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West Africa |
TRANSPORT
A regional strategy for WEAMU countries
During November 2002, the West African Development Bank (WEADB) organized in Lome, a regional Workshop on the impact of two-wheeled urban transport and its prospects for development in Benin, Niger and Togo, and within the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WEAMU) in general. Participants included the relevant Transport Ministers, the national directors of public transport, health, road safety, town planning and environmental services, and those in charge of professional organizations of motorcycle taxi drivers in the three countries just mentioned.
Participants stressed the ever-increasing importance of motorcycle taxis as a form of transport in today’s society. Factors which bring about the development of this type of transport include inadequate public transport to cater for the people’s transport needs; ever-increasing poverty; unemployment among young people; cut-backs in the work force; the population’s decreasing purchasing power; poorly maintained and inadequate road links.
The number of these motorcycle taxis (called «Zémidjan» in Benin, «Oléyia» in Togo, and «Kabu-kabu» in Niger) has quickly increased over the years, according to statistics from the Directorate of Road Transport. Professional transport organisations say that in 2000, there were 83,000 motorcycle taxis on the streets of Benin, 40,000 in Togo, and 2,350 in Niger. For 2002, preliminary statistics show about 160,000 in Benin (including 72,000 in Cotonou); 45,000 in Togo, and 2,500 in Niger.
The study, commissioned by the West African Development Bank (BOAD), was conducted by the Togolese Society for Development research in Africa. The final report states: «The proliferation of motorcycle taxis is one way of employing young people and contributes effectively to the fight against poverty among the most vulnerable sectors of the population. Allied to the two-wheeled transport industry are mechanics, welders, vulcanizers, painters, tailors, spare parts salesmen, garage and petrol pump attendants. All these related activities generate an annual sales turnover of approximately 40 billion CFA francs in Benin, 26 billion in Togo and 711 million in Niger». But all this is an expensive business.
A recent study by the Togolese Society for Development Research in Africa says motorcycle taxis create a danger on the highways. In 2000, they were involved in 4,735 road accidents in Benin, and 4,103 in Togo. The causes of these accidents are inter alia, bad driving by «zémidjan» drivers; poor street lighting and the dreadful road conditions. Many drivers don’t have a driving licence and don’t have any notion of the highway code.
To improve and develop two-wheeled transport, the Lome regional Workshop proposed a strategy and a regional action plan to: Organize and rationalize the motorcycle taxi business; improve working conditions for the drivers; reduce any negative effects on other sectors; help the drivers to play a positive role in today’s society. In the long run, it’s all a matter of improving public transport in the main urban centres and reducing the harmful effects of having an over-abundance of two-wheelers with all the subsequent pollution problems. A Supervisory Committee at ministerial level will be set up in West Africa; likewise National Committees for ensuring that the Workshop’s decisions are implemented and followed-up within three months.