By Sifiso Sibanda
THE Government says there is a need for urgent capital injection into the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) for the parastatal to play its strategic role in the country’s industrialisation agenda.
The Minister of State for Presidential Affairs and Monitoring Implementation of Government Programmes this Thursday toured the NRZ mechanical workshops in Bulawayo to appreciate the parastatal’s capacity to drive the industrialisation of the country.
Briefing the media after the tour, Dr Gumbo noted the need for urgent capital injection to ensure the organisation becomes a key enabler of national development.
“The situation here at NRZ is not pleasing, and there is a need to inject huge capital as we revive operations. It is the government that has to act and I will talk to other ministers and the President so we can see how the revival of NRZ can be done. This is critical.
“There is a need for new machines and a lot more to bring this institution to life. Resources to refurbish wagons and transform operations will be allowed by the government and already ZWL$2 billion has been secured to support the entity,” said Minister Gumbo.
NRZ’s inability to meet national demand for cargo transportation services has had a huge toll on the country’s road network, as trucks have become an alternative for the transportation of bulk cargo.
