SSATP > RMI Update - No. 1 | |
RMI Update No.1 - March 2001 As of September 1, 2000, Stephen Brushett
has assumed responsibility as Team Leader for the Road Management Initiative.
A UK national with senior degrees in Economics and Business, he has
worked in various aspects of economics development for 22 years, including
18 years with the World Bank Group. Stephen has worked in about 25 different
African countries in that time, including resident assignments in Lesotho
and Zimbabwe. He speaks French and some Portuguese. Since 1996, Stephen
has been an integral member of the Africa Transport team with country
responsibility for Zambia and Malawi as well as with special focus on
road management and financing issues. In the interest of an open and
collegial work environment, you are invited to contact him at sbrushett@worldbank.org,
telephone 1-202-473-4153 for further information on the program or suggestions
and comments you may have. Coordinating
Committee Meeting
The 15th Annual Coordinating Committee Meeting is set for May 16-20, 2001 to be held in Saly, Senegal. Official invitations to the meeting together with administrative arrangements were mailed out as of April 6, 2001. The meeting objectives are: to take stock of reforms to date; to plot the way forward on further reform and improved implementation; to explore possibilities for better integration of the RMI and RTTP effort for the management and financing of roads; and as a consequence, to define the future role for country level and region wide coordination for both programs as well as the future support that should be provided from the center. Coordinators are reminded to prepare country reports according to the format attached to the invitation letter and return them by May 7, 2001 latest at the following address: nchimuka@worldbank.org Publications update * Road User Charges Model, Africa Transport Technical Note No 28 * Introducing the RMI Road Sector Database, Africa Transport Technical Note No 29 * Forecasting Vehicle Fleets in Sub-Saharan Africa Countries, Africa Transport Technical Note No 30 * Implementing Second-Generation Road Funds Lessons Learned, Africa Transport Technical Note No 31 * Reforming Road Management in Sub-Saharan Africa: Overcoming Obstacles to Implementation, Africa Transport Technical Note No 32 * Assessment of Selected Road Funds in Africa, SSATP Working Paper No. 51 Three more publications are under way and will be available before the end of June 2001.
Zambia host workshop on Role and Operations of
National Roads Boards*
The overall majority
of the participants (85%) indicated in the written evaluation questionnaire
that while they felt the workshop objectives were not fully met, it largely
measured up to their expectations. It appears that most think the workshop
should have included a third day which would have given room for more
time per session, to more detailed deliberations on financial issues including
widening of the revenue base, a comparative analysis of reforms being
undertaken in Africa, and perhaps an opportunity for more extensive site
visits. Some noted that better prior notification on workshop agenda and
procedures could have contributed to make some workshop proceedings more
effective. The majority of the participants rated the quality of handouts
papers and other material (included in the summary of proceedings) as
excellent. Roads Economic Decision (RED)
Model Workshop for Lusophone Countries hosted by Cape Verde*
From December 11 to 14, 2000, under the RMI program, a four-day hands-on training course was delivered on the Roads Economic Decision Model (RED) as well as a presentation on the Highway Development and Management Model (HDM-4). The course was very well received by all the participants who expressed their satisfaction on the ten course evaluation forms. Using a scale from 0 (deficient) to 5 (excellent), the quality of the subject received a grade of 4.8, the quality of the instructor a grade of 5.0, and the overall satisfaction with the course a grade of 4.8. The general comments praise the course as well as the initiative to hold these types of courses. The suggestions for course improvements indicate that some participants felt that the course could have been longer in time. When asked what support they would need to apply what was learned, they indicated that they would need a) a databank of road network characteristics, b) written materials in Portuguese and/or French, c) support from a good information analysis, d) a copy of the HDM-4 model. The participants indicated that they have learned a) the basic concepts for the economic evaluation of road investments, b) what is needed to check if an economic feasibility matches reality, c) the elements needed for a network evaluation, d) the structure and organization of a network database, and e) the definition of strategies to maintain a road network. One of the reasons that the course was well received is that the instructor
arrived in Cape Verde some days before the course and, with the assistance
of the staff of PIT (Programa de Infra-estrutura dos Transportes), prepared
two case studies based on real data from Cape Verde, which were used during
the course. The first case study referred to a project economic evaluation
that evaluated a project (Sao Domingos - Assomada) in the route to the
Tarrafal town, where the course was located, and that all participants
visited. The second case study referred to a network economic evaluation
that evaluated all the road network of the Santiago Island, defining the
proper level of service of each road class. For more information on the RED model you are kindly referred to Africa Transport Technical Note No. 18. The RED model version 2.0 is available on this website under Publications. Questions may be addressed to rarchando-callao@worldbank.org Tanzania benefits from
Contractor Development Mission and LTAP Program Allied to this effort the FHWA with the assistance of RMI is seeking to extend the concept of the Transportation Technology Transfer Center - which have been established in most states in the USA - to Sub-Saharan Africa. A center already exists in Tanzania while others are at an advanced stage of establishment in Malawi and Zimbabwe. The centers are expected to become focal points for training and dissemination of knowledge regarding road maintenance management, inter alia but limited to the use of technology to increase the effective usage of local contracting skills. As in the USA, the centers are conduits for a Local Technical Assistance program (LTAP) through which FHWA is providing technical and financial support. A delegation from Tanzania visited USA in July-August 2000 to find out more about LTAP and how this might contribute to the development of the road sector. The visit included participation in the LTAP National Conference held in Boise, Idaho. If interested in further information from the user perspective, you are directed to the RMI Country Coordinator for Tanzania, Mr. Willy Lyatuu contactable at rmitz@raha.com. Further information about the LTAP and future assistance from the Federal Highway Administration should be directed to Al Logie, Technology Assistance Engineer to be contacted at: Alfred.Logie@Fhwa.Dot.Gov. Back
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Pilot Survey on RMI Vision - Field work completed, report
to be tabled In response to concern expressed at the previous RMI Annual Coordinating
Committee Meeting in December 1999 about the responsiveness of the program
to emerging needs in the road sector in Sub-Saharan Africa, a pilot exercise
has been carried out to obtain country stakeholders' views on the RMI
vision and strategy, and of indicators of progress in implementation and
impact. The objective of the exercise is to enable RMI to more effectively
facilitate implementation of policy and institutional reforms and more
appropriately monitor progress and achievements. A number of RMI member
countries - Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe
- were selected to take part in this exercise with a view to extending
the process to the other countries at a later stage with the benefit of
the lessons learned from the pilot exercise. A consulting team comprises
Messrs. Mike Pinard and Severin Kaombwe has been appointed to carry out
the exercise. Field work involving visits to the countries, extensive
interviews with RMI stakeholders and completion of questionnaires and
the preparation of joint aide memoires on each visit has been completed.
It is anticipated that a final report will be produced - after incorporation
of RMI Program and country coordinator comments on the draft version -
by mid-April. It will be discussed as will the follow up action required
at the 15th RMI Annual Coordinating Committee Meeting in May.
For further information, kindly contact the RMI Team Leader via sbrushett@worldbank.org |
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