Urgent Call for Collective Investment in African Road Networks at AFERA's 21st General Assembly

IVORY COAST,AFRICA-During the 21st General Assembly of the Association of African Road Maintenance Funds (AFERA), held in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, leaders called for collective action to enhance the quality of the continent’s road network.

The assembly, themed "Towards sustainable financing of road funds for better maintenance of the African road network," highlighted the critical need for robust and standardized road maintenance funds across Africa.

The event was presided over by Ivorian Prime Minister Robert Beugré Mambé and brought together key stakeholders from across the continent. Ésaie Moussa Aubin, President of ARMFA, emphasized the need for all African countries to establish road maintenance funds that meet rigorous standards, similar to those of Ivory Coast.

"We aim to have a positioning at the level of the African Union where decisive actions are taken to ensure every member country has a road maintenance fund of a certain standard," Aubin stated.

Ivory Coast, with an investment exceeding $5 million for a linear road network of 82,000 km, serves as a model with one of the most extensive road networks in Africa.

Prime Minister Mambé outlined the scope of the nation’s roads, which includes 5,000 km of urban roads and over 200,000 km of unclassified rural roads, making up 40% of the West African Economic and Monetary Union’s road network.

The necessity for improved road infrastructure is underscored by a 2023 report from the Africa Investment Forum, which found that only about 55 percent of roads on the continent are paved.

Experts agree that the road infrastructure deficit increases production and transaction costs, hindering economic growth and scaling of opportunities across Africa.

This assembly marks a pivotal moment for transportation infrastructure development in Africa, as leaders advocate for a unified approach to fund and maintain roads that will support economic development and connectivity across the continent.