SADC transport efficiency

The project, to be implemented through grant agreements with the Government of Mozambique as SADC representative, will consist of two components: policy analysis assistance for the Southern Africa Transport and Communications Commission (SATCC); and design of a Rolling Stock Information System (RSIS). The policy analysis component will finance five advisors to help the SATCC Technical Unit in Maputo to shift from SATCC"s past focus on developing infrastructure projects to a new orientation on policy and regulatory reform. The advisors will introduce computer-based transport policy models to the Unit and provide on-the-job training. Expected outcomes are: (1) formulation of a policy agenda for SADC"s surface transport system; (2) detailed analyses and design of specific policies regarding, inter alia, pricing and investment, road taxation, vehicle axle weight, transport regulations, labor redundancy and retrenchment, and railway restructuring and privatization; and (3) establishment of a regional transport data base. To help ensure that a coordinated policy exists among SADC member states, the project will include a Policy Development and Implementation Support Fund to strengthen linkages between regional policy analysts and national-level policy makers. The Fund will support: workshops and seminars on policy and regulation issues; TA and training in policy reform strategies and transport modeling; TA to parastatal transport enterprises in restructuring and privatization; and specialized analytic work needed to resolve regulatory bottlenecks. The second component will fund a needs assessment and detailed systems design of a RSIS for SADC railways. The assessment will examine rail telecommunications capacity in the region, the numbers of railyards needing service in each railway, the nature of existing systems, and the technical sophistication of each railway. The project will also promote the need for a regional RSIS among national railway managers. The needs assessment/system design will be used by USAID, SATCC, and the SADC railway administrations to decide whether or not to proceed with development of the RSIS. If the decision is yes, the project will be amended to implement the RSIS first in three countries and then throughout the SADC.