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MARITIME ORGANISATION OF WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICA (MOWCA) Sub-Regional Sectoral Integration - for cost effective maritime/transit transport services, high on safety, security, low on pollution |
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| REPORT ON THE TRANSIT TRANSPORT SYMPOSIUM, HELD IN ABIDJAN-COTE D'IVOIRE |
INTRODUCTION Within the framework of their cooperation policy, the Maritime Organization of West and Central African States and the European Union, decided to organize a symposium on transit transport in West and Central Africa as a follow-up to the one held in Mombassa (Kenya) as from December 14th to 16th 1999, for West African countries. The main objective of the symposium is to assess the evolution of transit transport in the sub-region, taking account of institutional, organizational, legal and customs related aspects, so as to allow, if necessary, the elaboration of an action plan geared towards the improving of the overall transport system. To this end, the issues dealt with by the symposium are three fold : - Transit by road ; Three main papers have been prepared by consultants, meant to set the scene for discussion : - a study on transit by road, presented by Mr. N'guessan N'guessan, Transport and International Trade Consultant ; These reports which are made available to participants in the symposium, are hereafter summarized, for the purpose of this important meeting.
1.1 Overview The study relating to road transit transport in West and Central Africa starts with an overview on international transport with a road link from the legal, institutional, technical and organizational viewpoints. 1.1.1 Transit corridors The study puts an emphasis on the transit corridors in the MOWCA geographical region by the means of : - the presentation of the physical state of the inter-states roads ; a) the trans - African road network - the West - East road in the hinterland, from Dakar (Senegal) to N'djamena (Chad) ; b) the opening up roads They are split into main and secondary roads : · Main roads /transit corridors - Bamako - Abidjan road (1,1184 km) ; · Secondary roads / transit corridors - Ouagadougou - Cotonou road (1,022 km) ; The links with neighboring countries : - Bamako - Conakry road via Bougouni (1,218 km) ; The study also provides information on an important continental road investment program, notably for the construction of the following : - Lagos - Mombassa transafrican road via Bangui ; This program equally includes the following road projects : - N'djamena - Massawa transcontinental road in Eritrea ; 1.1.2 Road transit related regulation Regulations into effect in the matter of road transit transport within the MOWCA region are defined at various levels and derive from basic international agreements : - within the institutional and multilateral framework, at the level of the "Conseil de l'Entente", ECOWAS, UEMOA and CEMAC ; All prescribed regulations put an accent on the freedom of movement of persons, goods, services and assets as well as on the protection of the national economic environment and more over on the integration of the transport system. These regulations are based on guidelines, rules and practices into effect and are applied to road transit traffics. In West Africa Many agreements exist among which : a) road agreements These agreements are generally meant to deal with : - norms in road traffic ; b) maritime and port related agreements Maritime and port agreements provide, inter alia, the following facilities to land-locked countries : - port concessions and related facilities ; In Central Africa The Summit of Heads of States of the Central African Economic and Customs Union adopted an action referenced as n° 4/96-UDEAC-11 -CE-31 concerning the enacting of a legal framework for the operation of multimodal inter-States transport of goods namely "Inter-States Convention on Multimodal Transport of goods". The objectives assigned to this convention are as follows : - development of multimodal transport services in the economic interest of transport operators and users ; The UDEAC Member states grant the freedom of transit to goods under multimodal transport process, according to the provisions of the "Central African Inter-States Transit Procedure", namely TIPAC in French. 1.1.3 Road transport policy within the UEMOA Two main decisions characterize the road transport policy followed by the UEMOA, in addition to the one set up by the ECOWAS : a) the special regime granted to crude products ;
