TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATION

Transport is the activity of moving people and commodities from one place to another.

Communication is the process of relaying information from one person to another, or

from a group to another.

Factors influencing transport and communication

1. Physical Factors
a) Relief – Where features like mountains, escarpments, hills and valleys exist it
is difficult and expensive to establish modern transport lines like roads and
rail through them.
b) Earth movements like warping, faulting, folding, vulcanicity have destroyed
existing transport and communication lines. Frequent maintenance is required
because of the unstable crust.
c) Climate – Equatorial regions receive long rains hence many bridges are
washed away. Roads become impassable due to flooding. Intemperate
latitudes roads and rail are covered by snow and ice in winter making them
impassable. They have to be cleared which is expensive.
2. Political factors - Governments normally decide on modes of transport and
communication to develop in a country. This is because construction of roads
and rail is very expensive. Political instability like wars destroy already existing
infrastructure.
3. Economic Factors – Tarmac roads are normally constructed in highly productive
and densely populated areas. This is because it would be economically viable
due to a high demand and supply of goods.
4. Technological factors - Technologically developed countries set up electric rail
systems which are advanced and very fast.

Modes of Transport
Land Transport
It involves various means like roads, rail, pipelines, human portage and animal
transport.

Road Transport
It involves movement of goods and people by motor vehicles e.g. cars, matatus, lorries,
buses and trucks. There are a variety of roads e.g. foot paths, motorable tracks, loose
surface dry weather roads, loose surface all weather roads and tarmac roads. Road
transport can be classified into passenger road transport (movement of people) and
freight transport (movement of goods). Passenger transport vehicles are constructed to
provide comfort and safety to passengers. Their operations are governed by the Traffic
Licensing Board (TLB). They are also known as Public Service Vehicles (PSV). Freight
vehicles provide more space for goods and can be specialized e.g. refrigerated trucks
and oil tankers.

Major Roads in Africa

The main continental highways in Africa include:

● The Great North Road. It connects the towns of Cape Town and Cairo through
Kenya, Tanzania, Sudan and Ethiopia.
● The Trans-African Highway from the port of Mombasa to Dakar in Sierra Leone
through East and Central Africa.
● The Trans-Saharan Highway from Lagos to Tripoli through Algeria.
● The Dakar-Ndjamena Highway through Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria and Chad.
● The Highway from Lagos to Nouakchott through Ghana, Guinea, Sierra Leone
and Togo. This highway is constructed along the West African coastline.

Advantages

● It is easy and relatively cheap to construct compared to railways. Different

categories of roads can be connected to form a network.
● It is the cheapest form of transport for people and goods especially over short
distances.
● It is the most flexible form of transport. It is possible to deliver goods door to
door. It has different categories thus can rech areas where other forms of
transport cannot.
● Roads can be built and repaired in stages while still in use.

Disadvantages

● Roads are expensive to maintain.

● They are expensive to transport bulky goods if the distance is long.
● Traffic jams are common in urban areas especially when it rains.
● Road transport is affected by robbery of goods and carjacking especially in towns
and along steep or lonely stretches.
 ● Perishable goods cannot be transported by road if the distance to be covered is
long.
● Many road accidents occur which bring heavy loss of life and property.

Problems facing road transport in Africa

● Insecurity in some countries makes road construction difficult. This affects the
flow of goods and passengers.
● Some countries have not constructed their sections of the Great North Road,
therefore it is difficult to move from one country to another.
● Some highways pass through areas that are sparsely settled or have few
economic resources. Construction is therefore uneconomical.
● Many road accidents occur bringing loss of life and property.
● Inadequate capital to invest in roads as other sectors e.g. health, education have
to be considered.
● Some countries drive on different sides of the road making it difficult for drivers to
get used to different laws on different roads.
● The weight allowed to be transported on roads, varies from one country to
another, making it difficult for traders to adjust their trailer loads.

Problems facing the Trans African Highways

● Political differences between the countries which hinders movement of goods

and people.
● Civil wars in different countries interfere with proper maintenance of the highways
and interrupt free flow of transport services.
● Some countries charge high tariffs at border posts thus increasing transportation
costs.
● Volume of trade has reduced due to delays caused by numerous border
bureaucracies of screening and vetting goods and passengers.
● Insecurity and loss of goods on transit due to banditry and smuggling making
highways unsafe.

