The African Development Bank (AfDB) participated in the Africa Transport Policy Program (SSATP) Annual Meetings from February 20 to 24, 2017 in Marrakech, under the theme "Aligning Africa Transport Policies with the Sustainable Development Goals." The meeting brought together 150 delegates from 31 African countries, who shared perspectives on best practices on road transport.
High-level panel discussions, which included the participation of seven Ministers of Transport and representatives of international organizations, highlighted the importance of political commitment and engagement of policy makers at the highest level for implementing appropriate trade facilitation instruments. The other important elements that was stressed include the significance of timely and sustainable infrastructure investment and the importance of the human dimension in making corridors successful. The specialization of stakeholders, including truckers, port operators, customs agencies, logistics, and warehousing was stressed. The need to adopt and enforce strategic regulatory frameworks and laws was underlined. Deliberations also stressed on building adequate human and institutional capacity to foster efficiency; the importance of appropriate technology in fostering regional integration; the need for inclusive stakeholder participation and coordination and the importance to reform border systems.
The Bank contributes US $0.9 million to the SSATP program 2015-2018, with a global budget of US $15.7 million. The meeting was an opportunity for the Bank Group take stock of the SSATP progress and to disseminate its sector knowledge products on transport corridors, transport facilitation in West Africa (focusing on the links between Senegal and Guinea) and upcoming studies on Ports and Urban Mobility Guidelines.
The annual meeting reviewed in detail the progress on the regional integration, urban mobility, and road safety pillars of the SSATP's Third Development Plan (DP3). The DP3 continues to foster knowledge creation, advocacy, and dissemination with programme member countries to make transport safe, resilient and sustainable.
The AfDB team was led by Jean Kizito Kabanguka, Division Manager, Infrastructure, Cities and Urban Development Department, and included Hassanatu Mansaray, Senior Policy Officer, Strategy and Operational Policies Department; Pierre More Ndong, Principal Transport Engineer, the Morocco Field Office; and Stefan Atchia, Principal Transport Policy Specialist, Infrastructure, Cities and Urban Development Department.