At the institutional level - creation of national sub-sector committees, in the matter of transport ; With regard to road infrastructures - rehabilitation and fitting out of the overall regional road network by the states ; With regard to road transport - setting up of national transport observatories attached to Ministries in charge of land-based transport and granting of financial means so as to enable them to function ; With regard to road security - insertion of the teaching of the highway code into schools' programs up to high school ; While implementing a community action plan, member states can benefit from assistance if necessary from the Commission as well as from specialized institutions of the Union. Member states are invited to reinforce the role of the Commission of the UEMOA in the matter of consultation with foreign partners and coordination of infrastructure and transport programs implemented within the UEMOA territory. The UEMOA member states are invited to coordinate their national road policies within the framework of the Council of Ministers in charge of transport and civil works. The UEMOA Commission is charged with the follow-up of the implementation of this recommendation which comes into effect as from the date of signature and will be published in the Official Newsletter of the Union. It is to be noted that, likely the OHADA and to the contrary of the ECOWAS, regulations elaborated under the aegis of the UEMOA are automatically enforced and obligatory within the member states, notwithstanding any previous or subsequent conflicting national legislation (ref. article 6 of the UEMOA Treaty and art. 6 of the OHADA Treaty) 1.2 Recommendations International conventions Under the aegis of the MOWCA, UEMOA, ECOWAS and CEMAC, member states are invited to ratify international conventions which favor and enhance road transit transport. Otherwise, these institutions should adopt a common position capable of giving a boost to the functioning of transit transport through a tight involvement of each member state in the enforcement process of rights and obligations in this particular field. Multilateral sub-regional conventions Member states should preferably adopt multilateral community conventions (ECOWAS, UEMOA, CEMAC, MOWCA). Bilateral agreements should therefore be banned in order to avoid any equivocal interference. These conventions should be set up in the form of rules and their implementation be supervised by the High Court of the UEMOA or the CEMAC and by the existing Arbitration Chambers. In case such conventions appear to exist, it should be advisable to adapt and enhance them with regard to the new concepts, rules norms and practices into effect at the international level. This is true with the IST and IRST conventions which are being reformed within the framework of the UEMOA. The transport contract Likely the CEMAC, there is a need to adopt a community-based multimodal transport contract with a wide scope concerning general cargo within the UEMOA region, following the European Union which is experiencing six specific types of contract for : - cattle ; Each type of contract is backed by an international waybill putting in evidence the rights, obligations and responsibilities, cases of offences, related penalties and compensations… Transport insurance Each type of contract, be it general or specific should necessarily be assorted with an insurance contract covering transported goods. It is important to set up an insurance in the matter of civil responsibility, referring to the CIMA Code into effect in West and Central Africa. Disputes deriving from the implementation of the convention are submitted to the arbitration chambers and respectively to the Courts of the UEMOA/ECOWAS and CEMAC. Labor regulation It is recommended to institute a community-based labor regulation in favor of road truckers who appear to be the pivots of the road transit transport system. Incoterms in usage Usual Incoterms, relating to multimodal transport with a road link should be subject to annexes to the transport contract so as sensitize the users who do not consider enough the various constraints and dysfunction relating to the commercialization of their products. This situation has most to do with a misusage of the terms of contracts and Incoterms into effect. Truckers do not mind the constraints in delays which have a negative impact on the insurance contract. Regulation in the matter of competition in the field of road transport It is to be hoped that a community-base regulation be adopted in each sub-region (UEMOA -ECOWAS - and CEMAC), under the aegis of the MOWCA, in the matter of competition in the field of road transit transport as well as concerning all other modes of transport so as to harmonize the practices on the corridors. A professional Code of Conduct The professional Code of Conduct is aimed at defining and clarifying the purpose, the role, the functioning, interactions of existing national, sub-regional administrative and professional structures involved in the coordination and the operation of transit transport. By the way, interference and redundancy and other sources of dysfunction characterized by the impeding and penalizing check points, the cumbersome documentation, illegal tax collection, delays could be alleviated. The professional Code of Conduct could be more efficient within a community framework as the ECOWAS, UEMOA and CEMAC. Community actions The spirit which guides the West African Forum in the matter of the control of transport activities should be extended to the following areas : - road infrastructure and equipment on corridors ; Such information system should equally include the elaboration of a users' practical transport guide. Professional associations for the promotion of corporate interests as shippers' councils, road truckers, drivers, road transport users, forwarding companies, insurance companies, banks, should be reinforced and motivated. At the level of the MOWCA and