Lack of funds holds up critical Swazi road link

MBABANE - Swaziland’s government has no money to build its portion of a highway connecting the northeastern mining town Bulembu with Barberton in SA. The route is seen by the landlocked country’s road freight industry as a vital “missing link” in Swaziland’s highway system. Swaziland railway does not travel westward, and road transport is the only option. For its part, SA’s Public Works Department said in January it had begun construction of its side of the highway to the Swazi border. “We know the importance of the road because we are not only looking at the imminent 2010 World Cup but beyond because it was identified as a regional route,” said Evart Madlopha, principal secretary for the Ministry of Public Works and Transport.