Botswana is witnessing a surge in interest in its ambitious 1,500km Trans-Kalahari Railway project, as investors eagerly eye an alternative to South Africa’s grappling logistics network.

Unsolicited bids have poured in, revealing a keen interest from global investors to construct a railway line connecting Botswana to a Namibian port, bypassing the logistical hurdles faced by South Africa, per Bloomberg.

Transport and Public Works Minister Eric Molale shed light on the project’s momentum, citing the challenges plaguing Transnet, South Africa’s state rail and ports monopoly, and the subsequent need for alternate routes due to prolonged waiting periods at South African ports.

“We learned in June that the waiting period at all South Africa ports to offload and load can be a minimum of two weeks, floating on the sea for that period,” he said in an interview Monday in Gaborone, the capital. “The UAEs, the Qataris, the Chinese, the Indians have also come to say this is not a long line for them and it is in fact, a comparatively short one that they can do very quickly.”

The inefficiencies in South Africa’s logistics network have significantly impacted the country’s economy, leading to unexpected contractions in growth and potential limitations on neighboring countries like Botswana, which heavily rely on South Africa for trade, given its prominence as a major diamond producer.

Minister Molale highlighted the appeal of this alternative route for businesses in South Africa, offering shorter transit times compared to their ports, particularly beneficial for enterprises in the Johannesburg and Pretoria areas.

Initially conceived in 2010 for coal exports from eastern Botswana, the Trans-Kalahari Railway faced setbacks due to declining coal prices and insufficient financial backing. However, the project’s focus has now shifted to harnessing the burgeoning potential of the Kalahari Copperbelt in the country’s west.

The proposed railway route spans from Gaborone, traversing the Kalahari desert, extending to Gobabis in Namibia, and culminating at Walvis Bay on the Atlantic Ocean.

Amidst a regional push for enhanced global market access, diverse initiatives have emerged, including a US-backed rail line from Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo to Angola’s Lobito port. Additionally, China is involved in negotiations for a railway connecting Zambia to Tanzania’s Dar es Salaam port.

The global transition to cleaner energy sources has amplified the significance of minerals like copper and cobalt, further underlining the importance of robust transportation networks for resource-rich nations.

“We see ourselves as best placed especially for companies in the Johannesburg, Pretoria area of Gauteng because either way, going west or east, they cover the same distance and some of them, like vehicle manufacturers, have come to us,” the minister said.

The collaborative efforts between Botswana and Namibia, established through a bi-national project office in 2015, have propelled the Trans-Kalahari Railway initiative. A total of 12 companies have submitted expressions of interest, signaling considerable international attention. Plans are underway to release requests for proposals by March, with construction earmarked to commence in January 2025.

Minister Molale reiterated the project’s appeal to global investors, affirming the influx of unsolicited bids, and underscoring the attractiveness of the Trans-Kalahari Railway initiative on the world stage.

The development draws a stark contrast with some other African countries, including Nigeria, the continent’s largest economy – that have been struggling to secure funding or get investors to back their railway projects.

In a groundbreaking decision, the Colorado Supreme Court, in a narrow 4-3 ruling, declared former President Donald Trump ineligible for the presidency under the U.S. Constitution’s insurrection clause.

This unprecedented move marks the first-ever use of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to disqualify a presidential candidate.

“A majority of the court holds that Trump is disqualified from holding the office of president under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment,” the court stated in its decision, setting the stage for a likely confrontation in the nation’s highest court over the front-runner for the GOP nomination.

The legal battle centered on Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, where the court found that he had incited insurrection. Initially, a district court judge ruled that while Trump might have incited the insurrection, it was unclear if the provision applied to the presidency, thus allowing him to remain on the ballot.

However, the Colorado Supreme Court overturned this ruling, stating that it would stay its decision until Jan. 4 or until the U.S. Supreme Court intervenes. Colorado officials emphasized the urgency of resolving the issue by Jan. 5, the state’s presidential primary ballot deadline.

“We do not reach these conclusions lightly,” expressed the court’s majority. “We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions now before us.”

Trump’s legal team swiftly vowed to appeal any disqualification directly to the nation’s highest court, labeling the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision as an assault on democracy. Trump himself didn’t address the ruling during a recent rally, but his campaign decried it as “tyrannical” in a fundraising email.

“This ruling, issued by the Colorado Supreme Court, attacks the very heart of this nation’s democracy. It will not stand, and we trust that the Supreme Court will reverse this unconstitutional order,” Trump’s legal spokeswoman Alina Habba said in a statement Tuesday night.

The decision has provoked strong reactions from various quarters, with the Republican National Committee decrying it as “election interference.” While Colorado might not significantly impact Trump’s overall election chances, the concern lies in the precedent set for potential exclusions from other crucial states. Trump recorded 13 percentage points loss in Colorado in 2020.

Legal experts highlight that this ruling could embolden other states to follow suit, threatening Trump’s candidacy further.

“I think it may embolden other state courts or secretaries to act now that the bandage has been ripped off,” Derek Muller, a Notre Dame law professor who has closely followed the Section 3 cases, said after Tuesday’s ruling. “This is a major threat to Trump’s candidacy.”

The Colorado case stands as the first successful attempt to disqualify a candidate under Section 3, a provision historically applied sparingly since the Civil War era. It was brought forth by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a left-leaning group.

The crux of the legal debate hinged on the interpretation of the language in Section 3, specifically whether it extends to the presidency. The court sided with arguments asserting that it would be inconsistent with the amendment’s history and intent to exclude high-level office-bearers from its purview.

Notably, dissenting voices within the court stressed concerns about the complexity of constitutional matters being addressed in a state-level hearing and emphasized the need for procedural due process before disqualifying a candidate.

Chief Justice Brian Boatright, one of the three dissenting voices among the seven-member court, expressed his belief that Colorado election law was not designed to adjudicate whether a candidate participated in insurrection. He said he would have favored dismissing the challenge to Trump’s eligibility.

“In the absence of an insurrection-related conviction, I would hold that a request to disqualify a candidate under Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment is not a proper cause of action under Colorado’s election code,” he wrote.

This ruling in Colorado stands in contrast with decisions from other states like Minnesota and Michigan, where courts took different approaches or deferred the issue to Congress for resolution.

Last month, the courts ruled that the state party possesses the authority to include any individual of its choosing on the primary ballot. Although it dismissed a Section 3 lawsuit, the court indicated that the plaintiffs retain the option to pursue their claims once more during the general election.

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