within all sub-regions (UEMOA/ECOWAS and CEMAC), community actions and programs should contribute to the consolidation and enhancement of regional road transit transport. Road infrastructures It is advisable, while awaiting the setting up of a community system, that likely Ghana and Niger in the case of the CFER, an autonomous fund for road maintenance be created in each country. These funds, with the sponsorship of donors should be managed jointly by all operators involved in the transport process and can lead to the creation of a regional one for the financing of all activities relating to the community road patrimony. The fleet of vehicles The fleet of vehicles in the MOWCA area is characterized by a poor profitability and its development is hampered by the cargo sharing system and the imbalance in the cargo availability at both sides of the traffic. It is therefore recommended that : - a community policy for the access to car credit be put in place ; II. STUDY ON TRANSIT BY RAIL IN WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICA 2.1 Overview The study reveals that many years after their starting, railway projects in West and Central Africa have not yet reached the initial goals assigned to them : - in West Africa, the idea aimed at creating a nodal zone by laying out rail lines departing form Dakar, Abidjan, and Cotonou stretching up to and meeting in the loop of the Niger River seen as a crossing point between Maghreb and Black Africa is yet to become a reality ; - In Central Africa also, the land-locked countries namely the Central Africa Republic and Chad have not yet benefited in their territory from any railway section linking them to the line starting from Douala in Cameroon. The existing lines are characterized, in a more or lesser extent by their poor condition to the extent that in some cases, the rail has been superseded by the road. The study reveals, inter alia, the following unbalancing factors : At the level of infrastructures Financing problems and the high cost of railway infrastructures and rolling equipment have resulted, in most of cases, in a poor track maintenance and consequently in the precariousness of the day-to-day operation. Anyway the viability of the railway networks relies on the achievement of an appropriate investment program, capable of ensuring the rehabilitation of the infrastructure, the renewal and the enhancement and more over, the modernization of the equipment. At the institutional level The poor performance of the railway systems in the sub-region has to do with technical and financial difficulties which led, in most of cases to the privatization of the companies. The provisions contained in the concessions agreement meant to govern the relationships between the conceding authority and the concessionaire are not necessarily clear and unequivocal, thus giving room for misinterpretation problems. At the logistical level Steps have been taken at the international level in respect with trade and transport facilitation, among which the Advanced Cargo Information System (ACIS). ACIS is a logistic information system aiming at improving transport efficiency by enabling to obtain the positioning of cargo and land-based transport means, no matter the mode which is used - rail, road, inland waterways…- during the transport process and at the various interfaces - ports, inland clearance depots…- so as to collect information prior to the arrival of the goods. It also permits to provide both state-owned and private enterprises as well as ancillary transport services operators with reliable data in real time concerning their transport operations. ACIS enables the production of performance indicators which can help overcome the shortcomings which are noticed in the transportation process and contribute to the optimization in the use of available infrastructures. Over last years, ACIS has been set up and implemented in some UEMOA member countries, either transit and landlocked with a particular emphasis being put on railway transport, given the institutional facilities this mode of transport is provided with. Related modules are : - Port Tracker comprising sub-modules as Harbor Master for the harbor master's offices and Gate pass for the port exit permits ; 2.2.1 Railway interconnection For the time being, the most elaborated project of lines interconnection, aims at achieving the construction of the Kaya-Niamey section in one way and in another , linking Parakou (the actual terminus of the Benin - Niger line), to Kaya in Burkina. The extension works of the Parakou - Niamey - Kaya line are rather large scale ones, given the 1,075 km to rail. If the Cotonou - Lome segment was to be included in the project, only an additional hundred km of rail would be necessary, given the actual existence of a 60 km long railway between Aneho and Lome in Togo. The pan-African railway, which every one has been dreaming about, is now taking shape, with the achievement in a very close future of the Abidjan - Ouagadougou- Niamey -Cotonou - Lome line, which appears as an integrated project linking five ocean gateways i.e. the ports of Abidjan, Cotonou, Tema, Lagos and Lome. The Union of African Railways has earlier designed a much more "impetuous" itinerary, aiming at linking Africa to Europe through the Strait of Gibraltar, by the year 2025. The time has come for developing dynamic interlaced African railway networks projects to replace the existing mere parallel inlets. 