Resource information
Long cargo dwell times in ports are a
critical issue in Sub-Saharan African countries since they
result in slow import processes and are bound to
dramatically reduce trade. The main objective of this study
is to analyze long dwell times' causes in ports in
Sub-Saharan Africa from a shipper's perspective. The
findings point to the crucial importance of private sector
practices and incentives. The authors argue in the case of
Sub-Saharan African countries that private operators, rather
than being advocates of reforms in this area, might be
responsible for the failures of many of these initiatives.
It seems that in Sub-Saharan Africa importers' and
freight forwarders' professionalism, cash constraints
and operators' strategies are some of the factors that
have a major impact on cargo dwell time. Low competency,
cash constraints and low storage tariffs explain why most
importers have little incentive to reduce cargo dwell time
since in most cases, this would increase their input costs.
However, monopolists/cartels may have a stronger incentive
to reduce cargo dwell time but only in order to maximize
their profit (and would not adjust prices downward).
