needed to be done urgently.
”We need this bridge and we need it urgently,” he said.
The ambassadors were in Kazungula to donate relief food to flood victims.
Among them were High Commissioners and Ambassadors from Malawi, Mozambique, Botswana, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Namibia, Egypt and South Africa.
There are currently two pontoons at Kazungula that are used to ferry people, vehicle and goods across the Zambezi river.
chuckout mugabe, then the bridge will become a reality..mugabe is the major stumbling block
I do not agree with # 1. the project has nothing to do with uncle Bob!Kazungula bridge has been pending for a long time now, even before the problems in Zim.
Both Bots and Zed govt. want a donor to do the project…a big shame indeed.It’s all talk and no walk.It took the Germans to fund
the Katima Mulilo bridge.A big shame and disgrace again.
You want donors to work on Livingstone and Lusaka roads,donors for your clean drinking water in Soweto,donors for North West Rail,donors for your health care …the list is endless.
Now you point your black nicotine stained finger to Harare!
Come on have enough still ‘balls’and acknowledge your poor and pathetic plans and financial priorities.
I did not see the logic for Sesheke bridge at the expense of Kazungula, but you know africa, priorities
Zambians must seek to find out the truth as to now owns the company that runs the pontoons at Kazungula. At the end of the day we will find that the culprits for the delays in constructing the bridge are the very hooligans who own this company and they are playing together with the top economic hooligans in this GRZ.
Anybody traveling via the pontoon will marvel at the amounts of USDs that these economic hooligans are milking from the heavy traffic at this crossing. The vast amounts of cash in USD and Rands is the main stumbling block to our much needed bridge. The privateers are responsible for most of our poverty such as the absence of this great bridge. Do not blame Mugabe. He is clean.
Yes, Zim is the stumbling block in this. They will have little or no benefit from the bridge. Imagine the revenue they will lose when goods from SA get channeled through Botswana! I don’t much about the Sesheke bridge but, my take is that the German’s wanted easy access for Namibia where they still have interests todate.
All bridges Chembe, Sesheke, Kazungula, Mufuchani etc have been on drawing boards for a minimum of 20 years or more. It is our way of doing things and it has nothing to do with Mugabe.
I must add the Kazungula District council as another stumbling block to the construction of the bridge. This council gets revenues from all motorists coming over the pontoons and HAVE nothing to show for the money they collect. I treat this activity as daylight fraud rubberstamped by the GRZ. There are no facilities to show that there is development effort. This border crossing is one of the worst border crossings I have ever seen in the world. We have thugs working as agents for the ZRA managers bilking money from unsuspecting motorists and the multitude of payments one has to make can dazzle your mind. Carbon tax is also paid, and yet guys arriving by air in Zambia do not pay carbon tax ..
.. as if planes emit water from their engines! Shows how brainless this government of LPM is. Just economic hoodlums masquarading as a government without people’s legitimacy other than from the courts since rigging deprived the citizens of their true choice!!
Mugabe is not a factor, but the state sponsored owners of the pontoons are the real problem. They are in collusion with the fraudsters in Lusaka due to the massive USDs they collect daily from trucks and other vehicles crossing on pontoons.
What the Users of the Pontoon at Kazungula must do to make the bridge become item number on in the rotten GRZ is to refuse paying the ridiculous charges. The whole exercise by the Pontoon runners is no longer a service but a money making machine. In this case, there is no incentive for the bridge.
Am glad the Govt.will fund the North West rail.Thats the way forward zero one.Lets have some pride in ourselves.
The money from increased new mineral tax should be enough to fund Kazungula bridge . We need interstates…likes of I- 95 in the US.
YES WE CAN DO IT.
Wow!
Amazing news, gracias!
Hi sisters, I going to begin my own blog!
Your information is very interesting! Thank you!
It is muvh interesting =)