Towards a Central Africa Trade Facilitation Strategy: The intra- regional Logistic agenda BBL – September 29 th 2011

Starting point: current portfolio of activities in Central Africa Institutions Monitoring and diagnostic GatewayLand-link Inland terminals CEMAC TTFP (World Bank component of FASTRAC) Support to Customs Road Safety Diagnostic studies and project indicators Logistics zone for transit cargo Infrastructure s and ICT Support to Customs in landlocked countries CEMAC TFF Trade agencies Support to GUCE CEMAC Transit Regime SSATP Public private dialogue Corridor Observatories European Union Road observatory Infrastructure Support to Customs TFF Road Safety CEMAC Roads Code Road crash data for commercial freight Operators efficiency

The lenses to review the portfolio: the corridor analytical framework From a shipper’s perspective, efficiency of supply chains is measured by three dimensions: – Prices – Time – Reliability But all three are symptoms revealing dysfunctions in complex interactions between all the components of the chain There is need to adopt an analytical framework which enables disentangling the causes of the inefficiencies so that the roots of the problems can be treated

The Corridor Analytical framework Trade corridor components: – Maritime gateway – Land transport link – Inland terminals At each stage, physical operations and documentation process are influencing each other’s efficiency Overall coordination of the corridor components requires a monitoring framework, and dialogue between stakeholders Land-link Institutional Environment Inland Terminal Monitoring & Evaluation Gateway

The main identified symptoms on Central Africa supply chains (1) Gateway: – high delays at the gateway (up to 20 days in the port of Douala) – Inadequate facilities (access conditions for Douala and Matadi, both river ports) Land-link: – Road transport industry organization not conducive to efficiency (alignment on worst performers, resulting in very high transport costs) – Superposition of layers of control by border agencies (GPS tracking, guarantees, bonds)

The main identified symptoms on Central Africa supply chains (2) Inland terminal: – Inadequate facilities resulting in long immobilization delays for vehicles – Coordination of Customs processes over countries and transit regime Coordination of the corridor: – Fragmented, no adequate forum to engage stakeholders, and not sufficient capacity among stakeholders to participate effectively – Lack of performance monitoring framework

Gateway: Physical operations Port and terminal facilities – Capacity and efficiency deficit has been addressed through significant involvement of private sector in the development and / or management of port facilities Interface with land transport – Terminal facilities under development, but need to address also the capability of transport operators (rail and road) Physical interventions of border management agencies – Essentially a coordination issue to minimize unnecessary handling to access cargo due for inspection – Promoting non-intrusive inspection method (such as scanners) over physical inspection

Gateway: Documentation process Gateway process Port authority and operator Border agencies (Customs, etc.) Shippers and trading community Logistics service providers Trade auxiliaries Two main issues for gateway operations: – Efficiency of the agencies and operators Port authority and port operators Border agencies (Customs, SPS, Ministry of Commerce, etc.) Logistics operators – Coordination of the role of the various agencies and operators

Gateway: Documentation process challenges and status Efficiency of operators Border management agencies: – Customs modernization and reform programs yielded significant results – Other border agencies did not benefit from equivalent support Freight forwarders and shippers: – Need to raise awareness on responsibilities of shippers and clearing agents in delays – Additional capacity building required Coordination The trend has been to establish Single Windows for gateway processes: – GUCE in Cameroon, starting in 1999 from a physical single window and evolving towards an IT platform, to manage ICT flows between operators – Single window in DRC established in 2003, built on the Customs automated system ASYCUDA However, limited improvement, requiring revisiting the coordination

Land-link: Challenges Operator efficiency: Rail Road Reduction / elimination of interferences (illicit controls) Physical movement Coordination of border agencies within and between countries The stronger the transit regime, the lighter the controls and procedures ‘en route’ Documentation process: Transit regime Challenges: – Improve the efficiency of the transport operators to reduce costs – Reform transport industry to ensure cost reductions translate into price reductions – Implement transit regime

Land-link: Efficiency of road transport Intimately linked to the market structure of the road transport industry: – regulation of entry without minimal professional and technical requirements – freight allocation mechanisms which prevent competition The program for reform is straightforward: – Regulate entry to road transport industry (vehicle, drivers and operators standards across the region) while managing transition – Open access to freight (liberalization, transport contractual arrangements) However, conditions are not yet met for reform: – Need to analyze the political economy of the sector – Need to analyze impact of economy and operators – And more importantly, need to build consensus for reform

Land-link: Documentation process – Transit Regime Current status (Pilot on Douala Corridors): – Multiple layers of control (bond, guarantees, GPS tracking) Revised Transit Regime adopted but not implemented: – Addressing Regulatory issues (mutual acceptance of guarantees and interoperability of bonds, release conditions) – Supported by enabling ICT infrastructure (Connection of Customs) Identified gap: – Actual implementation on the pilot corridor (Cameroon, Chad and CAR) – Integration of DR Congo in the CEMAC Transit Regime

Inland terminals: Challenges and status (1) Inland terminals are the mirror of maritime gateways, at the other extremity of the corridor Current challenges correspond to: – A lack of adequate facilities for physical operations – Combined with inefficiencies in the final clearing process Situation differs between river inland terminals (Brazzaville, Kinshasa and Bangui) and land terminals (N’Djamena notably)

Inland terminals: Challenges and status (2) Identified gaps: – Quick-fix solutions (facilities developed by private sector under BOT scheme) raise concerns about implication on impact on total logistics costs – Exploiting the large potential of mining resources requires specific attention to ensure accessibility at competitive conditions

Identified gaps versus ongoing programs Areas coveredGaps on Douala corridorsGaps on Congo River Basin Maritime Gateways Port Facilities expansion (Douala and Pointe-Noire) Electronic Single Windows (Douala and Matadi) Customs capacity building Port restructuring in DR Congo Coordination of role and mandate of the various trade agencies in DR Congo Land transport link Transit Regime CEMAC Road safety Transport public enterprise restructuring in DR Congo Road transport sector reformRailway restructuring in Congo Infrastructure development Inland terminals Private sector development of dry ports Regulatory framework to address monopoly / competition issues River ports

Proposed time frame to address the identified gaps Short-term: extension of scope of existing activities Mid-term: consensus building for reform Maritime gateway Coordination of border management agencies through e- GUCE Capacity building for logistics operators (versus border agencies) Capacity building for logistics operators and shippers Inland transport Implementation of CEMAC transit regime Connections of Customs (IT and also tracking systems) Road transport reform Integration of DR Congo in CEMAC transit regime Inland terminals Improving final clearance process Regulatory environment for private sector participation in facilities development Development of adequate facilities (land and possible river terminals)