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| SSATP > RMI Update - No. 7 | |
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RMI/RTTP Coordinators Interim Meetings The Coordinators Interim Meetings took place as planned in Nairobi, April 3-4 and in Dakar, April 10-11, 2003. (See Minutes below). Minutes
of the Nairobi-Dakar Meetings Total attendance was 39 persons (representing 21 countries) of whom 20 were RMI or RTTP Coordinators. The meetings were successfully employed as a forum in which to facilitate comments on the Long Term Development Plan for SSATP as well as develop proposals for the 2004 Action Plan, both of which were expected to be finalized in Kigali in May 2003. The meetings were intended to demonstrate that for all practical purposes the RMI and RTTP have converged and are working together to promote the vision of SSATP as it applies to road management and financing. In this light, an "RMI-RTTP Manifesto" outlining the heads of agreement for the two programs was thrashed out and agreed. RMI-RTTP
Manifesto This document is expected to serve as a basis for an SSATP commitment statement which in future will commit all member countries to a commonly agreed transport policy framework. RMI welcomed at this time new members from Gabon and Niger. The governments of these two countries have indicated that they are implementing road management and financing reforms in line with RMI principles and that they have each appointed an RMI Coordinator to manage the process. The total number of sub-Saharan African countries formally adhering to the RMI is now 19.
Interaction with PIARC - A presentation on Road Funds in Senegal On behalf of RMI, Louis Fernique was invited to make a presentation on the experience with "second generation" road funds at a PIARC, the world road association, held an International Seminar on Roads and Integrated Transport in Dakar, April 7-10. The meeting was organized by the Technical Committee 4 on Interurban Roads and Integrated Interurban Transport, and was intended firstly as a venue for technology and information exchange, focused on African participants, but also as a preparatory event for the World Road Congress to be held this year in October in Durban, South Africa.
An RMI mission visited Cameroon in May 10-17for the two-fold purpose of (1) carrying out a Tariff and Traffic workshop for the Road Fund (RF) Board and its close partners; and (2) attending a workshop supported by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) which brought together a wide range of stakeholders. Each of these successive and essentially linked events was intended to help prepare the ground for the proposed restructuring of the Road Fund and the strengthening of its resource base (separating the RF fuel fee from the general fuel tax, etc.), as well as with the creation of an investment window administered by the Road Fund, to be funded separately under a special debt reduction arrangement with the AFD. For
further information, contact Louis Fernique A further RMI mission visited Chad in June 9-20 which involved a participation in the Bank review mission focused on road fund performance and position towards its partners and parent ministry, and the experience in progress with performance-based contract maintenance. This mission has helped to refine some of the course material for ENPC course, given that the Chad Road Fund was intended to be featured as a case study. The work of the mission was informed by a recently completed consultancy study which has looked extensively at the financing requirements for road maintenance and assessed the sources available in the new context of the start of oil extraction and the repercussions for the national budget. A Tariff & Traffic workshop will take place in N'Djamena in mid-September to build on these bases. For
further information, contact Louis Fernique
RMI, AGEPAR and the Road Fund Association - Two important new partnership arrangements emerging RMI participated in the annual meeting of the Association of African Road Directors - Association des directeurs africains des routes (ADAR) and the joint technical seminar on Road Maintenance Funding and Organization in Yaounde, Cameroon at the end of March, as had been the case for the preparatory meeting held in the same place in mid-December 2002. An important decision was taken to broaden the partnership to include other key public and private sector players in road management - hence the decision to rename ADAR "Association of African Road Managers and Partners" - Association des gestionnaires et partenaires africains de la route (AGEPAR). The revived organization is very keen to conclude a formal partnership agreement with SSATP through RMI and presented its ideas in this respect at both the Dakar and Kigali meetings. This partnership should cover the following action themes, some already in progress: innovation in road maintenance contracts; mobilization of local small and medium scale enterprises (SME) and consultant capacities; road performance monitoring; and assessment of road toll experiences. Presentation
AGEPAR In the margins of this meeting, some important progress was achieved in regard to setting up an association of road fund managers. The representatives of the road funds of a number of Francophone countries (Cameroon, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Guinea and Mali) met in Yaounde and now plan to have a launch meeting for the association in Libreville, Gabon in October 2003. A copy of a presentation made by the Gabon Road Fund Manager on the association idea at Kigali is attached below. Presentation
AFERA RMI intend to support this specific event and foresee the possibility of the association - to include both Anglophone and Francophone road fund managers - becoming a major future conduit for information exchange and capacity building in road financing. For
further information, contact Louis Fernique
RMI presents Africa Road Fund experience in Birmingham Stephen Brushett participated in the Road Fund Management and Road Financing Module of the Senior Road Executives Program at the University of Birmingham in June 16-20. There were about 24 participants in the training of whom half from sub-Saharan Africa including participants from the following countries: Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. The University of Birmingham will be producing a CD-ROM of the proceedings which will include course notes and copies of all presentations. For information on this and the other modules of the program, contact Stephen Brushett sbrushett@worldbank.org Presentation
on Africa Road Fund
performance
A first Francophone training for senior executives in road financing at the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées (ENPC) The inaugural French language program on Road Fund Management and Road Financing was held at the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées (ENPC) in Paris, June 30-July 4. 33 participants attended largely from sub-Saharan Africa, with large delegations from Chad and Madagascar, as well as participants from: Benin, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Gabon, Guinea, Mali, Senegal and Togo. The training was very well received. This probably presages refinement and expansion in future years in view of the strong demand for the training. ENPC is producing a CD-ROM of the proceedings, which will include copies of all presentations made. For
further information on this and on program evaluation and participants'
list, A presentation
on the road tolling in two African countries Two
presentations on Chad A presentation
on the Road Fund in Ghana
RMI supports new senior training initiatives in South Africa RMI together with the World Bank, the University of Birmingham and the South African National Road Agency Ltd. are supporting a course on "The Management and Finance of Roads" which is to be held in November 2-14, 2003 at the University of Pretoria. The course is being mounted in response to demand from Anglophone member countries for more opportunities to be made available at reasonable cost which will help deepen the generation and dissemination of knowledge on reform formulation and implementation in sub-Saharan Africa. Course Brochure and Registration Form For
further information contact Pat Loots
IRF Contract maintenance announcement The International Road Federation (IRF) will again this year be running its Executive Seminar on Contract Maintenance in Orlando, Florida (USA), October 19-29, 2003. This program, which is supported by the World Bank, is highly relevant to client countries who are in the process of implementing road management reforms following RMI principles. Seminar Brochure and Registration Form For
further information, please contact Tung Dong
Torben Larsen returned
to Denmark in early July at the completion of his two-year assignment
with RMI. His many contributions have been appreciated by the RMI team
in Washington as well as by the many RMI Coordinators and country teams
with whom he worked. The work on the Performance Assessment Model (PAM),
for the genesis of which he was largely responsible, will continue and
it is intended that there will be further improvements in the quality
and usability of the tool as well as selected country support in the coming
year. Further details will be communicated in the next update when it
is intended to unveil the proposed 2004 Work Plan. |
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