Swaziland braces for more highway damage

MBABANE – Swaziland’s
beleaguered main highway is
set to take a greater beating as
a 24/7 convoy of large trucks
conveying iron ore increases
the frequency of truck runs.
Last week saw the inaugural
trip of an iron ore-bearing train
from Swaziland Railway’s
Mpaka rail head to Maputo.
The Indian firm Salgaocar
has been salvaging iron ore
tailings from Ngwenya Mine
near the western border with
SA, and has been trucking the
material cross-country. FTW
has reported several mishaps
clustered around Mbabane
as trucks – five of them in a
24-hour period – turned over,
spilling their loads and closing
the country’s main east-west
highway for up to nine hours
at a time. Another truck
overturned last week.
Officials at the launch of
the dedicated rail service
expressed hope the transport
by rail would lessen truck
accidents. However, no road
mishaps have been reported
in the flat lowveld region of
Swaziland where rail transport
has replaced truck transport.
Accidents occur in the hilly
switchback roads around
Mbabane. Freed from having
to travel all the way to Maputo,
the truck fleet has increased
its runs in this area, downhill
from Ngwenya via Mbabane,
through the central transport
hub Manzini, and to Mpaka.
Swazi MPs have decried
the damage the heavy truck
fleet is inflicting on highway
infrastructure. The Ministry
of Public Works and Transport
acknowledges the proliferation
of potholes around Mbabane
and the “sand dune”-like
striations appearing on
flat stretches of highway
frequented by the trucks. No
remedial action has been
proposed, however, and the
Swazi media has noted the
steep curved highway leading
up to Mbabane, where most
of the iron ore trucks have
overturned, is stained a deep
burgundy colour. The affected
section of Malagwane Hill,
the only access available to
the capital city from the East,
is now described by Swazis
as “umcwaco lombovu” – the
red road.