The Southern African Rail Association (Sara) has made good progress on its mandate to make regional rail transport more competitive, but not all Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries have come to the party. Sara executive director Bernard Dzawanda told FTW that in 2010 SADC transport ministers had agreed to exempt railways from paying the levies but admitted that to date some countries had still not implemented the decision. He did not disclose the compliant or non-compliant countries but noted that rail offered “huge potential” to promote regional competiveness as it was one of the most costeffective ways of moving goods, particularly to land-locked states.
