3. Insufficient recognition of services by the authorities: facts and input for further consideration

3.1. General lack of information
3.2. The inland revenue authorities are aware that the sector exists
3.3. Urban goods transport: the role of local authorities
3.4. NMVs as a sustainable mode of transport
3.5. A global approach to urban goods transport in Africa

On the very specific sector of urban goods transport in Africa, a number of questions must be asked and various avenues explored in relation to the way these services are viewed, the policies applied to them, the degree to which their important role is taken into account, and the measures which could be implemented to improve their efficiency.

3.1. General lack of information

A general lack of knowledge exists concerning the way in which urban goods transport in African towns operates and its organization. As pointed out in section 2.3, it is not only regarding Africa that this lack of knowledge exists, and although urban goods transport is now attracting greater interest in Europe today, it is a particularly recent phenomenon.[7] A preliminary investigation must therefore be carried out to become more familiar with this sector and its constraints.

3.2. The inland revenue authorities are aware that the sector exists

The authorities know of the existence of these persons, on two counts. Firstly, most drivers pay for a licence and like all transporters they pay a large number of traffic fines. Motorized hauliers also pay various vehicle taxes, in addition to indirect fuel taxes. Secondly, the NMV licence fees collected by the municipal authorities often account for a considerable proportion of direct revenues. Furthermore, some civil servants are owners of NMVs and motorized vehicles).[8]

3.3. Urban goods transport: the role of local authorities

The urban transport policy of the local authorities (in all its forms) consists mainly of setting technical and policing measures, regulating the traffic, and imposing policies to simultaneously foster the free market while maintaining inflexibility (Mandon-A, 1994). It should be recognized that the priorities lie elsewhere. The crucial problems of urban collective transport and the congestion of town centres, owing to the concentration of wholesaler warehouses, mobilize the upper echelons of government departments and lead to the commissioning of reports by experts on modes of transport on reserved sites, truck depots, inland ports, distribution areas, etc. These problems are so important, however, that the central government authorities must take measures and make decisions.

Issues relating to the operation of markets and food distribution fall within the scope of local policy, and today we know that the municipal authorities are sensitive to such problems. This provides an opportunity to redefine the role of the local authorities in this field, firstly by gaining a better understanding and identifying the specific needs of the urban artisanal transport sector, and then supporting its development.

There are three main ways in which this support can be given:

• acting in coordination with the parties concerned;
• taking into account the needs for specific vehicle parks and sites for transporters who supply and redistribute goods within cities; not putting it off to the actual time when markets are being redesigned. This would apply generally to the whole area of a municipality; and,
• introducing more appropriate regulations and tax measures.

3.4. NMVs as a sustainable mode of transport

In the specific case of NMVs, the most common attitude found on the part of the authorities is comparative tolerance (leading to a minimum level of regulation). This is based on their conviction that these archaic modes of transport are bound to gradually disappear as modern motorized modes of transport develop.

We feel it is important in this regard, however, to emphasize the structural role of urban freight carried by non-motorized transport. The present economic situation - increasing costs of motor-driven vehicles and fuel since devaluation, development of the informal commercial urban sector, particularly in food distribution as the main subsistence activity in the towns - not only makes their disappearance most unlikely in the near future, but improves the conditions needed to ensure a permanent future for them in Africa.[9] NMVs are therefore doubly “sustainable” in terms of both time and the current understanding of the notion of sustainability when speaking of modes of urban transport (their low cost, simplicity, durability, self-reproducibility, equity, and the fact that they are non-polluting and socially acceptable.[10]

3.5. A global approach to urban goods transport in Africa

The situation described above clearly shows that motorized and non-motorized transport are complementary and that only a multimodal approach makes it possible to account for the urban freight situation in respect of food supply and redistributon in African cities.

In the same way, the trading circuits will gradually change owing to the effect of the following factors:

• the demand of urban consumers for higher quality products;
• the development of integrated distribution networks (large and medium self- service facilities);
• new facilities, such as wholesale markets where traders can become more specialized, and where some traders can increase their turnover, etc.

Any examination of the modes of transport used for urban freight must necessarily assume a global approach, which takes into accounts the needs of modern enterprises, the artisanal sector operators and the markets. To date, the latter two have unfortunately been to some extent neglected.