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ZIMBABWE: The Railways — From Public Utility to Public Liability

Ignatius Banda

BULAWAYO, Mar 13 2009 (IPS) - Zimbabwe’s poorly funded public transport utilities – which over the years have all but stopped functioning – are making it difficult for small and informal traders to import essential goods from neighbouring countries.

Traders complain that the erstwhile sole cheap mode of transport, the railways, is so unreliable that it is hampering their business. Like other Zimbabweans, they are working at turning around the southern African country’s dismal economic fortunes.

After the formation of a coalition government by the country’s main political parties last month, industry and commerce officials have reported a rise in business, with supermarkets filling up after years of empty shelves caused by the imposition of price controls by the ZANU-PF government.

The Zimbabwe Chamber of Commerce says members are reporting a change of fortunes in their operations after the ministry of finance, now headed by the Movement for Democratic Change’s Tendai Biti, introduced sweeping reforms soon after assuming office a month ago.

Biti lifted restrictions on the use of foreign currency alongside the local dollar, and traders have reported brisk business as this has enabled them to trade without fear of arrest.

Local industries and other suppliers have not recovered from a decade of stagnation in production. Manufacturers are failing to meet the demands of local wholesalers and retailers. The goods being sold are imported from neighbouring Botswana and South Africa.

However, traders have to shun the country’s public transport services, including the once mighty National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) which have previously been used by cross-border and other informal traders. Traders complain about the poor service at prices that they cannot afford.

The NRZ has over the years become notorious for failing to meet departure and arrival schedules, making it difficult for traders to plan ahead as they try to restock wares, whether for bulk resale to retailers or for their own shops.

In the past, it was common to find large numbers of traders crammed into the Bulawayo-Botswana train, despite the long and physically taxing journey.

For traders like Irene Shoriwa, all this has changed. ‘‘We used to travel by train and make considerable savings on transport,’’ Shoriwa told IPS.

But because of the unreliability of the rail utility, she has to make other arrangements to move her goods from Francistown to Bulawayo – at the cost of an arm and a leg.

‘‘The train takes to too long to make the journey and it does unbearably long stopovers along the way. Officials tell us it is because of technical faults beyond their control,’’ Shoriwa complained. ‘‘Business is about time management, so every extra hour we spend on the train matters.’’

Shoriwa imports everything from maize meal, rice and cooking oil for resale at a shop she rents in the city. She has been forced to hire pick-up trucks to transport her goods over the long journey.

‘‘Transport costs have caused the demise of many small businesses and it is no wonder that cross-border traders and other small to medium business operators are complaining,’’ explained Raphael Gatsheni of the Bulawayo Informal Traders Association.

‘‘All of us have to factor in transport costs and the fact that the cheap national railways have become incompetent is eating into our budgets. Now we have to make arrangements with transporters at huge costs to bring our goods into the country,’’ Gatsheni told IPS.

But, retorted an NRZ official who spoke on condition of anonymity, ‘‘we have for years been too under-capacitated because of poor government funding for us to provide a service favoured by people who want to move their goods. We have moved from being able to contribute to the growth of the economy to actually being a public liability’’.

This is all the more true because of a problem with lost goods. Joseph Conjwayo, who sells building materials, complains that his goods bought in neighbouring Botswana have in the past gone missing and he has failed to recover anything.

‘‘It makes sense to transport items like door and window frames via the train, but we have been discouraged by the poor service of the national railways. If you lose your goods, just forget about recovering them,’’ Conjwayo lamented.

Meanwhile, reports indicate that some ZANU-PF hardliners are working behind the scenes to frustrate the unity government’s efforts by urging party supporters to invade more farms.