Maravi

(HERALD) Sanctions cripple NRZ

Sanctions cripple NRZ
Bulawayo Bureau

Illegal sanctions have hit the National Railways of Zimbabwe hard as companies in the West are refusing to supply spares for its broken down equipment. NRZ general manager Retired Air Commodore Mike Karakadzai said the company was also failing to open letters of credit with international financial institutions to access the much needed foreign currency. He said although the West always claimed that the sanctions were targeted at certain political leaders, the sanctions had affected operations at the parastatal and by extension, the ordinary people who used rail services.

Zimbabwe has been under sanctions from the West since 2000 as punishment for embarking on the land reform programme to empower the black majority by taking land from the white minority who owned large expanses of land while the indigenous were squashed on barren land in communal areas.

The land reform programme addressed a century-old imbalance caused by colonial rule.

The United States of America, Britain and their European Union allies claim that the sanctions were aimed at the ruling elite. However, the measures have caused untold suffering for the majority as the country has lost Balance of Payment support resulting in foreign currency shortages.

Rtd Air Comdr Karakadzai said most of the equipment used by the parastatal was bought from western countries and suppliers were now refusing to supply them with spares forcing the parastatal to go through third patties at times.

He said the shortage of foreign currency in the country was adversely affecting operations as most of the NRZ spares were imported.

"Ninety percent of our spares are forex denominated. On a daily basis we consume 100 000 litres of diesel which requires forex.

"We have an arrangement with Noczim and they have done their best but they are meeting a third of our requirements and we have to import the balance to run our trains," he said.

The NRZ has 168 locomotives of which between 83 and 91 were operational last year resulting in a big gap between those in service and those not working.

It also has 10 000 wagons but only 5 000 were available.

To enable the parastatal to move its targeted freight volumes of 8,4 million tonnes, the parastatal needed at least 115 locomotives and 8 000 wagons, Rtd Air Comdr Karakadzai said.

He said the life span of a locomotive was 25 years and another five years could be added through overhauls or refurbishments.

He said NRZ had entered into public-private partnerships with local companies to repair some of the wagons.

He paid tribute to NRZ workers whom he said were coping under extreme conditions.

Labels: RAIL, SANCTIONS, ZIMBABWE

posted by MrK @ 7:14 AM