PRO-POOR TRANSPORT POLICIES

This report is a synthesis of 4 country case studies in Eastern and Southern Africa region, that looked at
the linkages between transport and access policies and poverty reduction strategies. The country
studies were carried out in Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Uganda and Kenya by the National Forum Groups on
transport [NFGs], under the framework of the International Forum for Rural Transport and Development
[IFRTD].
This initiative is part of a global IFRTD1 programme known as Poverty Watch supported by the Civil
Society Challenge Fund (CSCF), a programme of the British Department for International Development
[DFID]. Similar country studies have also been carried out in Senegal, DRC Congo, Burkina Faso,
Nicaragua, Bolivia, Peru, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Cambodia. Implementation of the case
studies by the NFGs was part of an overall IFRTD strategy of mobilizing the civil society sector to
become more effective in influencing transport policies and programmes in their countries, from the
point of view of poverty reduction.1 Civil society participation in the policy process is crucial for any
meaningful poverty reduction strategy (PRS). The development of pro-poor transport policies and
strategies presupposes broad based participation by stakeholders. However, in both decentralised
polities and in the context of Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs)2, effective stakeholder
participation in the policy process is not assured for a variety of reasons, one of which is capacity
constraints.