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| SSATP > RMI Update - No. 8 | |
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SSATP Work Plan 2004 - Road Management and Financing (RMF) Thematic Area Within the framework of the Long Term Development Plan (LTDP) for 2004-2007 adopted at the SSATP Annual Meeting in May 2003 in Kigali, the SSATP has developed a 2004 Work Plan for converting the objectives of the LTDP into concrete reality. The work plan has now been reviewed and agreed by the SSATP Board in October 2003 and the SSATP Management Team is currently in the process of drawing up a detailed implementation schedule for the various planned activities. Under the new SSATP "program approach", most of the activities planned under the 2004 Work Plan will fall under three priority thematic area, Road Management and Financing (RMF), Transport Services, and Regional Transport Facilitation. The actions within the RMF thematic area, for which a tentative budget of US$1,290,000 has been set for 2004, carry forward the core elements of the RMI agenda as set out in the renowned four "building blocks". In addition however, will be included a stronger focus on the management and financing concerns of the rural and urban elements of the road network, much of the work for which was formerly carried on under the RTTP and Urban Mobility components of SSATP. The new arrangements are intended to create a more holistic and more effective range of SSATP support to client countries implementing or about to embark on reforms to their road management and financing. The RMI will nevertheless continue to exist as a partnership of country coordinators and interested stakeholders and external partners for the implementation of the basic themes of RMI. The RMI Country Coordinators represent a key network of practice and experience in road management and financing whom we would expect to continue to be associated with the implementation of the LTDP. In this vein, the "RMI Update" will continue to be issued as one means of information dissemination, with particular focus on the RMF actions under the 2004 Work Plan. Indeed in this issue, progress reports are provided on some key interventions in the Work Plan. Subsequent, other issues of "RMI Update" will provide briefings on other actions in the same vein. For
further information, please contact Stephen Brushett
The New Africa Road Maintenance Fund Association In partnership with the SSATP was held in Libreville, Gabon in mid-December 2003, the first conference of the African Road Maintenance Funds. The conference, attended by about 20 SSA countries together with representatives of external partners, saw the formal creation of the Africa Road Maintenance Fund Association (ARMFA, or AFERA, the French acronym) with the adoption of statutes and a charter by the founding membership. The event also included a technical seminar which allowed for an exchange of experience of African road maintenance funds on the main following topics:
The SSATP has indicated in principle its interest in entering into a partnership with ARMFA. However, the objectives and the first year work program of the Association are not yet set out in detail. This is expected to be the subject of a forthcoming general meeting of the Association (likely to be held in Lomé, Togo, by April 22-23, in parallel to the AGEPAR meeting - see below). The
full Proceedings in English and in French are also available
on CD-ROM.
Road Fund Managers Contact List As a supporting exercise to this meeting, SSATP has helped compile a complete list of Road Fund managers in Sub Saharan Africa, this in effect being the core constituency of the new association. This list will be expected to help improve dissemination of information on Road Fund performance both to and from the country Road Funds. It is thus very important that the list is completed and any errors or omissions are corrected. Contact:
Meriem Tamarzizt
Road Fund Legislation Database A further support activity concerns the compilation of a complete database of all the legislation on "second generation" Road Funds currently operational in SSA. Thus, far information has been collected on 11 Francophone countries and 8 Anglophobe road funds, and a further 4 countries (Angola, Cape Verde, Mozambique and Rwanda) are in the process of being contacted. The purpose is to carry out a comparative analysis of the documentation as a means of disseminating useful information to member countries and external partners on the characteristics of existing Road Funds. It is intended to identify conclusions and recommendations to guide future design or modification of these Road Funds to improve performance. The SSATP intends to prepare a report together with the completed database for dissemination in the second half of 2004. Contact:
Meriem Tamarzizt
Further steps towards an SSATP-AGEPAR partnership During the Africa Road Maintenance Funds Conference, the President of AGEPAR (Association des gestionnaires et partenaires africains des routes - Association of African Road Managers and Partners) and the Division of Roads in Togo (host country for the next AGEPAR event) met the RMI team to discuss: 1. Concrete arrangements for the forthcoming annual meeting of AGEPAR which will take place April 22-23, 2004 as well as the potential financial and technical contributions of SSATP to the technical seminar to be held at this time in Lomé, April 20-21, 2004. Under the overall theme "Africa's Roads, Fifty Years of Service - Review and Prospects", the seminar will focus on the followings themes:
Contact:
Tchona Idossou 2. The broad lines of partnership agreement first mooted at the meeting in Yaounde in March 2003 as well as the specific activities to be undertaken during 2004-2005. Some of these activities have already been well established in 2003 - notably the preparation of a study on road tolls in SSA and the roll out of SOURCE both in its standards and the new "SOURCE PLUS" as a key tool for road network performance monitoring. 2004 is expected to see the launch of a new activity to support the dissemination of good practices and the development of standard documentation for performance-based maintenance contracting for which there has been some recent practical application in Chad.
