In the 2000s, international funders embraced a change in their approaches to improving regional and international transport in the African continent. ‘Infrastructure is only part of the story’ (Arvis et al 2010: 15) became a shorthand for the point of departure of numerous policy interventions that had been long in the making. A central component of the visions inspiring such efforts concerned the bureaucratic procedures required to conduct international trade and transport. Calls for improved logistical performance underscored the importance of easing the bureaucratic burden, among other things by phasing out paper-based transactions in favour of IT-enabled paperless ones. This article explores the protracted, ongoing attempts at introducing paperless procedures in the Doula-Bangui and Douala-N’Djamena transport corridors, a process designated by the French term dématérialisation. I try to account for the tortuous process that dématérialisation has proven to be and for the ways in which its promises and potentialities have been embraced by the agencies that govern the trucking industry operating in these transport corridors. I use the insights gained in this case study to interrogate the significance of e-governance as a broader platform for reform in Africa and beyond.
Works cited:
Arvis, Jean-François et al. 2010. The Cost of Being Landlocked: logistics costs and supply chain reliability. Washington: World Bank.