MINISTER OF PUBLIC WORKS PROMISES TO UPGRADE MASERU RAILWAY STATION
The Minister of Works and Public Transport, Mr. Semano Sekatle revealed a plan to upgrade the railway station which he said has deteriorated, with obsolete machines.
Mr. Sekatle said this during a tour that was held on Monday to inspect how the station operates.
He said he made the decision to visit the station after business people complained of the prevailing situation at the station.
He said exporters and importers have been complaining about the condition of the railway station and that it is not safe for their goods.
''We have seen that the company operates with obsolete machinery which was left by Transnet when it left the country, containers are unloaded at dusty places and when it is rainy, it becomes muddy thereby affecting operations,'' he said.
Mr. Sekatle said they are planning to source funding to improve the station so as to improve business operations.
At the same occasion, the Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Dr Timothy Thahane said his ministry has a five year strategic plan which focuses on issues such as imports and exports, therefore, saw it befitting to tour the place to see what improvements need to be done.
''The plan is to also improve the borders of Maputsoe and Van Royeen's Gate to help people in these areas to stop coming to Maseru for export of their goods,'' he said.
The Minister of Trade and Industry, Cooperatives and Marketing, Mr. Leketekete Ketso said up to standard railway station will make business easier for exporters and importers.
Mr. Ketso said currently, it takes time to load goods due to the old machinery being used.
Meanwhile, the Managing Director of Infradev Holdings, Mr. Harry Mashele stated that they are faced with challenges such as lack of security and old equipment which consumes a lot of time.
He said because of that, clients lost confidence in them and went back to road transport for exporting and importing as they get their commodities timeously.
Mr. Mashele said they deliver goods to places such as Port Elizabeth, Durban and East London, adding that on a monthly basis, they export about two hundred containers.
Among the machinery which is not working at all, are cranes which cannot be removed due to unavailability of proper equipment.
Infradev Holdings started operating the railway station in 2009.
Source: LENA 10/10/2011