Implementation arrangements for the partnership and for the specific activities for 2004-2005 will be firmed-up and agreed in Lomé. It is also expected to include the creation of a limited coordination function to ensure follow-up and continuity between AGEPAR formal gatherings and to stimulate the development of the different activities under the SSATP-AGEPAR partnership.
Contact:
Louis Fernique
The Roads Economic Decision (RED) Model - Version 3.1 Version 3.1 of the Model is now available. The changes and improvements introduced should enhance the usefulness of the model and increase the number of applications in SSA. A new page has been created on the SSATP Web site to facilitate access to the model and all relevant explanatory materials. To access the page, click here. In the 2004 Work Plan, the SSATP intends to support a significant effort to improve RED dissemination in SSA which will include specific training programs to be given in French and English to client countries during the second half of the year. A CD-Rom is under preparation as part of this effort. Contact for further information
Management and Finance of Roads, University of Pretoria, November 2-14, 2003 Further to the announcement of the program in RMI Update No. 7 - August 2003, the course was successfully carried out. The two-week program modeled on (a condensed version of) the renowned University of Birmingham Senior Road Executives Program was accredited by the Continuing Education Department, University of Pretoria. There were some 26 participants drawn one quarter from South Africa and the balance from nine Anglophone countries in Southern and Eastern Africa. Participants came from a range of public sector organizations, including road funds, road authorities and transport sector ministries, as well as from the private sector. The assessment of the value of the course and the specific content of the program was largely positive and indicative of a continuing, if at times latent, demand for this type of program in SSA. Contact:
Les Sampson The SSATP is currently reviewing arrangements for a possible repeater of this program to be held in eastern or southern Africa at some point later in 2004. We would be interested in sharing ideas you may have on location, timing or content before these plans are finalized. Contact:
Stephen Brushett
Upcoming Programs in Birmingham and Paris The Senior Road Executive Program at the University of Birmingham - in association with the consulting engineers Scott Wilson and Atkins will this year be given in three modules over the period April 19 to May 8, 2004. The application form is included in the brochure. RMI Member countries and others are strongly encouraged to consider sending suitable candidates to attend this training. In recent years, sub-Saharan Africa has produced the majority of participants - whether on an individual basis or in some years as part of a larger country-based team which has often helped in the implementation of key management and financing reforms. Various external partners, including IDA and the EU are prepared to support the course, the SSATP may also provide some funding on a last resort basis. Please
contact Emma Parsons for further information: For the second year, the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées (Ponts Formation Edition, Paris) will be offering an equivalent program to Birmingham one intended to French speakers. The basic module on Road Maintenance Financing and Road Fund Management will take place in Paris over the period June 23-29, 2004, and a new specialized 3-day module on Highway Maintenance Procurement will immediately follow. As for the Birmingham course announced above, various external partners including IDA and the EU are also prepared to support the course, the SSATP may also provide some funding on a last resort basis. The application form is included in the brochure. Pour la deuxième année, l'École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées (Ponts Formation Edition, Paris) offre un cycle de formation analogue à celui de Birmingham, mais destiné aux francophones. Le module de base portant sur le Financement de l'entretien routier et la gestion des Fond's l'entretien routier se tiendra à Paris du 23 au 29 juin 2004. De plus, un nouveau module spécialisé de 3 jours, consacré aux Marchés d'entretien routier, se tiendra immédiatement à la suite. Plusieurs partenaires externes comme l'IDA et l'UE soutiendront financièrement la participation à cette formation et le SSATP reste susceptible d'intervenir en dernier recours. Brochure et formulaire d'inscription Contact
Severine Beaunier for further information
Meriem Tamarzizt in the RMI Team
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