Opening roads in the Democratic Republic of Congo
30 October 2008
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the size of Western Europe. Yet this immense country possesses less than 1,000 kilometres of metalled roads. By contrast, the UK has over 47,000 km of main roads alone.
Of DRC’s 10 provincial capitals, only one is accessible by road from the capital, Kinshasa. Communications between urban and rural areas are frequently non-existent.
Now DFID is working to improve the links between the country's cities, towns and far-flung villages. By opening up new roads, trade is being boosted - and poor people are reaping the benefits.
An arduous journey
Currently, with almost all roads in DRC impassable even to four-wheeled vehicles, most trade in DRC is done by bicycle. Bicycles are loaded with up to 500 kilograms of goods and pushed huge distances between markets by "pedalleurs". Due to the extremely hard conditions they are exposed to, these pedalleurs have an average life expectancy of just 35.
One such pedalleur is Tshibambe Maluku. Married with two young sons, he lives in Kabinda, a town around 150
km outside the diamond mining city of Mbuji-Mayi in South Central DRC.
Each month Tshibambe travels from his home, carrying a mixture of manufactured
goods (lotions, powdered milk sachets, razor blades) and pedals or pushes his
bike along dilapidated dirt roads to Kalemie on the shores of Lake Tanganyika,
1,000 km away. This is equivalent to pushing a heavily-loaded bicycle from
London to Newcastle and back!
After selling these goods he loads his bike with over 100 kg of dried and
salted fish for the return trip for sale in Kabinda. Each leg of this arduous
journey takes him about two weeks, averaging 70 km a day.
Tshibambe makes about £150 profit from each trip, most of which goes to his
family. But he reinvests a part of it in goods to be carried by other pedalleurs.
Over the years he has built up enough surplus stock to now have five pedalleurs
working for him doing the same journey.
Tshibambe hopes that one day the roads will be improved sufficiently for goods
to be transported by truck. This
would dramatically reduce the time taken per leg from two weeks to two to three
days. And it would reduce the cost of transport by up to 10 times.
New routes for trade
As part of its commitment to improving DRC's road network, DFID recently initiated a project which should help Tshibambe and millions like him. "Pro-Routes", which is the product of close collaboration between the DRC Government, the World Bank and other donors, will co-ordinate funding to reopen, and keep open, 3,000 km of the country's most important roads.
Built around a new national road reconstruction strategy, the project will put social and environmental concerns at the heart of road rehabilitation. This means that people like Tshibambe will be able to grow their businesses and, in doing so, provide more affordable food and other essentials to poor people across the whole of the country.
Facts and stats
- DFID will contribute over £75 million to Pro-Routes over the next five years, along with a World Bank contribution of £25 million.
- The Pro-Routes Trust Fund was launched in July 2008 and will run for 10 years.
- The Pro-Routes Trust Fund is designed to allow further contributions from DFID, the World Bank and other donors leading to a harmonised approach, lower transaction costs and a common and sustainable approach to road rehabilitation in DRC.
- Since 2004, DFID funding has opened 800 km of roads in DRC and generated over 1.5 million days of employment for Congolese people.
Links
- Trading for Peace - Read about a DFID project that looks at the role trade can play in peace-building and poverty reduction in the Great Lakes area
- How we fight poverty: Trade
