Governance of Transport Corridors in OIC Member States:
Challenges, Cases and Policy Lessons
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The ministry of Works and Transport (MoWT) is funded both by the Ministry of Finance, Planning and
Economic Development, and by donor contributions. The MoWT has a few “parastatal bodies under its
supervision” among which the Uganda National Roads Authority, the Uganda Railways Corporation
and the Uganda Road Fund. In the last case the MoWT “provides political and operational oversight”
together with the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development.69 For the environmental
impact of the plans surrounding the corridor, the designers of the Master Plan have been given advice
by Atacama Consulting, a “leading environmental consultancy firm based in Kampala, Uganda.” (ERM,
2016).
There are several (inter- or supra-national) players involved in regional cooperation. Though not all
are directly involved in the governance of the corridor, it is important to mention them.
The first is The East African Community (EAC). A “regional co-operation that comprises the Republic
of Tanzania, Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda. Under the EAC, a number of common transport and
communications programmes and projects aiming at simplifying transport and communications in the
region are being developed.” Then there is COMESA, a “regional organization, based in Lusaka, Zambia.
[…]. Under COMESA, transport corridors are a key focus of trade facilitation in the region and are
viewed as a solution to the challenge of fragmentation among countries in the region by providing the
much needed facilitation; particularly for landlocked countries like Uganda.” Then there is the African
Development Bank (AfDB); “a regional multilateral development finance institution established to
contribute to the economic development and social progress of African countries” (among which
Uganda). They support transport development in Africa, among other things. There is the Trade and
Markets East Africa: “an East African not-for profit Company Limited by Guarantee established in 2010
to support the growth of trade - both regional and international - in East Africa. TMEA is focused on
ensuring gains from trade result in tangible gains for East Africans. TMEA provided input on theMaster
Plan formulation by being part of the technical and the Steering Committees at Ministry of Works.” The
Central Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency (TTFA) “was formed in recognition of the right
of landlocked countries to transit trade […]. Through co-operation amongst private and public sector
stakeholders the TTFA is charged with the promotion of transport utilisation of the Central Corridor,
encouraging the maintenance, upgrading, improvement and development of infrastructure and
supporting service facilities at port, rail, lake, road border posts and along the route to meet user
requirements, ensure open competition and reduce the costs of transit transport for land-locked
Member States of which Uganda is among.”
There are also institutions fromoutside Africa that play a part inmanaging the corridor. We mentioned
that Uganda and Kenya sought out the help of the Japanese government. They found that help in Japan
International Cooperation Agency (JICA), a government body that coordinates development assistance
for developing countries. They provide both bilateral and multilateral aid. In the case of the Northern
Corridor, this agency is responsible for the Master Plan (both devising and implementing). The
European Union also provides both bilateral and multilateral help (ERM, 2016).
Infrastructure: Financing, planning and programming
As we have seen, the Ministry of Work and Transport gets most of its funding from the Ministry of
Finance, while the rest is provided by donors.70 The investments in the transport sector have the
highest priority for the Ugandan government. From the government’s self-assessment report: “The
increased spending on transport while reducing spending on social sectors signals a structural
adjustment in which government considers eliminating transport infrastructure bottlenecks a
mechanism of enhancing Uganda‘s economic development outcomes.” “Uganda‘s road network has
been improved over the last decade with prioritization of highways (especially the EAC Northern
Corridor) and the connectivity to South Sudan. This has been under the EAC infrastructure
development framework to which Uganda is a key player.” (APRM, 2017).
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