“If you want to get rich, build roads first; if you want to get richer, build the motor road; if you want to get richest, build the internet road; and if you want to get rich together, connect the road with China and the world.” —Chinese Philosopher.
A GNA News Feature by A. B. Kafui Kanyi
Accra, Aug. 27, GNA – “No road, no vote” is a common statement voters make to politicians during every election cycle in Africa.
This is because roads open communities for social and economic interactions and engender development.
While the continent is making decent progress in the integration of its people through the implementation of the African Continental Free- Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, poor transportation infrastructure appears to be a major concern.
The implementation of the agreement, which came into force in 2019, is to increase intra-African trade by eliminating import duties.
However, inadequate transport infrastructure is slowing the realisation of the dream.
Experts say the continent needs a seamless and efficient transport system to derive the full benefit of the operationalisation of AfCFTA.
According to research, the continent will increase the demand for road, rail, maritime, and air transport by 50 per cent due to AfCFTA.
This will facilitate the transportation of cargos and socioeconomic interactions.
Unfortunately, public transportation in Africa is a huge challenge due to ineffective transport systems and poor infrastructure.
In cities where one has options of buses and minibuses, mainly privately owned, the vehicles are usually not well maintained, alongside bad roads and poor traffic management.
In Ghana, health experts are sounding an alarm over the dramatic increase in deaths and illnesses caused by Ghana’s growing air pollution.
Air pollution induced illnesses, including pneumonia, acute respiratory failure, asthma, heart failure, stroke and cancer are the leading causes of deaths in the country in 2022, says Mr Albert Oppong Ansah, an Environmental Journalist.
He attributes the situation to Ghana’s aging, highly polluting fleet of vehicles.
The transport sector, made up of 3.2 million vehicles as of 2022, is said to be the leading producer of air pollution.
A report on roads in Africa called “Cross Border Road Corridors Expanding Market Access in Africa and Nurturing Continental Integration” says though roads are the main means of transport, only 43 per cent of the population have access to good roads all year round.
The Report, released last year, says only 53 per cent of roads on the continent are paved, with millions not having access to basic amenities and services such as healthcare, markets and education.
China’s BRI
The Belt and Road Initiative is a Chinese strategy introduced in 2013 to connect Asia with Africa and Europe through land and sea networks to promote regional integration, increase commerce, and stimulate economic growth.
The initiative specifies five key priorities -Policy Cooperation, Infrastructural Interconnection, Unhindered Trade, Financial Integration, and People-to-People connections.
China and its partners have reportedly spent between $4 and 8 trillion under the BRI, with more than 150 countries from Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, Central Asia, East Asia, and the Pacific being part of the initiative.
According to research, China has invested more than $155 billion in infrastructure projects in Sub-Saharan Africa over the last two decades.
Studies by the World Bank have estimated that BRI can boost trade flows in participating countries by 4.1 percent, as well as cutting the cost of global trade by 1.1 percent to 2.2 percent and grow the GDP of East Asian and Pacific developing countries by an average of 2.6 to 3.9 percent.
The initiative is expected to boost the global GDP, particularly in developing countries.
There are reports that countries along the Belt and Road route are actively engaged in cooperation in the field of agriculture and working together to maintain regional food security.
Without doubt, this is what Africa needs to drive AfCFTA.
Interestingly, the initiative is inspiring industrialisation with some African countries riding on the intervention to grow their economies.
In Kenya, for example, the Standard Gauge Railway, is described by Kenyan officials as one of the biggest and most successful local infrastructure projects since the late 1800s.
It cuts the travel time from Mombasa to Nairobi, which used to be up to 10 hours, to five or six.
It has made significant progress on several projects, including the Mali-Guinea cross-country railway, the Chad-Cameroon oil pipeline, Sudan (Port Sudan)-Chad-Niger-Mali-Senegal (Dakar Port) railway line, and the Central African Republic-Chad water diversion project.
Ethiopia and Zambia are other examples, with some experts describing it as the Belt of prosperity, bringing happiness to many people.
Stakeholders at a recent Public Private Dialogue on AfCFTA protocols say the implementation of the agreement demands the integration of shipping lines, airlines and railway services on the continent.
To achieve this, it is important that Africa leaders take advantage of the BRI to enhance cooperation in fulfillment of trade agreements within the continent and outside it.
Fact is, BRI and AfCFTA have similar infrastructural goals necessitating engagements for mutual benefit.
China, a global leader in industrialisation and Africa’s largest trading partner, must see opportunities in investing in improved infrastructure on the continent for better trade cooperation, with some goals of BRI aligning with the infrastructural targets of AfCFTA.
This will give meaning to the statement, “Industry is the pillar of the economy; finance is the lifeblood of the modern economy; and infrastructure connectivity is the cornerstone of development,” by a Chinese Professor.
The Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Governance of China IV said, “We will build closer connectivity.
China will work actively with all partners to promote ‘hard connectivity’ in infrastructure and ‘soft connectivity’ through harmonised rules and standards to ensure unimpeded channels for cooperation in trade and investment, and develop Silk Road e-commerce…”
In essence, infrastructural connectivity is the key to the economic emancipation of the continent.
At the Economic Community of West African States level, there is a linked road network through the trans west Africa highway system. There is also an integrated maritime transport with ports for some landlocked countries. Perhaps, what is needed is to connect national railway lines to enhance cooperation and promote trade and China’s BRI can be a major game changer.
The East African Community has the most integrated inland waterways system linking Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, through Lake Victoria.
The Congo River is also servicing five out of the ten countries in the Economic Community of Central African States.
The Southern Africa Development Community offers the most integrated air transport through South Africa on the continent.
While these are good efforts, the continent, under the leadership of AfCFTA, must leverage the BRI to connect the various regions to enhance trade cooperation and people to people interaction and integration.
Some regions, including East Africa are enjoying appreciable intra-continental trade between 50 and 60 per cent.
This has been attributed to reliable infrastructure and the opening of borders – a clear indication that the narrative will change should the continent leverage BRI.
This will lead to better integration of markets, promote economic policy coordination and create an open, inclusive, and balanced regional economic cooperation that benefits all, as envisaged by the BRI.
But more importantly, for AfCFTA, it would attract more investment, boost trade, provide better jobs, reduce poverty and increase shared prosperity on the continent.
It would also see an increase in Foreign Direct Investment, build local capacities, with wages rising for minorities, especially women.
Some 50 million people could escape poverty by 2035, with real income rising by nine per cent.
In a keynote address at the opening ceremony of the 8th Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, President Jinping said: “China will provide US$10 billion of trade finance to support African exports, and build in China a pioneering zone for in-depth China-Africa industrial park for Belt and Road cooperation.”
This will reposition Africa as the continent for the future with important trade routes – railways, highways, and power plants and dams connecting it to the rest of the world.
According to data, from 2013 to 2023, the total imports and exports between China and BRI-participating economies surpassed 21 trillion US Dollars, and China’s direct investment in BRI partner economies topped 270 billion dollars.
Though some challenges, including the outbreak of the coronavirus seem to have slowed down the progress of BRI, it is still leading all roads to Beijing and if well leveraged, could be the launchpad for Africa to unleash its potential.
The World Bank estimates that by 2030, BRI-related investments could take some 7.6 million people out of extreme poverty and 32 million out of moderate poverty.
No wonder Xi Jinping again in the Governance of China IV said, “…Acting in the spirit of openness and inclusiveness, we will work with all BRI participants to build the Belt and Road into a pathway to poverty reduction and economic growth, and contribute to common prosperity for all.”
The time is now for Africa to tap into these investments to actualise the mantra “Africa is rising.”
GNA