By Alois Vinga
INDIA says it is currently exploring possibilities of partnering the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) in training, capacity building and upgrading of the railway system.
In recent years, the NRZ has endured the obtaining economic challenges prompting neglect of maintenance, lacking spare parts and overdue replacement of equipment have led to a situation where only part of the railway network is in good condition.
The state company is also seriously indebted, a situation which has seen goods transport declining from 18 million tonnes in 1998 to two million tonnes as of 2010.
This week, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor John Mangudya told parliament that due to arrears owed to global financiers, the country continues to struggle to unlock long term capital for infrastructure financing.
But this week’s efforts by the NRZ delegation led by the board chairman, Martin Dinha currently in the South Asian nation for strategic engagements with top government officials could bring a sigh of relief for the sector.
 In an update soon after the meetings, India’s Minister of State for External Affairs, Vellamvelly Muraleedharan confirmed holding discussions for possible collaborations.
“Useful interaction with the visiting National Railways of Zimbabwe delegation led by Chairman Martin Dinha, Ambassador of Zimbabwe in India Dr. Godfrey Majoni Chipare also joined in and discussed possible collaborations in training, capacity building and upgradation of Zimbabwe railways,” Muraleedharan tweeted.
India currently enjoys cordial relations with Zimbabwe ranging across political, economic, cultural, and development assistance fields, which have particularly strengthened in the past few years.
The External Affairs Minister visited from June 6-7 2022 and handed over 10 ambulances, which had been promised during the visit of the Vice President to Zimbabwe in 2018 on top of a consignment of 35,000 Covaxin vaccine doses donated in March 2021.
The South Asian nation also handed over three vehicles for the Indo-Zim Technology Centres, for which the latest machines worth about US$ 3 million have been supplied.