2.2.2 Technical constraints The analysis of the different networks as carried out earlier, reveals that the railway operation in the sub-region is facing serious technical problems which hamper the quality of the service offered. Both motive power and towed equipment are concerned . The case of the Dakar-Bamako/Koulikoro line is an expressive example, as evidenced by the daily report made on the state of motive power and operational infrastructures as hereafter attached to this document. A vigorous policy for the renewal and maintenance of tracks and equipment ought to be designed and actually depends on the rules convened within the framework of the concession process. The lack or shortage of modern in-land clearing depots (ICDs) at either end, both in the transit ports at departure and in the hinterland, is also a factor of counter -performance. It is fortunate to notice that such infrastructures do exist and already function in Ouagadougou within the railway premises and in Bamako on the Korofina site. In this respect, the construction and up-grading of such logistic plat-forms at N'gaoundere at the transshipment point in the North of Cameroon are of a vital necessity. 2.2.3 Railway concession The reforms implemented mainly under the aegis of the World Bank within the framework of sector adjustment programs, precisely aim at breaking this vicious circle and bring the activity back into the area of productivity. To do so, the separation of the management of transport services, from that of the infrastructures is achieved through concession processes. Thus, the first category of services falls under the responsibility of the private concessionaire, while the second one remains the business of a patrimony entity acting as the mandatory of the conceding authority. This arrangement is the one applied to the case of the Abidjan - Ouagadougou/Kaya railway. In general, the concessionaire is responsible for the technical and commercial operation of the railway transport services as well as for the operation, the maintenance, the renewal and the development planning of the existing railway infrastructures. The concessionaire shall take the commitment to adopt a business-oriented policy and run the transport services within a context of competitive environment, and the state is borne with the duty to ensure this competition pressure by eventually limiting the concession periods. It is very important that the scope of the concession encompass - the framework for the operation of the railway transport activity ; As to the choice of, schemes of concession, they fall under the sovereign decision of the states which initiate the concession process. This is why the concession involving Burkina and the Côte d'Ivoire is by many aspects different from the one experienced in Cameroon where no patrimony administration company has been set up; the joint Mali - Senegal project as has dealt with earlier is likely to evolve towards another form of privatization where the respective national networks will remain under the management of the existing state-owned companies. 2.2.4 The evaluation of the ACIS Amongst the various mechanisms set up to ensure the follow-up of transit transport, the study pointed out the suitability of the Advanced Cargo Information System (ACIS). The advantages provided by the ACIS comprise inter-alia the following : - the possibility for staff members in charge of cargo shipment and for other operators along the transport chain to have access to detailed on-line information regarding the positioning of the transport means as well as those of the cargo ; Given its proven efficiency It is worth now assessing the functioning of the system in places where it is being experienced in order to determine the measures to be taken so as to ensure its optimization. 2.2.5 Regional strategy in the field of rail transport Railways contribute to the development of foreign trade and regional integration. In order to ensure the permanent efficiency of such a key role, they should be integrated in the overall transport system designed as a support to the trade policy and particularly to the promotion and the competitiveness of national products. Likely the other modes of transport, railways are to re-dimension their investments, re-invent other suitable forms of management and most of all meet the requirements expressed by the demand side which is more and more concerned about regularity as well as the costs and quality of the services rendered. The strategic action of a viable and integrated rail transport policy in the sub-region should allow : - the integration of the networks through interconnection schemes ; To do so, it is necessary that the conditions for a regional consultation be fulfilled through such appropriate structures as MOWCA, UEMOA, ECOWAS, UAR to mention but a few. It is indeed within the framework of such a consultative framework that the setting up and implementation of co-operation mechanisms can be achieved with the view to facilitate the transit of goods, ensure the complementary use of infrastructure and equipment, favor competition and up-grade human resources. 