Regional Highway Initiative to Curb Illicit Payments, Cut Transit Costs
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World Bank Resources
- Press Release: World Bank Supports Transport Improvements in West African States
- West Africa Transport and Transit Facilitation Project
Bamako , September 18, 2008 – In West Africa, the transport sector plays an essential role in the economic development of the sub region and generates approximately six percent of its gross domestic product. Because of this, actions designed to improve road governance in West Africa must consider and tackle the issue of extortion.
A World Bank project approved on June 19, in the amount of $190 million, will finance road transport and transit improvements in Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Mali. The three-country project supports the transport program of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), which provides for trade corridors without frontiers or road blocks to facilitate trade and promote economic integration in the sub-region.
The Malian component of the regional project West Africa Transport and Transit Facilitation Project) in the amount of $40 million was signed July 17 in Bamako by Malian Finance Minister, Mr. Abou-Bakar Traoré, and the Resident Representative of the World Bank in Mali, Alassane Diawara.
The costs shipping goods can be as much as 50 percent higher for landlocked nations than for countries with access to a seaport.
High transit and transport costs for landlocked countriesThe costs of road transport and transit for landlocked countries such as Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger are as much as 50 percent higher than for countries with direct access to the sea. These higher road transport and transit costs are reflected in high prices of consumer goods and loss of competitiveness with other countries.
These costs are also increased by the behavior of persons involved in the transport chain during road transit and transport on inter-state highways regularly monitored by the Observatory of Abnormal Practices (OPA).
According to the findings of OPA surveys conducted from January 1 to June 15, 2008, the Tema ( Ghana) – Ouagadougou ( Burkina Faso) corridor has the largest number of road blocks. During the six-month period between January and June, it recorded 25 road blocks, with 2.4 stops per 100 kilometers. The Ouagadougou-Bamako ( Mali) corridor, by contrast, has the lowest number (2.1), particularly in the segment of the corridor in Burkina Faso, where the number is 1.3 per 100 kilometers.
Illegal collection of payments and abnormal practices
These unscheduled stops are mainly caused by customs in Ghana and Burkina Faso, by the gendarmerie in Mali, and by the police in Togo. In illegal payments made to these groups, the Ouagadougou-Bamako corridor holds the record: CFAF 40,448 per trip. Payments at the Lomé ( Togo)- Ouagadougou corridor amount to CFAF 22,368. Customs on the Tema-Ouagadougou corridor collect CFAF 18,306 per trip.
With an average traffic of 40 trucks a day, illegal payments collected in the first half of 2008 amount to:
- Bamako-Ouagadougou corridor: CFAF 1,617,920/day, CFAF 48,537,600/month, and CFAF 291,225,600/this six-month period
- Lomé-Ouagadougou corridor: CFAF 894,720/day, CFAF 26,841,600/month, and CFAF 161,049,600/this six-month period
- Tema-Ouagadougou corridor: CFAF 728,240/day, CFAF 21,847,200/month, and CFAF 131,083,200/this six-month period
- For the three corridors, CFAF 3,240,880/day, CFAF 97,226,400/month, and CFAF 583,358,400/this six-month period.
- According to OPA, extortion amounts to more than CFAF 1.166 billion on the three corridors. The amount could increase unless something is done. The practice also results in lengthier controls and delays for each corridor.
Although there have been notable decreases in extortion on the surveyed corridors, the Observatory urges states to be more proactive in cracking down.
In Côte d’Ivoire, the World Bank recently conducted a study on racketeering on the country’s roads. The study was designed to inform the Ivorian Government and the World Bank of the scope and impact of the obstacles to the free circulation of persons and goods in Côte d’Ivoire.
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