This study capitalizes on the results of the studies of the regulatory framework of road transport carried out in Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger, namely:
- The analysis of the road transport legislation in Benin and Niger prepared under the West Africa Trade Facilitation Programme (WATSAN).
- The analysis of the legal framework for road transport in Burkina Faso prepared in the framework of the UNCTAD sub-regional project on transit, transport and trade facilitation in West Africa for better participation in value chains.
Approach
Based on existing national studies on road transport regulation in Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger, this study proposes a regulatory convergence framework and implementation strategy based on the Niger model (Decree 2019-270) to regulate access to and exercise of road transport professions and intermediation, including professional road drivers.
With the objective of sub-regional coordination for the facilitation of trade, transit and transport between Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger on the corridors that cross them, it is important to note that such an objective cannot be achieved without a real regulatory convergence that allows trade and transport actors in the three countries to operate under harmonised conditions allowing the implementation of fair competition conditions.
Indeed, regional integration in the field of transport cannot be achieved without common rules for the organisation of professions and their operating conditions.
However, in order to determine a convergence framework, it is necessary to start from the situation of the sector in the three countries, and then, on the basis of international instruments and examples of best practices at regional level, to recommend convergence criteria and a strategy for their implementation.
