Policies

This page provides information of rural transport policies and strategies for 8 countires: Tanzania, South Africa, Kenya, India, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Peru, Madagascar.

Tanzania

The policies for rural transport and access in Tanzania are contained in section 6.0 of the National Transport Policy. This section is titled “Rural Transport Policy Directions”. The policy covers a number of key issues such as community participation, gender mainstreaming, capacity building and private sector development in rural areas, and streamlined institutional arrangements with local government as the key coordinating body. One of the key programme outputs of Tanzania rural transport policy is the Village Transport and Travel Programme (VTTP). VTTP is being implemented in several districts in Tanzania

South Africa

The National Land Transport Strategic Framework (NLTSF), 2006-2011 embodies the entire spectrum of land transport strategies. The Rural Transport component is contained in page 7, or section 2.12. Non-motorised transport issues are contained in page 8 or section 2.15. There are other strategies, programmes and legal acts that have an important bearing on rural transport in South Africa. These include:

For more information also visit:

http://www.transport.gov.za/projects/msa/msa.html
www.transport.gov.za/projects/msa/msareport/

Kenya

The Integrated National Transport Policy is the overall transport policy framework for the Government of Kenya. Rural Transport issues are articulated in page 9, under the title Rural Transport. The policy recognises rural areas as where the majority of the population resides with only 2% motor vehicle ownership. Issues of non-motorised transport are articulated in section 1.2.10. The policy objective set here is to develop regulatory guidelines to streamline the operations of non-motorised transport, and in particular to enhance their safety and efficiency.

India

India’s rural transport policy principles are anchored mainly in the rural access programme known as Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY). This programme was launched in 2000 with the purpose of providing all-weather access to unconnected settlements. PMGSY s a 100% Centrally Sponsored Scheme. An important strategy for PMGSY is to ensure convergence with other ongoing programmes in the health, education and rural income sectors. Benchmarks for measuring changes in key social and economic sectors are integrated into detailed PMGSY projects.

Inland water transport is also given prominence in a policy report on the Integrated Transport Policy of 2001. The report emphasises the need for safety interventions and providing proper infrastructure to enable seamless interface with surface transport.

Bangladesh

The rural transport policy directions are contained in the National Land Transport Policy of 2004, issued by the Ministry of Communication. The policy objectives are as follows:

Cambodia

Under the Ministry of Rural Development (MRD), the Government of Cambodia has been implementing a national rural roads programme. Though no formal rural transport policy exists in Cambodia, the Rural Roads Programme has been working within a draft rural transport infrastructure policy. The policy includes a number of policy statements on issues such as rural road ownership, management responsibilities, financing road maintenance and construction, choice of technology, planning and prioritization of maintenance works, and monitoring standards and specifications. Some of the key innovations in implementation of the draft policy include:
Establishment and strengthening of the Village Development Committee (VDC). These are considered the building block of rural development infrastructure. VDCs are grassroots rural development institutions capable of mobilizing the potentials of the villages to create conditions to ensure the sustainability of rural development projects with direct participation of villages.
Community-Based Committees for Rural Infrastructure Maintenance: The MRD encourages the establishment of Road Maintenance Committees that can guarantee continued maintenance of roads using Labour-Based Appropriate Technology (LBAT), which focuses on the existing resources and potentials at the grassroots level, such as labor, material and skills.
Application of Integrated Rural Accessibility Planning (IRAP); the MRD uses the IRAP as the tool for guiding their rural roads investment programme.

Currently, there are efforts to upgrade and formalise the policy under the aegis of SEACAP 6. The foreseen vision of the new policy is: “Every person living in rural Cambodia will have year-round access to basic needs, economic and social facilities, services and opportunities” the goal has been stated as “to efficiently develop and manage sustainable rural transport infrastructure, modes and services.” Specifically the policy is expected to facilitate:

Peru

Rural Transport Policy objectives in Peru have been implemented in the context of Peru Rural Roads Programme (RRP). The policy objective is to improve access for poor rural populations to basic social and economic services and income generating activities through the provision of a dependable system of rural roads. The programme also aims at piloting an intermodal transport system in the jungle regions that would improve access in areas where river transport plays a key role. In addition the programme aims at the policy objectives of increasing the capacity of municipal governments to manage and finance routine maintenance.

The programme seeks to optimise development effectiveness and sustainability through community involvement, with a particular emphasis on gender inclusion

Madagascar

The rural transport policy and strategy (available in French) was approved in 2001. The policy sets out strategies for:

For the promotion of intermediate means of transport and rural transport services
The rehabilitation of the rural road network
The financing and management of the rural road network and
The creation of a unit responsible for the oversight of the implementation of the policy.

Rural Transport is defined to include rural transport infrastructure (including roads [all but national and urban roads], paths, rivers, coastal transport, railroads and rural air strips) as well as means of transport.

Proposals for the promotion of IMT include (i) the provision of micro-credit through existing credit facilities; (ii) promotion of bicycles, mainly through an importation tax cut; (iii) promotion of animal traction through user information sharing. Within this project component it will be tried to create a national networks of users, producers and promoters. This network in turn would be linked to existing international networks.

Other references

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