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SADC RAILWAY CHIEFS MOURN RAIL ACCIDENT VICTIMS
Maputo - The SADC railways
Chief Executives met in Maputo on 29 May 2002
to attend the Southern African Railways Association
regular board meeting. The meeting was commenced
only four days after a rail passenger train
accident in Mozambique that killed about two
hundred people, in Mozambique's worst rail accident
in living memory.
The various SADC railways, including the SARA
Regional Secretariat, send condolence messages
to the Board of the Mozambique, Ports, and Railways
(CFM). Swaziland Railway, dubbed "neighbour"
donated some material worth Rand 14 thousands
to Mozambique for use by survivors of the accident
during their recuperation periods. At the opening
of the Maputo SARA Board Meeting; the delegates
held a minute's silence in memory of the accident
victims, whilst Mr. Zumbika, the NRZ General
Manager also led a prayer at the same meeting
in honour of the hundreds that perished in the
rail disaster.
During the evening of the Board
Meeting, a memorial service was held at the
Maputo Catholic Cathedral in memory of the victims.
The service which was conducted by the Archbishop
of Maputo, was attended by the His Excellency
Mozambican President Joachim Chissano. The congregation
included the Mozambican Member of Transport
and Communications, the Honorable Tomaz Salomao
and the Chief Executives of the SADC railways.
Hardly a month after the Maputo
rail disaster, another tragic rail accident
occurred in Tanzania, on the national carrier's
lines, Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC),
where more than 200 people were killed and many
others wounded, some of them seriously. Condolence
messages were sent by SARA, other regional railways
and stakeholders to the Government of Tanzania
as well as Tanzania Railways Corporation.
Following the train disasters,
the issue of rail safety has once again assured
centre stage, and the situation has called for
the region to cooperate and chant a safety policy
framework and benchmark railway performance
in the board context of risk management.
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