Instability adds to costs of West African logistics

Freight would be flowing more freely in and out of West Africa were it not for instability brought about by population growth, political tensions, mismanagement and drugs. These risks all raise the costs of providing logistics for the countries in the region, which have some of the highest population growth rates in the world. According to a report issued by the UK House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Niger and Chad have the world’s highest fertility rates (7.6 per maternity-age female in Niger), “with Mali and Burkina Faso not far behind”. If trends continue, it is estimated that by 2050 most of these countries’ populations will have more than doubled. Nigeria’s will be 440 million, making it the world’s third most populous country. West African countries have recognised the security challenges. In May 2014 John Dramani Mahama, president of the Republic of Ghana and current Ecowas (Economic Community of West African States) chairman, called a meeting of heads of state to “review the security situation in the region, particularly in Northern Mali and Northern Nigeria, as well as the political situation in Guinea Bissau”. While the meeting condemned incidents of terrorism, kidnapping and hostage-taking in the affected countries, it could offer few practical solutions apart from calling for talks between the warring parties. According to the West Africa Commission on Drugs (WACD), the region’s combination of “political instability, unemployment and corruption” is proving increasingly attractive to those trafficking cocaine and heroin from South America and Asia into Europe and the US. Companies moving freight from the region into Europe and the United States can, therefore, expect the cargo to be delayed for thorough inspection. The WACD report – “Not Just in Transit: Drugs, the State and Society in West Africa” – notes that the area has also become a producer and exporter of synthetic drugs such as amphetaminetype stimulants (ATS), which are not only consumed in the region but also shipped to south-east Asia. The commission says the growing presence of drugs and drug money risks undermining the economic and political stability achieved by West African countries that have only recently emerged from years of conflict and violence. Logistics companies opening up offices in the region would need to heed the warning that there is a rising human cost as “more West Africans take drugs, exacerbating public health problems such as HIV and hepatitis C”. On the plus side the economies of West African countries are among the fastest-growing in the world. There is a rapidly increasing demand to move project cargo, bulk cargo, fast moving consumer goods, agricultural produce and more. Shippers and logistics companies stand to benefit from the boom – or suffer major losses if they do not recognise the risks. INSERT Logistics companies stand to benefit from the boom — or suffer major losses if they do not recognise the risks.