PURPOSE: to present the European Court of
Auditors Special Report 17/2012 on the road network in
sub-Saharan Africa.
BACKGROUND: the EU is one of the leading donors in the
road sector in Sub-Saharan Africa. Road transport is a focal sector
for EDF (European Development Fund) cooperation strategy with most
Sub-Saharan African countries. Financially, it is by far the most
important cooperation sector, with about EUR 7.4 billion in EDF
commitments made in this region over the period from 1995 to
2011. Improper road maintenance and vehicle overloading is
putting the sustainability of Sub-Saharan road network into danger.
Roads are essential for regional integration, economic growth,
social development, effective public administration and security.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, roads are the dominant mode of passenger and
freight transport, accounting for more than 80 % of total movements
of goods and services and transport needs are growing
rapidly.
CONTENT: this special report assessed whether the EDF
has contributed to the sustainability of the road network in
Sub-Saharan Africa effectively: whether the road infrastructure
supported by the EDF is sustainable and whether the Commission
effectively promotes the sustainability of road
infrastructure.
The audit focused on the technical, financial and
institutional sustainability of road transport infrastructure and
looked at 48 programmes financed since 1995 under the 8th, 9th and
10th EDFs in six partner countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon,
Chad, Tanzania and Zambia where EU auditors inspected about 2400 km
of EDF funded roads.
The Court stated that the aid-recipient countries
visited by the Court do not do enough to ensure the sustainability
of road infrastructure. In all partner countries visited by the
Court, roads are affected to varying degrees by premature
deterioration. Most of these countries have adopted institutional
reforms, notably entailing the creation of road funds and road
agencies, and made significant progress on road maintenance.
However, many challenges remain to be addressed in all of them to
ensure appropriate maintenance.
Courts conclusions: the Court concluded that the Commission is
partially effective in its support for a sustainable road
network in Sub-Saharan Africa. Although spending on road
maintenance has increased over time in all the partner countries
visited by the Court, it remains insufficient to cover the needs.
One main reason is the priority given in national budgets to the
rehabilitation and upgrading of the road network rather than to
maintenance.
Moreover, the Commission is partially effective in
promoting the adoption and implementation of the sector policy
reforms that are required to address the existing obstacles to a
sustainable road network in Sub-Saharan Africa. The
Commissions use of the conditions attached to its financial
support has a moderate incentive effect. This also has an impact on
policy dialogue, which the Commission does not use in to its full
potential, although this dialogue has been instrumental in
promoting progress in some areas, notably where the institutional
framework and road maintenance funding are concerned.
Technical cooperation funded by the Commission has
been less successful than could be expected.
Courts recommendations: the Court recommends that in a number of respects
the Commission should better focus EDF resources and make better
use of conditions attached to its programmes, of policy dialogue
with the partner countries' governments and technical cooperation,
so as to maximise the effectiveness of the development support
provided by the EDF towards a sustainable road network in
Sub-Saharan Africa.