Moves are afoot to create a
Southern African lobbying
group to promote the use
of rail transport regionally,
Gideon Mahalalela, past
president of the Southern
African Railways
Association (Sara), told
FTW.
“Rail is a cheaper and
more environmentally
friendly way to move cargo
than road or air, and goes
places sea transport can’t
reach. But we need to do
more to lobby governments,”
said Mahlalela.
To this end, regional rail
companies under the Sara
banner will push the case
for rail use at the SADC
Secretariat in Windhoek.
“SADC sets regional
transportation policy, and
all governments sign on.
It is up to the individual
governments to then
implement the policy,”
said Mahlalela, explaining
a strategy aimed at the
regional body rather than
a scatter-shot approach
targeting individual nations.
All Southern African
countries are represented in
Sara with the exception of
Lesotho, which has no rail
system but aspires to
acquire one.
“We want to press the
case that rail is costefficient
and is better
environmentally. We
have always sought a
level playing field for rail
because road transport
is subsidised by public
money that is used to build
the road infrastructure.
Governments don’t build
rail infrastructure. We,
the rail companies do. But
the public stands to benefit
from greater rail use,” said
Mahlalela, who is CEO of
Swaziland Railways.
He did not say when
the lobbying body would
be established or whom it
would comprise, but he said
all Sara member rail lines
were being consulted on the
initiative.
Regional lobbying group to promote rail option
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