CHAMISA TORCH: Uganda Praised By China for Using Spaghetti Roads To Boost Economy While Chiwenga Mocks Chamisa
20 June 2018
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China demonstrates how spaghetti roads boost an economy

By Farai D Hove| At a time when Zimbabwe’s presidium mocked MDC leader Nelson Chamisa over spaghetti roads, China has praised Uganda for implementing the same project.

2 months ago, Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga said Chamisa’s banter is unreliastic and does not make sense.

But this month Uganda, whose economy has been struggling in recent years, has completed its large Spaghetti Junction and ambitious roadworks stretching over 51.4 kilometres.

Ugandans new Spaghetti Junction soon after completion last week

Spaghetti road is Uganda’s economic takeoff, says China 

President Yoweri Museveni and visiting top Chinese communist party’s executive, Mr Wang Yang, on Friday launched completed sections of the 51.4km Entebbe expressway.

Uganda’s Daily Monitor reports that Mr Wang, who is chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, described the expressway as a “starting point in Uganda’s economic takeoff.”

“Travel time [on the expressway] will be cut from two hours to 40 minutes. I hope the road will give Uganda the wings to fly to industrialisation and Vision 2040,” Mr Wang said.
He said the road is part of China’s Silk Road belt project, the initiative to enhance connectivity from mainland China to Africa and Europe, launched by President Xi Jinping in 2013.
Mr Wang, the number four in the Chinese communist party’s politburo, was accompanied by senior Chinese government officials, who included vice president of Exim Bank. They arrived in Uganda from the Republic of Congo-Brazzaville on Wednesday for a three-day state visit.

Chinese-African support
President Museveni described the Entebbe expressway as an outcome of enhanced Chinese-African support, which includes bankrolling the Shs1.5 trillion expansion of Entebbe International Airport, and the Karuma and Isimba hydropower dams, with combined cost Shs6.7 trillion.

He urged China to deal with African countries, not as narrower regional economic groupings such as East African Community, Common Market for East and Southern Africa, Economic Community of West African States and Southern African Development Community, but as one trading bloc after the recent signing of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) treaty in Kigali, Rwanda in March.

Forty four African countries in March signed the CFTA treaty at the 18th African Union summit in 2012, to create a single continental market for goods and services.

The President also warned motorists that the expressway will remain a toll road in order to recover some of the project loan, now $479m.
He advised those who are unwilling to pay to stick to the old road.