Advancing Railway Development in Southern Africa: Insights from SARA Director Lubinda Sakanga

Railways Africa Magazine

We had the opportunity to catch up for a "Coffee with the Editor" with Lubinda Sakanga, Director of Technical & Operations at the Southern African Railway Association (SARA), during the recent Continental Workshop for the Africa Integrated High-Speed Railways Network (AIHSRN). SARA, a subsidiary organization of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), is solely dedicated to railway development within the Southern African region. Their primary mission is to advance the railway development agenda, particularly through corridor development. The vision for the continental AIHSRN network revolves around these corridors, which are viewed from a continental perspective and are part of the Program for Infrastructure Development Project (PIDA). PIDA aims to foster continental railway coordination. The Africa Union High-Speed Railway Project prioritizes railway links across various regions, two of which specifically fall within the Southern African region. These are the Namibian Corridor, which primarily connects Namibia through Botswana before joining the North-South Corridor, and the Beira Corridor, extending from Zambia via the Memorial Way to Beira Port in Mozambique. In this interview, we discuss the role of SARA in advancing railway development in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Sakanga emphasizes the importance of corridor development, intergovernmental agreements, standards, regulations, and capacity building. He also mentions the ongoing development of a regional railway infrastructure master plan and the need for private-sector engagement. Enjoy!