Advantages of roads over air transport

● Vehicles are cheaper to buy and maintain compared to aircraft.

● Flexibility of vehicles than aircraft i.e. Provide door to door service.
● Construction of roads and parking is cheaper than construction of airports
 ● Skills required for operating and maintaining aircraft are higher and rarer than
those required to operate motor vehicles.
● Fare and freight charges on roads are lower than those of air transport.

Railway Transport
There are few trans-continental railway lines in Africa e.g. the Tanzania-Zambia Railway
(TAZARA) which connects the Zambian copper belt to Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania.
There is very little network linking various African countries. This is because:

● African countries were administered by different colonial countries who

constructed railway lines in their areas of jurisdiction.
● Many African countries have different political ideologies which have created
mistrust and hostility.
● African countries produce similar goods, thus there is little interstate trade
therefore there is no economic justification for construction of transcontinental
railway lines.
● Insufficient capital- since most countries are poor, railway construction is
expensive.
● Different African railways have different gauges and are therefore difficult to
interconnect.
● Natural barriers like deserts, swamps, mountains, rift valleys and forests pose
engineering problems.
● Civil war like in DRC, Rwanda, Sudan, Angola and Burundi also present security
risks.

The 3 main railway lines in Africa include:

● The Tazara railway line (TanZam Railway) which runs from Kapiri Moshi in
Zambia northeastwards to Dar. It was built mainly to assist in export of
landlocked Zambia’s copper.
● The Trans-DRC Railway which links the mineral rich Shaba province of DRC to
the Atlantic Ocean. It connects Banana to Matadi.
● The Trans Cameroon Railway which links northern Cameroon from Ngoundere to
the Atlantic port of Doula. It mainly transports cattle which avoid the tsetse fly
southern lands. It has also helped to boost agriculture.

Advantages
 ● It is the cheapest means of transporting heavy and bulky goods over long
distances.
● Where trains are electrified they are a fast means of moving large numbers of
people into and out of cities especially during peak hours and they occupy little
space.
● Railways are cheap to maintain.

Disadvantages

● It is slow compared to road and takes long to reach destinations.

● It is very expensive to construct railway especially in areas of hilly terrain.
● It is expensive to buy and maintain trains. This is why many trains are found lying
idle in most railway stations due to poor maintenance.
● Railway stations require large pieces of land for their construction which may not
be available due to demand for agriculture and settlement.
● It is difficult for trains of one country to use the rails of a different country. This is
because the railway gauges differ from one country to another.

To make running of railways cheaper and more competitive, governments have taken
drastic measures:

● Reduction in the number of long distance services which are often unprofitable.
● Closing down of many uneconomical lines.
● Construction of single gauges along routes where gauges are varied.
● Use of electric trains for long distance passenger travel to increase speed and
thus compete favourably with road transport.
● Replacement of steam power with more efficient diesel oil to run trains.
● Use of lighter coaches to improve speed and reduce weight of wagons.
● Provision of special services for passengers like air conditioning and restaurants
especially on long distance trains.
● Use of containers o speed up rail freight service thus reducing packing
operations.

Water Transport
This is the movement of goods and people on water i.e. on rivers, lakes, seas and
oceans.

Water vessels include canoes, dhows, boats, ferries and ships. Water transport is
divided into inland waterways and oceanic waterways.
Inland Waterways

River Transport
Rivers are major forms of transport where roads and rail are poor and nonexistent.

Most rivers in their natural state do not make good modern routes due to the following
reasons:

● They flow across empty and inhospitable lands where they are of little economic
significance despite their great length and volume.
● Rivers like the Amazon flow over sparsely populated areas while others tend to
meander across their flood plains making the distance much longer than a similar
journey over land.
● Few rivers are navigable over their entire length e.g. there may be waterfalls,
rapids and cataracts.
● Many rivers are too short, too shallow or too swift to be used for navigation e.g. in
Japan and Indonesia.
● Many rivers freeze in winter e.g. in Russia the rivers Volga and Ural which freeze
for 5 to 6 months. Others fluctuate in volume when their head waters freeze.
● The largest rivers are usually subject to siltation especially near the mouths e.g.
R. Paraguay

River transport is not well developed in Africa due to the following reasons:

● Most rivers are seasonal and therefore the water levels fluctuate making it hard
for the vessels to sail.
● Presence of waterfalls and rapids along the river courses making it difficult to
navigate.
● Some rivers flow through areas of low economic value e.g. the Congo forest,
Sahara and Kalahari deserts. These have limited human activities due to low
populations.
● There is a high siltation in the lower courses of most rivers, making their
channels to be shallow.
● Some of the rivers are infested with crocodiles and hippos that disrupt navigation.
● Some of the rivers contain huge rocks and boulders on their beds.

