Reports that the Beitbridge border post is set for a major facelift under the regional North-South Corridor scheme could not have come at a better time when Zimbabwe is grappling with solutions to Bulawayo’s worsening economic problems.
The North-South Corridor scheme, which aims to improve the logistics network from Durban to Dar es Salaam, is comprised of South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania and South Africa.
Beitbridge is a vital cog in regional trade yet it is notorious for slowing down business and the movement of people due to inadequate infrastructure.
The envisaged upgrading of the border post would cover the South African and Zimbabwe side of the border.
Such collaboration would not be a new phenomenon as just last month the Zimbabwean and South African governments took over the administration the Limpopo Bridge. The bridge was built by a South African company under the build, operate and transfer arrangement in 1994.
There is no doubt that the North-South Corridor scheme would be a game changer in a number of ways.
The announcement by the South African government coincided with reports that the corridor was earmarking the rehabilitation of the Bulawayo-Gwanda Road.
According to reports, we carried early this week the rehabilitation would be done concurrently, but in two parts consisting of the Bulawayo to Gwanda and Gwanda to Beitbridge roads.
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Bulawayo became Zimbabwe’s industrial base largely because of its vintage position in the regional transport hub, but that competitive advantage was left to slip away largely because of the malaise at the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ).
The deterioration on the road and rail network also contributed to Bulawayo’s demise as alternative routes were established.
However, the upgrading of Beitbridge border post to smoothen trade and the simultaneous rehabilitation of the highway could just be what the doctor ordered for Bulawayo’s comatose economy.
The NRZ must also be seen to be playing its part in this renaissance and the involvement of other regional countries in the projects proposed by the corridor gives us hope that this is not another pie in the sky.
