Transport infrastructure is a key requirement for economic growth. In Africa today, networks are sparse, conditions poor, transit slow and accident rates high. More investment is necessary but will not of itself be sufficient. Unless it is accompanied by increased allocation of funds for maintenance and by substantial improvements in system management, high transport costs will remain a serious impediment to growth.
Africa’s urban commuters cope with unregulated and informal services that are unsafe, uncomfortable, and unreliable. Their cities must move quickly toward the model of the metropolitan transport authority used in successful cities around the globe.
Poor road conditions are not the sole cause of high transport prices in Africa. Lack of competition, misdirected regulation, and border delays are at least as influential. Matters are worst in West and Central Africa, where trucking cartels are dominant.
Author/s: Robin Carruthers and Ranga Rajan Krishnamani with Siobhan Murray
Roads, rails, and airways connect firms to markets and individuals to schools, clinics, and jobs. The model used here allows national planners to compute the cost of developing a transport network to a desired level of social and economic connectivity.