Advantages of water transport

● It is a cheap mode of transport for bulky goods over long distances.

 ● It uses existing routes e.g. rivers, lakes and oceans and thus does not require
much capital to establish.
● It is normally not affected by congestion as waterways are large.
● Delicate goods are easily and safely transported by water.

Disadvantages of water transport

● In higher latitudes, some seas freeze during winter making it hard for the vessels
to sail.
● It is a very slow mode of transport and thus not suitable for perishable goods.
● Ports and harbours are expensive to construct and maintain.
● Inland waterways such as rivers and lakes may have obstacles like sandbars,
falls, rapids which act as barriers to navigation.
● Most navigable rivers, lakes are found in regions of low economic value.
● In case of an accident e.g. in the ocean, losses are usually high as the vessel
and goods may sink and passengers drown.
● Sea vessels contribute to water pollution as most of their wastes are thrown into
the sea.

Problems facing water transport in Africa

● Lack of political co-operation between various states in Africa especially where

they share a common waterway.
● Most countries lack adequate capital to establish navigation systems especially
the construction of modern habours and ports.
● Some ports are not fully utilized and therefore only hold small volume of cargo.
● Insecurity in the oceans where pirates steal and attack ships.
● Sea storms and strong sea waves interfere with navigation.
● Most rivers have rapids and waterfalls which affect sailing. Construction of canals
and bypasses is expensive.
● Vegetation growth on rivers and lakes interferes with navigation. Weeds in Lake
Victoria disrupt movement of ships and boats.

Canalised Rivers

These are rivers that have been improved to enable them to be useful for transportation.
There are various ways of canalizing rivers:

● Dredging to remove the accumulated silt thus making them deeper.

 ● Construction of dams and barrages which hold back water giving the river greater
depth.
● Stabilization of river banks to prevent the channels from shifting.
● Straightening the river course to reduce the delay caused by meanders.
● Circumnavigating rapids along rivers by short stretches of canals linking
navigable waters.
● Overcoming minor differences in the levels of the lakes and rivers by locks which
hold back water to deepen the channel.

Canals

These are specially constructed water channels for use by ships and boats.

Advantages

● They can be built where no natural navigable water exists thus providing cheap
water transport.
● They are not subject to natural hazards like seasonal fluctuations in depth and
floods because the flow of water is controlled.

Disadvantage

They are expensive to build and maintain.

Examples- pg 149 -150 Karrugah

Lake Transport
Lake Victoria is the largest inland water mass in East Africa. It has encouraged the
growth of the following ports: Kisumu, Jinja, Entebbe, Mwanza, Bukoba and Musoma.
Small ships and boats carry goods and people. In Kenya transport services are
provided by the Kenya Railways Marine Services.

Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania is also used for transport. It serves Tanzania, Burundi,
DRC and Zambia. Its ports include Kasanga and Kigoma in Tanzania, Bujumbura in
Burundi, Mpulungu in Zambia and Kalemie in DRC.

Others in East Africa include Lakes Chad, Malawi and Albert.

Oceanic Transport
This is the movement of goods and people by vessels travelling on oceans and seas.
The vessels carrying capacity is greater than both land and air vessels. As oceans
occur naturally, transport costs are low making this transport the cheapest means for
bulky goods. There are different kinds of vessels e.g. passenger ships which are also
called cruises lines; cargo liners which carry both goods and passengers and move at
slow speed and cargo ships which specialize in carrying of goods only. The latter
normally have no fixed schedules and charge low freight rates.

Containerization

This is the act of packing goods in standardized containers made of steel. Goods are
packed and sealed by the exporter. The seal is only broken by the recipient.

Advantages

● They are strong hence offer protection to fragile goods.

