South Africa's freight transport involvement options in Sub-Saharan Africa : declining infrastructure and regulatory constraints
Date
2008-12
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
Abstract
Although global changes like political security, depletion of natural resources,
energy supply and global warming are affecting all continents; Africa struggle
the most to cope with these changes. This is due to the many historical
impediments that Africa still has to overcome. Examples of these impediments
are the negative effects caused by civil wars, poverty, poor infrastructure and
a lack of skills.
Providing reliable, effective and efficient infrastructure underpins all attempts
to facilitate trade, grow the economy and reduce poverty in Sub-Saharan
Africa (SSA). SSA transportation related infrastructure is limited and generally
in a poor condition. This poor state of transport infrastructure impedes SSA's
development. However, it is not only the state of the infrastructure that
challenges Africa - complicated customs and administrative procedures and
inefficiencies when goods are handled at terminals and transferred from one
transport mode to another also impede its potential for economic growth.
In spite of these limitations, the SSA economy has been growing. As many as
28 countries (out of 48) in SSA recorded improvements in growth in 2006 and
2007. This growth was underpinned by improvement in macro-economic
management in many countries, and a strong global demand for key African
export commodities (sustaining high export prices, especially for crude oil,
metals and minerals). Greater flows of capital to Africa, debt relief and
increasing trade with the developing Asia have also helped increase resources
and lift growth across SSA. The strong economic growth in the region also
reflects the institutional improvements, structural reforms, and more rigorous
economic policies that have started to bear fruit in many countries.
Description
Thesis (MComm (Logistics))--Stellenbosch University, 2008.
Keywords
Transport infrastructure, Freight transport, Regulation, Economic growth, Sub-Saharan Africa, Theses -- Logistics, Dissertations -- Logistics