Tanzania is among the countries with slowest roads in the world and according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), this is the biggest reason why the economy crumbles like a cookie.
Being among countries that has the slowest roads, the IMF report indicates that Tanzania’s economy is facing major obstacles in its development effort.
As it turns out, all the slowest roads in the world are found in poor countries.
Tanzania has a mean road speed of 57 kilometers per hour, the same velocity fixed in the neighbouring country of Kenya.
Most roads in the country also have signs and police officers forcing motorists to keep the gauges at even lower setting of just 50 Kilometers per hour.
Uganda is also slow but compared to other East African countries, Kampala seems faster. The mean speed there is kept at 64 kilometers per hour. DR Congo moves at 62 kilometers per hour.
Tanzania’s southern neighbour, Zambia, is moving faster at a speed of 73 kilometers per hour, Mozambique, on the other hand, cruises at 78 KPH.
But even with such a slow speed, Tanzanian motorists are being slowed even further by myriad of traffic police stops, weigh bridges, road humps and other unnecessary regulations that are making even road construction efforts to be worthless.
Despite their slower than snail speeds, Tanzania and other poor countries experience more road accidents than their faster counterparts.
Other countries with tortoise speed roads include Kenya, India, Bolivia, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Afghanistan and Nicaragua with the latter setting the slowest record at 46 kilometers per hour.
The IMF analysis showed that the world’s fastest roads are found in richer economies including the United States of America speeding at 107 kilometers per hour, Portugal accelerating for 106 Kilometers Per Hour, Saudi Arabia 106 KPH, and Canada 106 KPH.
High-speed roads that can carry goods to customers in far-off markets raise productivity, reduce poverty and are an important contributor to sustainable and inclusive economic development.
This is why economists spend time trying to assess the state of the world’s roads through surveys and the like.
IMF staff has developed a novel measure of road quality across 162 countries using Google Maps to determine the mean, or average, time it takes to drive between large cities that are at least 80 kilometers (50 miles) apart.
As the Chart shows, the world’s fastest roads are found in richer economies including the United States, Portugal, Saudi Arabia and Canada. The slowest roads are found in the poorest countries—another obstacle to inclusive growth.
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