The Tanzania-Zambia railway (TAZARA) line is a symbol of the strong relationship between China and Zambia, according to Batuke Imenda, the Secretary General of the United Party for National Development (UPND). Speaking at the Tazara Memorial Cemetery in Lusaka during a visit from the International Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CPC), Imenda said that the railway was a testament to the true brotherhood that exists between the two countries.
Imenda paid tribute to the Chinese people who worked on the railway, saying that they made a great sacrifice for the benefit of Zambia. He acknowledged that the Chinese were willing to lose their lives while working on the railway, and said that their sacrifice should never be forgotten. Imenda said that TAZARA was also a symbol of China’s sacrifice for Africa, to the extent that the Chinese lost their lives in the line of duty.
Imenda recounted the history of the railway, explaining that an agreement was signed in Beijing in 1967 for the construction of TAZARA. The initial idea was for the railway to start in Tanzania and end in Zambia, and the railway was officially opened in 1975. The Tazara Railway is a single-track railway that is 1,860 km long, and it links the port of Dar es Salaam in east Tanzania with the town of Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia’s Central Province. The railway is operated by the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA), and it is important for the economies of both countries.
During the visit, the Director General for Bureau of Sub-Saharan African Affairs of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, Wang Heming, paid tribute to the 36 Chinese experts who died during the construction of the TAZARA. Heming said that over 50,000 Chinese experts have worked on various projects in Africa. He also explained that China considers TAZARA a railway of freedom and liberation because during the apartheid regime, the railway made a great contribution to Southern Africa.
Heming expressed happiness that the cooperation between China and Zambia is continuing under the leadership of President Hakainde Hichilema and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The visit by the CPC officials to the Tazara Memorial Cemetery was an opportunity to pay tribute to the Chinese workers who lost their lives while building the railway, and to reaffirm the strong relationship that exists between China and Zambia.
No other country has provided as much development aid as China has given Zambia. For this we say thank you to our Chinese comrades.
Perfect exemplar of the Chinese “all weather friendship”.
When the (colonialist) West supported colour supremacy in SA, China stood up for Africans. When all others failed us, China fared with us. That’s why China is not troubled when H H feels that he can’t travel to China for debt talks. What has West done (built) for us apart from stealing our minerals?
The Chinese are all weather friends and great people .They do not discriminate like the Western world do.The west will like you if they need a favour from you and they will give you pea nuts for Kaloba at great cost.long live china
The Chinese under the leadership of Mao right up to Hu JinTao really helped Zambia in key development sectors without putting the country in financial problems.
But the new China under capitalist oriented dictators like Xi Jinping has left many countries like Zambia in debt distress through predatory lending.
Sadly unprincipled people like ECL and PF went for the dangling carrot leaving Zambia in serious debt problems.
Take the blinkers off
Forward thinking is required
I want HH to point at one piece of infrastructure that the Americans has done for Zambia. Yes you must say they have been helpful in areas such as HIV the disease they brought and experimenting on Africans. HH should go to China and stop shying away to people that we owe money.