Zimbabwe to Work with Botswana & Zambia on Kazungula Bridge Completion
- Botswana and Zambia have decided, on principle, to continue to work with Zimbabwe on the Kazungula Bridge
- At the commissioning ceremony, Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi made the big announcement
- Zimbabwe will be coming in during the final phase and apparently paying one-third of the total cost for the bridge
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Botswana and Zambia have decided to continue to work with Zimbabwe on the Kazungula Bridge, purely on principle. The bridge lays across the Zambezi River and the One Stop Border Post, linking Botswana and Zambia and bypassing Zimbabwe.
Although the construction lies outside of Zimbabwe's borders, the route will relieve congestion for Zimbabwe, particularly at the Beitbridge border crossing to South Africa.
On Monday, 11 May 2021, the bridge was commissioned by Zambian President Edgar Lungu and Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi. It was at the commissioning ceremony that Masisi announced the continued partnership.
“I am happy to note that the Republic of Zimbabwe and ourselves [Botswana] and Zambia have agreed in principle to be a partner in this project. Our officials are working, and they will work increasingly faster and harder, to complete the remaining works with Zimbabwe.”
Source: Getty Images
Zimbabwe has come in during the last phase of the bridge and have committed to pay one third of the total cost. Zimbabwe’s foreign affairs minister Fredrick Shava told journalists that they had come to an agreement with Botswana and Zambia.
“We have agreed with our counterparts, the government of Botswana, the government of Zambia, we are now part of the Kazungula Bridge and subsequently we are going to be paying our portion of the development of that bridge.”
The $260m Kazungula Bridge creates an alternative 'north-south corridor' that connects Cape Town in the south and Cairo in the north, bypassing Zimbabwe.
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In other news about borders, Briefly News previously reported that Zimbabwe Vice President Kembo Mohadi has resigned on Monday. According to reports, Mohadi was implicated in misconduct.
He along with Constantino Chiwenga were deputies to President Emmerson Mnangagwa. However, Mohadi did not have a solid support base and was not seen as the next in line for president.
Mohadi took the decision to step down to show his respect for the office of president. According to Al Jazeera, he had been involved in an improper relationship with married women and a woman who worked for him.
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Source: Briefly News
