King Mswati III of eSwatini, pictured in 2017, took the throne of the tiny southern African kingdom in April 1986 and has ruled for more than 31 years
As President Cyril Ramaphosa jetted into eSwatini, formerly Swaziland, over the weekend to hold discussions with King Mswati III, Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) yesterday said “much progress” was being made towards the construction of the R30 billion, 150km railway line – the Swazi Rail Link (SRL) project.
Presidency spokesperson Khusela Diko said the two countries had structured bilateral relations conducted through the Joint Bilateral Commission for Cooperation (JBCC), established in 2004.
“Both countries have signed 21 bilateral agreements, which serve as legal instruments for cooperation in areas such as cross-border movement of people, goods, trade, investment, health, defence and policing among others,” said Diko.
Ramaphosa was accompanied on the working visit by International Relations Minister Lindiwe Sisulu and Minister of State Security Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba.
TFR spokesperson Mike Asefovitz said the SRL venture, jointly driven by TFR and wSwatini Railways, was “making progress”.
“We are currently at a stage where we are relocating graves on both sides of eSwatini and South Africa.
To date, we have relocated 500 graves.
“It is a difficult and an emotional process because we have had to buy land in both countries and consult communities,” said Asefovitz. The project will lead to the construction of a major railway line – running from Lothair in Mpumalanga to Sidvokodvo in eSwatini – connecting the two countries.
With the feasibility phase already completed, the project will also involve the modernising of two existing lines in both countries.
It is designed to open up a dedicated general freight corridor to the Port of Richards Bay and in the Port of Maputo in Mozambique. Authorities in both states believe the project will help reduce the cost of transport between the two countries and create more than 9 000 direct jobs in South Africa and eSwatini during the construction phase.
It is expected to create business opportunities to the value of R894 million in South Africa and R1.7 billion in eSwatini. South Africa is the largest trading partner of eSwatini, with total bilateral trade between the two countries amounting to R33.4 billion in 2017.
Exports from SA amount to R17.1 billion, while imports from eSwatini reached R16.2 billion.
– brians@citizen.co.za
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