3.1. International and regional conventions 3.1.1 International conventions and regulations governing transit trade The study on customs procedures starts with a reminder of the international conventions and regulations into effect within the framework of transit trade facilitation. - The 1923 International Convention for the Simplification of Customs Practices - The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, (1947 GATT) - The 1950 Brussels Convention on the Establishment of the Customs Cooperation Council, - The 1956 - 1972 Customs Convention relating to Containers - The Convention on the Carriage of Goods under the cover of TIR carnets - so-called 1959 - 1975 TIR Convention - The 1965 New York Convention on Transit Trade of Landlocked Countries - The IMO Convention on the Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic - so-called 1965 FAL Convention - The International Convention on the Simplification and Harmonization of Customs Regimes, so-called KYOTO Convention (1973 Customs Cooperation Council, ) - The 24th May, 1980 United Nations Convention on International Multimodal Transport of Goods, so called MT Convention - The international convention on the harmonization of the controls of goods at the borders, EEC/UN, 1982. - The 1984 New York Convention on the Law of the Sea. - The 15th April 1994 Agreement instituting the World Trade Organization (WTO), so -called the Marrakech Agreement These various international conventions clearly state the will of the international community to : - contribute to a substantial reduction of customs tariffs and other bottlenecks to the exchange process and to the elimination of any discriminatory measure in the matter of international trade ; Following such directives, international conventions recognize inter alia the following : - the right for land-locked countries to benefit from the advantages offered by the sea ; 3.1.2 Regional conventions and agreements The study on customs procedures also goes back to the conventions and regional agreements, with a particular emphasis on the ISRT Convention adopted by the ECOWAS member states in Cotonou, on the 29th May, 1982. The ISRT carnet is a transit carnet which aims at facilitating the movement of goods under customs bonds on the ECOWAS community territory,. The ISRT Convention is meant to : - Avoid the multiplication of customs procedures in the transit countries ; Until 1999, the implementation of the ISRT Convention has remained fragmentary. Some of the member states implement the convention with just a national coverage. - Benin, Mali and Togo have adopted and put in place the ISRT carnet ; However, it is important to note that, inspired by the international conventions on facilitation and simplification in matter of transit trade, landlocked and coastal countries have signed bilateral agreements based on the commercial common sense. As a matter of fact, the competition between seaports in one hand and the necessity for the diversification of maritime accesses in other , have led the different partners to come up with such agreements. The relations between landlocked and coastal countries are basically governed by these bilateral agreements with more or less fortune. 3.2 Customs procedures The analysis of the various customs transit procedures reveals a series of bottlenecks which hamper the development of transit trade : 3.2.1 At the national level - the lack of professionalism from the customs clearing agents ; 3.2.2 At the inter-states level - the non-implementation of the ISRT Convention, due to the absence of a guaranteeing mechanism and vehicles certification system ; From the port of Abidjan to Niger, the goods are carried under successive customs regimes materialized by the following : - A D25 declaration in Côte d'Ivoire ; In addition to the long lasting timeframe generated by such a situation, are the costs associated to national procedures. - Customs escorts, are irregular and too slow, thus impeding the movement of goods in transit. 3.2 General recommendations 3.3.1 At the level of the states a) The need for the states to ratify the relevant international conventions International conventions relating to the simplification and harmonization of customs formalities, as presented in part I of this report, provide practical and tangible elements for those states planning on developing their commercial trade. Fortunately, it appears to this regard, that many of the provisions included in these conventions are already integrated into the national customs regulations of each ECOWAS member state. In order to give them more power at the international level, these international conventions need to be rapidly ratified by the member states of the Community. b) Information and sensitization of all concerned parties on the international, sub-regional and regional measures. The organization of seminars, forums, symposiums, television shows are necessary for the sensitization of the actors involved in international trade (those from the private sector as well as from public administrations) on the provisions contained in the multilateral and bilateral conventions dealing with transit trade. c) Training and upgrading of customs agents, freight forwarders and truckers There