Announcement of World Bank loan to Bechuanaland on August 3, 1964

• INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION 1818 H STREET, N.W., WASHINGTON 25, D. C. TELEPHONE: EXECUTIVE3-6360 IDA Press Release No. 64/18 Subject: $3.6 million credit August 3, 1964 to Bechuauala.nd The International Development Association (IDA), an affiliate of the World Ba.nk, today extended a credit equivalent to $3.6 million for highlra.y development in Bechuanaland. The credit will assist the construction or reconstruction of three roads totaling 355 miles in length, the improvement of the 418-mile north-south road which is the backbone of the road system, and the improvement of maint,mance. An all-weather road system is the most important factor in the further development of the livestock industry, which accounts for 90'fo of Bechuanaland's exports and a. similar proportion of total employment. • Africa. The Bechuanaland Protectorate is a United Kingdom dependency in southern Entirely landlocked, it is bounded by South West Africa, the Republic of South Africa and Southern Rhodesia. It has an area of 225,000 square miles, about the size of Texas, and a population of approY..imately 550,000. The main occupations are cattle-raising and agriculture, mainly subsistence farming. There are some ex- ports o:f ¥bestos and manganese, but lmown natural resources are lii.Dited. Future economic growth therefore depends chiefly on the livestock industry which is capable of considerable expansion. An integrated road system is a prerequisite to this ex- pansion: it will make feasible the truck transport of cattle and thus do away with uneconomic trekking of cattle on hoof over long distances to markets; it will assist in the redistribution of cattle from overstocked and overgrazed parts of the Terri- tory, and will open new areas to production. • The principal road to be built or rebuilt with IDA assistance is one that ex- tends 305 miles from Francistown to Maun, the main east-west road across the Terri- tory. It is the only link between the railhead at Francistown, the northern Crown  - 2 - Lands and ~gamiland. The main purpose of the new road is to enable cattle to be moved by truck to the railhead at Francistown for shipment either to the Lobatsi abattoir or to Southern Rhodesia. This will result in a larger return to producers and encourage increased cattle production, as well as cash crop farming. • The two other roads to be built are relatively short sections in the eastern part of the Territory. One will extend from the border of the Republic of South .Africa to Gaberones, which will be the new ca.pi tal of Bechuanaland. This road will be the ma.in connection with Johannesburg, the nearest large industrial and commercial center and international air terminal. The other road will run 33 miles between Serowe and the railhead at Palapye. Serowe is the largest town in Bechuanaland and the center of a large ca.ttle ranching and crop-producing area. The improvement of the 418-mile north-south road, extending ~rom the border of Southern Rhodesia to that of South Africa, includes the replacement of 13 small single-lane bridges some of which are so low that they are frequently flooded during the wet season, the installation of 78 culverts to improve drainage, the elimination of a number of blind curves Pnd sharp rises, and some relocating and regraveling • work. The improvements will make possible all-weather traffic between the largest towns in Bechuanaland, will stimulate the development of agriculture in the regions served, and will facilitate through traffic between central and southern Africa. The maintenance part of the project includes the provision of maintenance equipment, a training program and the building of maintenance depots along the main roads. The total cost of the project is estimated at the equivalent of $4.6~million, which will be financed by the IDA credit of $3.6 million, by funds from the Terri- torial budget and by United Kingdom Colonial Development and Welfare allocations. The IDA credit is for a term of 50 years. Repayment of principal will begin on • January 15, 1975, after a 10-year grace period. Thereafter, 1% of the principal will be repayable annually for 10 years and 3% will be repayable for the final 30 years. The credit is free of interest but a service charge of 3/4 of 1% per annum on the amount withdrawn and outstanding will be made to meet IDA' s administrative costs.