Trucks in Africa as fast as a horse and cart

Poor infrastructure and red tape
have slowed truck transport
speeds in Africa down to the
speed of horse-drawn carts.
Ineffective linkages between
different transport modes (air,
road, and rail), declining air
connectivity, poorly equipped
ports, ageing rail networks, and
inadequate access to all-season
roads are the key problems
facing Africa’s transport system,
according to a new World Bank
study “Africa's Infrastructure: A
Time for Transformation”.
It adds that “limited
competition in the trucking
industry keeps road freight
tariffs unnecessarily high, while
red tape along international
trade corridors keeps the
movement of freight below 12
kilometres an hour – as fast
as a horse and a buggy – even
though truck speeds can be
60 km/hour”.