● They attract low insurance premiums because of reduced risk of theft and
damage of goods
● Add more from Karrugah Page 147

Disadvantages

● Materials used to make containers are expensive, which increases packing and
shipping costs.
● Use of containers is limited to areas with proper handling facilities.
● Where containers carry goods of more than one exporter, there are high risks of
loss when unpacking.
● The rigid structure makes them unsuitable for goods with irregular shapes.

Ocean Shipping Routes

The six major shipping routes are:

● The Atlantic Sea Route- linking western Europe and eastern North America
● The Mediterranean-Asiatic Sea Route- running via the Suez Canal from Western
Europe to Asia
● The Panama Canal Sea Route- which shortens the distance between the Atlantic
and Pacific coasts
● The Cape of Good Hope Sea Route- which Serves Africa, Australia, New
Zealand and S.E. Asia
● The North Pacific Sea Route- which serves Japan, S. Korea, Hong Kong and
Singapore
AIR TRANSPORT AND PIPELINE TRANSPORT- refer to Karrugah
Role of Transport and Communication in the Economic Development of Africa

● The development of transport facilities enables the transfer of raw materials from
the areas of production like mines and farmlands to factories for processing.
● Movement of processed products from industries to markets including distribution
is done efficiently and with ease.
● Creation of employment- The population of an area provides market and labour
like drivers, mechanics, engineers and journalists. Others are employed in TV
stations and radio stations.
● Expansion of Trade Areas- Expansion of transport and communication opens up
new trade areas and markets and encourages mass production and more
extensive trade.
● Tourism- Transport and Communication help promote internal and domestic
tourism. E.g. tourists travel from Europe, America and Asia by air. Others by sea
routes. Others use air balloons to view scenic areas.
● Dissemination of information- The government uses media like T.V, radio and
newspapers to inform people on important news like environmental conservation,
flood prone areas and diseases like HIV/Aids. This helps improve people’s way
of life.
● Revenue- Transport and Communication systems are economic ventures to
people and governments as they generate a lot of revenue.
● Development of Urban Centres- Some towns develop along major highways
while others develop at road junctions as Makutano. Towns like Eldoret, Voi and
Mtito Andei have grown along main roads.
● Promotion of National Image- In some countries national airlines help promote
the image of countries e.g. Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airlines and Nigerian
Airways.

Problems facing Transport and Communication in Africa

● Difficult Terrain like rugged scarps, steep escarpments which make it difficult and
expensive to construct roads and rail. Rivers have obstacles like falls and rapids
which are not navigable.
● Harsh environment e.g. deserts like Kalahari and Sahara. These block and bury
transport and communication lines. They also have low population densities and
therefore construction is uneconomical. Lake Turkana which is navigable is
located in an area of low population density and has no significant economic
activities thus lake transport is not developed. Other harsh environment is thick
 tropical rain forest. Where there is undergrowth, it is thick and the trees are
gigantic and therefore difficult to clear. Forests are humid and facilitate pests like
mosquitoes, tsetse flies which cause diseases. Snakes are also a problem.
● Non-navigable rivers- due to fluctuation of water levels caused by seasonal
rainfall. Other causes are rock out crops, waterfalls and rapids.
● Inadequate communication facilities and high cost of accessories like satellite
and internet facilities. People therefore cannot communicate.
● Civil War- Communication lines like roads, rail and telephone facilities are usually
targets during civil war.
● Colonial Heritage- Communication lines served colonial masters thus railway
gauges are different in different countries hindering regional transport.
● Landlocked countries- Those with no sea ports have to rely on neighbours
increasing transport costs. If neighbouring countries are at war alternate routes
are very expensive.

Solutions to problems

● Construction of Highways- These are designed to improve transport and increase

the volume of international road traffic. They are constructed in stages and each
country constructs its own part.
● National Airlines- Many African countries have established their own National
airlines to ease air transport problems. New air ports have been constructed e.g.
Eldoret Airport in Kenya and Kilimanjaro Airport in Tanzania.
● Establishment of Satellite Communication facilities- There are several radio and
television boosters all over the country. Fiber optic facilities have also increased
the speed of the internet.
● Establishment of regional trading blocs- These are to create conditions
favourable for improving transport and communication.
● Construction of Transcontinental railway lines- These are similar to the highways
and join various countries e.g. TAZARA.