PRESIDENT Mnangagwa and his South African counterpart President Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday met at the Beitbridge Border Post to discuss logistics around the construction of a third bridge across the Limpopo River to enhance regional and international trade.
The two leaders also agreed to pursue the full implementation of the One-Stop-Border Concept between the two countries as part of the ease of doing business policy.
The engagement was a follow-up to the exchange of notes the two leaders had in New York, United States recently during the United National General Assembly. Under the proposed bridge construction, Zimbabwe will fund the project from its own resources.
The construction of a third bridge across the Limpopo River at Beitbridge between Zimbabwe and South Africa has been approved by Cabinet.
Already, technocrats in Zimbabwe are hard at work, setting the necessary legal frameworks with the contractor finalising feasibility studies.
After its US$300 million refurbishment, the Beitbridge (Zimbabwe) Border Post now has three terminals for freight, buses and private cars/pedestrians.
In an interview soon after touring the border post from both sides of the Limpopo, President Mnangagwa said Government is moving a gear up to ensure that there is the required infrastructure to match the rapidly growing regional and international trade.
The idea of having a second road bridge is meant to promote regional and international trade by having a seamless flow of commercial cargo through the Beitbridge Border Post.
“We met in New York and had a chat with my brother and he told me he was coming to Musina and we agreed to come and meet,” said President Mnangagwa. “When he said he was coming to the border, I said you can’t come to Musina and not visit the border. We are here, what else would we want when two brothers meet and break bread?
The President and his South African counterpart being taken through the operations of the newly-launched Border Management Authority at Beitbridge Border (South Africa) yesterday
“So, we have exchanged notes on what we need to do to enhance the ease of doing business including the construction of the relevant infrastructure on both sides of the border.”
Following the completion of the new border post, Zimbabwe engaged South Africa for landing rights for a third bridge.
The Government intends to have the new proposed bridge to run parallel to the New Limpopo Bridge.
The original Alfred Beit Bridge paid for by the Beit Trust was opened in 1929 replacing the old Leibigs Drift as the direct road link between Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Traffic gradually grew and in the mid-1970s, the railway line went over the same bridge when the new Rutenga-Beitbridge link was built.
By the mid-1990s, the old bridge was hardly coping and in 1995 the second bridge, the New Limpopo Bridge, a pure road bridge, was opened.
This allowed the old Alfred Beit Bridge to be dedicated to rail and pedestrian traffic, with the growing flood of pedestrians grateful for the enhanced safety.
Speaking during the same tour,
President Ramaphosa said Zimbabwe had moved a great deal in terms of modernising its border post.
“We came here to appreciate what my elder brother, President Mnangagwa, has done in transforming this place,’’ said President Ramaphosa.
He said infrastructure development should be matched on both sides of the Limpopo River, which is a common heritage.
President Ramaphosa said with the advent of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area, infrastructure development including construction of a new bridge will boost trade.
“This is Africa’s century and we are expecting trade and investment to grow in our region,” he said.
President Ramaphosa said the One-Stop-Border-Post concept that makes the movement of people seamless will be easy to implement now that there will be relevant infrastructure on both sides of the border.
Under the One-Stop-Border-Post regime, operations are harmonised and travellers or cargo is cleared once for passage into either country. At the moment the processes are being duplicated at both countries’ borders.
Herald
Positive Eye News
