River transport #on Congo-Central African Corridor to resume in June
Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) - River transport on the Brazzaville corridor in Congo and Bangui in the Central African Republic (CAR), vital for trade between countries, is expected to resume from 10 June, the coordinator of the Economic Interest Group and the Joint Waterway Maintenance Service (GIE-SCEVN), Alexis Dekoïsset, announced in the Congolese capital on Tuesday.
According to him, the means available to the operator in charge of the waterways maintenance are limited this year to ensure the fluidity and safety of river navigation.
As a result, waterway marking operations began this year with a slight delay.
A buoy tender left Brazzaville on 21 April for Ouesso, via the Congo River and the Sangha River in the north of the country.
After this stage, it will go up the Oubangui River to Bangui, Dekoïsset said.
More than half of CAR's fuel needs and other basic necessities pass through the river.
With the coronavirus health crisis and the reduction of subsidies for the maintenance operator, the coming months and years will be difficult for this sector.
The GIE-SCEVN coordinator is giving the reassure despite the concerns.
"The coronavirus pandemic has an impact on work. We were 10 days late before we started the campaign in late April. The first step was to equip crew members with protective equipment and to seek to mobilise financial resources. At the moment, our teams are only working with the bare minimum in terms of fuel and marker consumables," Dekoïsset explained.
The marking campaign is a long-term job that lasts several weeks.
As the buoy tender goes up the river, it issues a notice to navigators allowing river users, including shipowners and boat crews, to resume navigation.
For example, as soon as the buoy tender has finished its work in Ouesso and Mossaka, traffic can resume on these two river sections.
The difficult preparation of the 2020 shipping season is reigniting the debate on the financing of the activities of the Joint Waterway Maintenance Service, an interstate structure created in the 1970s by Congo and CAR.
Since the 2007 reform, changing the structure into a GIE-SCEVN, the two countries have committed to funding inter-state water maintenance activities.
Unfortunately, financial contributions arrive in bits.
The interstate structure has received financial support from the Development Bank of Central African States (BDEAC), which will enable it to renew its fleet, to acquire consumable equipment and engines.
Procedures for the payment of this grant are slow, which does not facilitate the smooth running of the GIE-SCEVN activities.
"We will reiterate our request for assistance from the authorities of both countries so that the route can serve the Hinterland of Congo and CAR. As things have left without support the coming years are going to be very difficult for the waterway," Dekoïsset warned.
-0- PANA MB/JSG/BBA/MA 27May2020
