Local squabbles stymie Swaziland's road development, writes James Hall
MBABANE - An impediment to the development of Swaziland's highway infrastructure has been removed with an order from the palace of King Mswati for chiefs to stop interfering with road construction in their areas.
Over 300 chiefs on Swazi National Land are responsible for relocating families displaced by highways. An executive with Inyatsi Superfos, which has built several highways during the past decade including the heavily-utilised road connecting the commercial city Manzini with the Matsapha Industrial Site, spoke on condition of anonymity: In Swaziland, some chiefs are reluctant to help their subjects relocate, while others physically block construction, saying grave sites not on surveyors' maps are being disturbed.
Chief Sipho Shongwe, the powerful regional administrator of the Hhohho Region, has been cited in the local media as an obstructionist of the new highway connecting the capital Mbabane with the Oshoek border post, most heavily utilised by truck traffic from Gauteng. He has demanded that the R180m highway project be rerouted, giving contradictory reasons for the move. Swaziland's traditional prime minister, Dibanisa Mavuso, who speaks to the chiefs on behalf of King Mswati, has ordered Shongwe to desist from interference. The order is seen as an indication of Mswati's impatience with local squabbles that hold up infrastructure improvements considered essential for industrial expansion and enticing foreign investment.
Off the record, cargo haulers who are counting on the Mbabane-Oshoek highway, due to be completed next year, to reduce driving time and reduce accident risk, expressed gratification that the chiefs had been told to stay out of road construction affairs.
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