In a Facebook post, flamboyant businessman Wicknell Chivayo questioned MDC Alliance presidential candidate Nelson Chamisa’s claims during a rally held in Chinhoyi on Sunday.
Chivayo questioned Chamisa’s declaration that if the MDC Alliance is voted into power in the forthcoming elections, they will introduce bullet trains. Below is the Facebook post:
E.D HAS MY VOTE 2018……….MDC President Hon Nelson Chamisa promised us bullet trains in his first five years if elected. I did dig up some information about infrastructure required to have a bullet train service. From that information it is apparent that completely new rail tracks will be required to have bullet trains.
In terms of costs, the information shows that it will cost between $105m and $178m to construct 1km of track suitable for bullet trains.
Harare-Bulawayo is 436km by road. Using that as a surrogate, it will cost between $45,78bn and $77,608bn to put rail infrastructure compatible with bullet trains. I will ignore the cost of acquiring the trains and passenger wagons.
Assuming annual net cashflows of $1bn, the undiscounted payback period will be between 46 and 78 years. To be able to earn net cashflows of $1bn per year, the project will need to earn net cashflows of $2,747 million a day. Assuming they will charge $50 for one way trip, they will need to ferry 55, 000 passengers per day. If they charge $100, that’s 25,000 passengers per day.
It will be a major surprise if that route handles more than 6,000 travellers a day, both directions.
In short the bullet train project is never going to be feasible from a cost and passenger traffic point of view. Any government that wants to have such a project will have to fund from its coffers and be ready to subsidise the facility. Zimbabwe clearly has never reached that point.
Chamisa claims that $15bn is needed to revive the economy, yet one of his envisioned project costs 3 times that much, which costs can easily be more than 5 times their target funding requirements.
Clearly Chamisa does not talk from informed viewpoints but rather just try to find promises that excite the youthful and unsuspecting voters.
Leading a country requires seriousness not this political banter…..E.D HAS MY VOTE 2018…….
You are afraid of being arrested that why u r talking like this.
CHAMISA is a lair talking about billions as if they are leaves. MDC is small yet not organised ko kuzot Zim angaigona
Iwe ndiwe usingazivi zvaurikutaura unongoshoora zvausati waona nekut wakadyiswa nembavha dzezanu or maybe munoba mose nxaa mazanu munobhowa chaizvo
Chivayo is a thief. If I were you I would shut up and wait for my comeuppance. ED will get you so don’t pretend to support ED We all know you lick Fugu’s ass and you support Mugabe. Please stop licking ED’s ass he does not know you but he is aware that you should be in jail.
Chivhayo, you are a political mascot, today thats what you are singing, yesterday you were allover awash with pics with the former First Family, but yesterday you were cellphone thief cum trick claiming to access any phone which is locked, and during that time we don’t talk about fake sa companies which supplied fake goods through dubious tenders called the Marange Resources, catching unsuspecting business people, you forget Zimbabweans know about your tenders to supply under ground water pumps which were supposedly available in sa bogus companies, shame on you and now you are bootlicking singing for your supper and your freedom from prosecution.
Zimbabwe is 200 billion economy Mr Chivhayo, without foreign aid.If one person can steal $15 billion and he is surrounded by two hundred other thieves with equally criminal minds, how much has been looted out of the country? Three years ago there were reports in papers of $9.5 billion worth of ivory. We haven’t started to consider diamonds of which we have 25% of world deposits, uranium deposits, and platinum of which we have the world’s largest deposit. So Chamisa’s bullet train project is not a pipe dream. We have such capacity as nation with thieves of your caliber
sheltered in jail.
Mr Wicknell Chivharo
they failed to bury and honour TSVANGIRAI KUTORA POSITION ACHITORWARA .USED HIS FUNERAL FOR PERSONAL GLORY
Chivhayo be quiet you are a thief. you praising ED today but yesterday you were on Grace’s side. Nyarara kutya kusungwa
hatiterere mbavha gororo. Zim has a big economy . Chamisa has big dreams for this country and above all he is a man of God. ED failed this country for the past 37 yrs he was an intergral part of the gvt that brought this country to its knees. Akatonga na mugabe zvakakwana. Chamisa is the man
Iweee kwana, unopengaaaaaaa!!!! Its a do-able project taking into account the 5million you were given for a zesa project and you built a 20 dollar cabin. We have 15 billion dollars that is missing in Zimbabwe, chibhanzi chiri tii, we just need people who are more focused and are willing to rebuild the nation.
Chienda kujeri. your time is up!!!
Chicago zimbavha remakoko enda unofa unoti nyika ingabudirire cei ahhh ndati zimbavha mhani muneutsinye imi dai mwari akakupisa nemheni masikati machena hamunzwire vanhu vese varikutambura sei
kkkk … Ana Chivayo manga matotanga kuita maths kuti muwane pekudya like u did kuZESA. Sorry apa waona hazvibudeka saka wakuswedera kuna ED to try and lick yo jail sentence escape.
India is paying $17 billion for a 500km bullet train while China is building a 3,000km bullet train for $5.5 billion in Thailand. Arvind Kejriwal has re-tweeted this thrice. Is this true?
Chamisa is an optimist who wants to see Zimbabwe grow, you thief chivayo you are a mere persimist, just trying to shoot the young presidential aspirant down and get mercy from ZANU PF for your thievery. We need people who overcome challenges in their plans and dreams and ZANUISTS type of beings. The figures you mention are even higher than what i also extracted from internet. The cost for 500km is about 17billion if not contracted thieves like you, so keep quite if you know nothing about simple maths,
While Chivayo has his dirt baggage behind him,but he has stated his case quite clearly;what is the rationale of taking some one just at the propensity of dishing out only excitable stuff at rallies only for the purpose of hoodwinking voters for selfish gain-that of being elected to Zimbabwe House when we have serious issues at stake.Are we fools not to see the open lies?What gullible are we even as youths? Leave those who wish to b lied to stick to him like some foolish girl who continues to entertain the fantasy of being married to some bogus boy!
Chivayo your anology is logical. Chamisa anonyepa. I like Chamisa becaz he is intelligent. What i dont like about him is his ability to misrepresent people. A professional liar
We are sick and tired of listening to the same lies everyday, JOBS JOBS JOBS JOBS!!!!!!! We also want to hear new lies like those bullet trains hosting the world cup. Forward chikomana Chamisa. Chisa mbama Chisa!!!
Ana chivayo komukanyarara zvanzi munosungwa here bill re bullet train rakutyisaka ndozvinorevakuti usashora munhu mukuru uyo