The Railway Workers Union of Zambia-RWUZ has appealed to government to clearly state what method it intends to use to recapitalize and improve the operations of Zambia Railways Limited (ZRL).
Union President Nathan Zulu said Zambia Railways needs urgent recapitalisation in order to contribute effectively to government’s quest to prioritise the implementation of socio-economic interventions which are aimed at stabilising, repairing and reviving the Zambian economy.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Zulu said the Zambian Railways needs an investment of over $1 billion if the company is to be revamped and be able to meet the needs of the growing economy.
Zulu explained that the subsector is supposed to offer competitive rates and move goods in bulk and remove pressure from the roads in terms of damages and safety adding that the cost of goods and services has soared because the rail subsector that is supposed to mitigate the transport cost has been neglected over the years.
He noted that the recapitalisation of Zambia Railways, a company that traverses five provinces, from Mulobezi to Chililabobwe will bring forth economic activities that will trigger employment opportunities from rehabilitation to full operations.
The Union President said this will further bring about the actualisation of the Road to Rail policy and spare the country the colossal millions of Kwacha that go towards maintenance of roads, which government can channel to needy social programs like health and education.
The 12th of September is marked as the day for commemorating the tenth anniversary of the bold decision that was taken to cancel the concession that was given to the Railway Systems of Zambia-RSZ to operate the rail systems in Zambia.
Zulu said the day always brings emotions and trepidation of how the rail sector has lost nine years of rail and personal development as the Zambia Railways is at crossroads in terms of the deterioration of rail infrastructure that was precipitated by the RSZ concession while the company is struggling with obsolete locomotives and wagons due to lack of investment.
