The Maputo Corridor: Politics and Pragmatic Development in Southern Africa
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f,! The Maputo Corridor: Politics and Pragmatic Development In Southern Africa Lee Pyne-Mercier Supervisor: Annette Seegers Department of Political Studies University of Cape Town _,____ ,,.......,_._,IHlit~~!"'I i4i&L The University of Cripe Town has been given I the right to reproduce thi~ thesfa in •Nhoie i or in_ :,:.,..~:~::l~:~.~~::~~~'~::::J j The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No quotation from it or information derived from it is to be published without full acknowledgement of the source. The thesis is to be used for private study or non- commercial research purposes only. Published by the University of Cape Town (UCT) in terms of the non-exclusive license granted to UCT by the author. ABSTRACT Tl'e Maputo Corridor is the most significant development project undertaken by the Souti1 African government since 1994. The Corridor is an extremely complex project, bringing together a variety of actors from South Africa, Mozambique, and beyond. The project includes the rehabilitation and upgrading of major transport and communications infrastructure between Witbank and Maputo, institutional reform to expedite border-crossing, and incentives for labour-intensive investment in the areas adjacent to the Corridor. The Maputo Corridor is also the first build operate-transfer highway in the region. The Maputo Corridor is a valid and fascinating subject for political inquiry because it provides insight into the new South African government's priorities and ideological stance. Research on the Corridor also contributes to our understanding of political power structures in the region. The primary goal of this dissertation was to come to an understanding of why and how the Maputo Corridor developed. Research was designed to test popular hypotheses from the South African media. These hypotheses were (1) that the Corridor was designed to isolate Gauteng from potential transport-based blackmail by the IFP and (2) that the Corridor was sponsored and directed by the leaders of Mpumalanga Province. This dissertation is composed of four main sections. First, the historical context of the Corridor starting in the 19th century is investigated. Repetitive historical themes with relevance for the present are identified. Second, the leaders and managers of the corridor project are pinpointed. Third, strategic motivations for the corridor in the current political environment are studied. The fourth part consists of an investigation of the means used to implement the Corridor. Several sources of information were used. These sources included in depth interviews with the Corridor's stakeholders, primary documentation, and secondary published sources. The conclusion of the research was that a revitalised transport corridor was virtually inevitable given the region's geography, history, and recent political developments. However, the Maputo Corridor includes much more than simple transport development, it is a holistic regional development strategy. The impetus for this strategy came from the Department of Transport. While representatives of Mpumalanga played prominent roles in the Corridor's development, they were far less influential than had originally been presumed. The initial phase of the project's implementation has been largely successful. This success is the result of careful co-ordination of a wide variety of actors. This co-operation and co-ordination was fostered through functional, intergovernmental teams of civil servants. The Maputo is a successful example of a new paradigm of development in Southern Africa - that of intergovernmental co-operation and private-public sector partnership. I. Table of Contents I . TABLE OF CONTENTS ......................................................................................................................... I II. ACRONYMS & ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................................. III III. HISTORICAL TIMELINE OF THE MAPUTO CORRIDOR ....................................................... IV 1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 WHAT ARE DEVELOPMENT CORRIDORS? ............................................................................................... 2 1.2 DEFINITION OF THE MAPUTO DEVELOPMENT CORRIDOR ...................................................................... .4 1.3 WHY STUDY THE POLITICS OF THE MAPUTO DEVELOPMENT CORRIDOR? ............................................. 6 1.4 METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................................................................... 8 2. HISTORY OF THE MAPUTO CORRIDOR ....................................................................................... 11 2.1 EARLY RECOGNITION OF THE BAY'S POTENTIAL AND BROKEN PROMISES ........................................ 12 2.2 RAILS TO THE RAND: RAILROAD CONSTRUCTION BOOMS ................................................................... 14 2.3 THE BRITISH, THE GERMANS, THE BOERS, AND DELAGOA BAY .......................................................... 17 2.4 THE ANGLO-BOER WAR ...................................................................................................................... 20 2.5 A ROCKY PATCH: SOUTH AFRICA AND MOZAMBIQUE IN THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY.......................... 21 2.6 NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUE: PORTUGAL BECOMES INDECISIVE ............................................................ 25 2.7 THE APPEARANCE OF STABILITY AND GROWTH .................................................................................. 27 2.8 SOUTH AFRICA WINS, RHODESIA LOSES: MOZAMBICAN lNDEPENDENCE ............................................. 29 2.9 MOZAMBIQUE LOSES: REN AMO AND SOUTH AFRICA ON THE OFFENSIVE ........................................... 31 2.10 CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................................................... 34 3. LEADERS OF THE MAPUTO DEVELOPMENT CORRIDOR ...................................................... 35 3.1 ASSUMPTIONS: MPUMALANGA GETS GREAT PRESS ............................................................................ 35 3.2 ORIGIN OF THE CORRIDOR CONCEPT .................................................................................................... 37 3.3 POLITICAL LEADERSHIP ....................................................................................................................... 38 3.4 MOVERS, SHAKERS, AND WORKHORSES: MANAGEMENT OF THE CORRIDOR ...................................... 39 3.5 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................ 42 4. STRATEGIC MOTIVATIONS FOR THE CORRIDOR ................................................................... 43 4.1 REGIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE CORRIDOR ....................................................................................... 43 4. 1. 1 Repayment Time: South Africa Atones for its Past ...................................................................... 44 4. 1.2 Growing the Neighbourhood. ....................................................................................................... 45 4. 1.3 Mozambique's Regional Strategy................................................................................................. 46 4.2 DOMESTIC SOUTH AFRICAN STRATEGY AND THE MAPUTO CORRIDOR. .............................................. .47 4.2. 1 Other More Plausible Motivations for the Corridor? .................................................................. 49 4.2.2 Domestic Strategy and the Maputo Corridor: Mozambique ........................................................ 50 4.3 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................ 51 5. THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MAPUTO CORRIDOR ......................................................... 53 5.1 AN EFFICIENT CHAIN OF COMMAND .................................................................................................... 53 5.2 CO-OPERATION AND CO-ORDINATION .................................................................................................. 56 5.2. 1 Functional Co-operation .............................................................................................................. 56 5.2.2 Intergovernmental Co-operation. ................................................................................................. 57 5.2.2.1 The Central Government and Mpumalanga .............................................................................. 58 5.2.2.2 Mpumalanga and its Neighbours .............................................................................................. 58 5.2.2.3 South Africa Gets a Taste ofRegional Sensitivities .................................................................. 59 5.2.2.4 Mozambique Fears South Africa ............................................................................................... 61 5.2.2.5 Government and the Private Sector .......................................................................................... 63 5.2.2.6 Government and International Financial Institutions ............................................................... 65 5.3 CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................................................