SADC rail levy obstacle

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.