During the 2009 State of the Nation Address, the president said that among government initiatives there was a plan for the construction of a Dry Port at Walvis Bay, Trans Kalahari Railway, Mmabula-Ellisras and Mosetse-Kazungula Rail Links. Feasibility studies for the rail projects were said to be in process, while a lease agreement for the Dry Port had been finalized.
When the president delivered his 2010 State of the Nation Address in parliament, the nation was told that “A pre-feasibility study for the Trans-Kalahari Railway line, which was undertaken with Namibia, was also finally completed in October 2010. In July 2010 we signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Mozambique to facilitate construction of a heavy haul railway from Botswana to a deep sea port in Mozambique. The railway will transport coal and other minerals, as well as general cargo, while the port will be designed to cater for bigger vessels.”
In the 2011 State of the Nation Address the president said government was in the process of “Securing a developer and operator for the Dry Port Facility in Walvis Bay, with award tenders expected by the end of November 2011.”
Subsequently there have been media reports suggesting that the railway project to Ponta Techobanine, Mozambique may be in jeopardy because of unresolved environmental issues raised by South Africa. There are also reports that the Trans-Kalahari Railway Line may be shelved or delayed because some business interests associated with the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) favors the Mozambique project over the Namibia one. Zimbabwe, which is also an interested party in respect of the Railway to Mozambique, has long standing issues with the Botswana government.
It was not by coincidence that the Commander of the Botswana Defense Force (BDF) Lt. Gen. Tebogo Masire recently visited Zimbabwe where he went overboard by making political statements that contradict the official position of the Government of Botswana on Zimbabwe. Masire told his host that the problems of Zimbabwe are a result of the lies and misinformation spread by the western media when he knew that the lies that he was referring to were relayed through the Voice of America transmitted from Botswana soil. We are also aware that the BDP is begging ZANU-PF for a “back-love” after they dumped Mugabe’s party for MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai, all in the name of saving the Mozambique Railway and protect the business interests closely connected to the ruling BDP.
The BCP is concerned about this turn of events. We therefore wish to call on the government to be transparent about these mega projects. Government must allay deepening fears that the nation may be about to witness a repeat of the fraudulent and corrupt deals of monumental proportions that characterized the BDC Palapye glass project. They must come out clean about business ventures that are connected to the projects. Government must not hide behind the so-called Private Public Partnership to protect business interests connected to the ruling BDP. The nation deserves to know Who is Who in these mega projects.
In the spirit of transparency and good governance we call on government to release the consultancy reports on these two projects to the public.
Kesitegile Gobotswang (PhD)
Secretary General, BCP
72300 310
