Rail infrastructure vandalism worsens
Nacala Logistics has decried increasing cases of vandalism of railway infrastructure, saying the vice is frustrating the growth of railway transport in the country.
Speaking in an interview yesterday on the sidelines of a solidarity walk South Lunzu Police Unit organised to raise awareness on the evils of crime, Nacala Logistics senior analyst in the department of social and security Luther Mambala said his organisation is losing a lot of money to repair the vandalised railways.
However, he could not quantify the actual loss to vandalism.
Said Mambala: “One of the materials people are vandalising are the pandrol clips. The pandrol clips are the ones that tighten the railway line. If two or three pandrol clips are removed, what happens is that the gauge widens up and because of that widening, the train derails. This is very dangerous, especially if it is a passenger train.”
He commended the police for organising the solidarity walk against crime which brought together the police and communities around Machinjiri Township in the city.
In a separate interview, South Lunzu Police Unit officer-in-charge Patricia Njawiri said the solidarity walk was aimed at enhancing police and community relationship.
She said the police were upbeat it will help in combating crime.
Njawiri said the police continue to encounter resource-constraints and said they believed that engaging communities can help to find local solutions in the fight against crime.
She said: “We know, we cannot just come on our own as police to come up with better strategy to deal with crime. So we bring them closer so that they don’t fear the police, but they should also bring ideas.
“We c r e a ted thi s platform, just to interface with the members of the community, so that we can gather some wisdom out of it and then later on strategise on how best we can deal with the crime.”
The solidarity walk started from Kameza Roundabout through Old Chileka-Magalasi Road to South Lunzu Police Unit.
Nacala Logistics in 2021 indicated that at one time vandalism forced it to stop its passenger service train.
Formerly Central East African Railways, Nacala Logistics represents companies responsible for the logistics of coal and general cargo in the Nacala Corridor. The companies include Corredor Desenvolvimento Do Norte, Corredor Logistico Integrador de Nacala, Cear and Vale Logistics Limited, whose shareholders are Vale and Mitsui.