is a need to go beyond the current qualification of these professionals and instruct them on technical requirements as well as on transport of goods under customs bond and other procedures related to transport and transit. This is true to the extent that regulations have a lot to do with human practices when it comes to their actual implementation. Achieving the simplification, the up speeding and the securing of transit transport of goods, require the setting up of new mechanisms which imply qualitative changes that can only be performed through the conduct of an adequate specific training program. d) The setting up of national facilitation committees The missions assigned to national facilitation committees are as follows : - Identify the difficulties and bottlenecks on the maritime transport chain ; Each member state of the Community should set up its own committee for the purpose of sensitization and awareness on the concerned matters; The basic legal instrument of reference for such committees is the 1965 FAL Convention. e) Setting up of a one-stop-shop for the required formalities It is urgent need to ensure the effective implementation of a one-stop-shop for the inspection of goods and vehicles once out of the customs bond area. This one-stop-shop for formalities which will also serves as an information center charged with the responsibility of displaying in easily readable block letters the following: - A step by step description of the customs procedures ; f) The need to strengthen the standards of qualification of brokers and freight-forwarders The conditions for the access to the profession are clearly defined in the respective national regulations of all ECOWAS member countries. Provisions for withdrawal also exist. 3.2.2 At the regional level The need to foster the cooperation between the customs administrations in the landlocked countries and other parties concerned with the clearing of the goods in transit A more fluid and secured road transit traffic is subordinated to the quality of professional relationships between the main actors involved in the processing of the transit trade traffic flows. To this end, the setting up of an appropriate dialogue forum is crucial for many reasons as : - The fostering of the cooperation between the customs administrations ; The implementation of a single regional customs document The states should refer to the United formula for the purpose of the implementation of a unified customs declaration formula in the sub-region. Such decision will be a starting point for the elimination of cumbersome customs procedures, which are costly and time consuming for transit goods.
Conditions to be met, with regard to the ISRT convention require that technical inspection centers be set up at the level of administrations charge with land-based transport supervision with a view to take account of the poor state of the flee t of vehicles and ensure the security of goods. It may be suggested for instance that used vehicles be brought up to the ISRT standards before being allowed to move within ECOWAS. Engineers in charge of technical inspections can easily agree on the main organs of the trucks that have to be submitted to the inspection. The setting up of a computerized system for the management of transport itineraries The UNCTAD has elaborated and is implementing the Advanced Cargo Information System, namely ACIS. ACIS is a logistic information system aiming at : The ACIS offers many advantages for the improvement of the conditions of transit trade and is a precious tool useful for the access in real time to anticipated information on the movement of goods. It is then recommended that regional organizations together with UNCTAD carry out a feasibility study in view of the implementation of the ACIS in the West and Central African sub-region for a better monitoring of the movement of goods. 3.4 General conclusion The study recalls the various international and regional conventions and makes a description of the customs procedures governing the transit transport on the corridors. Bottlenecks are progressively identified and solutions to overcome them are suggested. The main causes of dysfunction that have been recorded are : - The lack of awareness about the basic provisions contained in the international and regional conventions ; The consequences of such shortcomings are : - The redundancy in the customs formalities between the states ; Recommendations made by the Consultant are as follows : · Reconsideration of the international and regional conventions governing transit transport at both the administrative and private levels ; - the implementation of a unique caution ; The study has revealed the central place and importance of the ISRT convention in the resolution of the problems affecting transit transport in West Africa. Transit trade will remain a Calvary for the shippers in the sub-region, unless : Tant que le TRIE ne sera pas un document unique de couverture des marchandises, tant que les cautions resteront nationales, tant que les normes exigées pour assurer la sécurité des espaces douaniers des Etats de transit ne seront pas respectées, le commerce de transit restera toujours une activité pénible pour le chargeur |
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