News
AfDB Awards $1 Billion Loan to Revamp Regional Rail Network
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has awarded a substantial loan of $1 billion to Transnet, a South African state-owned company. The loan is intended to support the revamping of the regional rail network, a critical infrastructure project aimed at enhancing regional connectivity and promoting economic growth.
The loan comes after a previous deal between the AfDB and the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) was terminated in 2019 due to financing and implementation issues. Despite this setback, efforts to upgrade the regional rail network have continued, with the NRZ set to receive a separate funding boost of $615 million from China International Group and Afreximbank.
Water Crisis Hits Parirenyatwa Hospital
A severe water crisis has struck Parirenyatwa Hospital, leaving patients and medical staff without access to running water for the past week. The situation has become so dire that hospital staff have been forced to fetch water in containers, posing a significant health risk to all concerned.
According to hospital workers, the water shortage is a result of a problem with the city council’s water supply. In an effort to mitigate the situation, the hospital has resorted to using borehole water, which is being rationed on a timetable. However, this stopgap measure is barely sufficient to meet the hospital’s needs, and staff are growing increasingly concerned about the health implications of the water shortage.
