Grade 6- Transport and Communication in Eastern Africa

Main Transport Networks in Eastern Africa

Transport     - is the movement of people and good from one place to another The movement is made possible by established transport networks

The main transport network in Eastern Africa include.

1. Road

2. Railways

3. Air transport

4. Water

5. Pipeline

 Road transport Network in Eastern Africa

Most of the Eastern Africa Road network is linked to the Great North Road.

Road transport is the most common form of transport in Eastern Africa.

The great North Road starts at Wadi Halfa in Northern Sudan to Tunduma in Southern Tanzania

There are two major highways in Eastern Africa

a) The Trans-African Highway

Starts from Mombasa in Kenya passes through Uganda, Rwanda, DRC Congo, Cameroon and ends in Lagos in Nigeria.

b) The Great North Road

Starts from Cape Town in South Africa to Cairo in Egypt. It crosses Tnazania, South Sudan and Sudan.

Challenges facing Road Transport in Eastern Africa

1. Insecurity.

2. Road accidents

3. High cost of construction

4. Bad weather

Railway Transport

• This is the movement of people and goods using the railway.

• It is used in transporting bulky goods on land.

• All countries in Eastern Africa have a railway line except Somalia.

The railway network in Eastern Africa was run down over the years due to poor maintenance, Kenya-Uganda and Tanzania were linked by one railway network called the East African Railways

Sudan and South Sudan were linked by railway network which runs from Wadi Halfa ti Wau. Ethiopia and Djibouti are linked by Ethiopia –Djibouti railway Somalia Rwanda and Burundi have no functioning railway network.

Challenges facing Railway Transport in Eastern Africa

1. High cost of construction

2. Different gauges

3. Insecurity

Air Transport Network in Eastern Africa

• Air transport involves use of airplanes. They are used to transport people and goods.

• It is the fastest.

• It is used to transport perishable goods.

• It operates on a strict timetable.

Water Transport

Water transport is used to transport people and goods to other countries and from other countries to Kenya.

The common means of water transport in Eastern Africa include

1. Boats

2. Canoes

3. Ferried

Water transport is divided into two:-

(i) Marine water transport

(ii) Inland water transport

The main marine water transport in Eastern Africa is the Indian Ocean

The main seaports are: -

Kenya- Mombasa

Tanzania- Dar es Salaam

Sudan Port Sudan along the Red Sea

Eritrea- Port Massawa along the Red Sea

Djibouti- Djibouti

Somalia- Mogadishu

The main inland water transport in Eastern Africa is L.Victoria.

Challenges facing Water Transport in Eastern Africa

1. Piracy

2. Bad weather (storms)

3. Accidents

Cable Transport

It is used in transporting electricity.

It is the fastest means of transport.

Pipeline transport

Pipeline transport has been used in transporting water from one place to another.

Recently pipelines have been used to transport oil and petroleum in Eastern Africa.

The main pipelines in Eastern Africa are

1. Kenya pipeline- Runs from Mombasa to Nairobi then to Kisumu and Eldoret.

2. The Greator Nile Oil pipeline- in Sudan

3. The Gas Pipeline- from Ethiopia to Djibouti

4.  The Crude Oil Pipeline- from Uganda to Tanzania

5. The Oil Pipeline- from Lamu in Kenya to South Sudan.

Challenges facing Transport in Eastern Africa

1. Attach from terrorists

2. Insecurity makes road transport difficult

3. Numerous cases of accidents makes roads unsafe for use

4. Lack of adequate capital to build new lines and expand existing ones

5. Oil siphoning (stealing)

6. Some railways are running on old locomotives

7. Inadequate capitals to build ports and harbours

8. Lack of modern facilities for loading and unloading of cargo

9. Poor management of airport resulting to huge losses and collapse

10. Oil spillage

11. Expensive to build and maintain
    

Solutions to the challenges facing transport Network in Eastern Africa

1. Developing additional road capacity to accommodate a large number of motorist, cyclist and pedestrians.

2. Promoting public transport system that moves a large number of people as opposed to private cars.

3. Establishing rapid rail transit system in urban.

4. Building of By-passes to decongest major roads.

5. Encouraging walking from one place to another instead of using private cars.

Transport Network in Economic Development

1. Create employment opportunities.

2. Make movement of goods and people faster.

3. Facilitate trade.

4. Facilitate international co- operation.
   

Communication in Eastern Africa

The common means of communication in Eastern Africa are; Electronic and printed

Electronic means include Mobile phones, internet, radio and television

Printed means include Newspapers, magazines, journals and letters.

Challenges facing Communication Networks in Eastern Africa

1. Lack of technical skills

2. Limited knowledge in the use of some means of communications

3. Destruction and theft of communication

4. Poor networks

5. Bad weather

6. Lack of capital to buy modern equipment.
   

7. Poor network coverage
   

8. Power black outs
   

9. Illiteracy
   

10. Lack of technical skills

Solutions to challenges facing communication Networks in Eastern Africa

1. Improvising security

2. Introducing computer studies in th education system

3. Training expert

4. Improving electricity and internet network coverage.
   

5. Allocating more funds in communication.
   

6. Teaching communication skills in schools.

7. Allocating funds to improvise communication networks

 Roles of communication Network in Eastern Africa

1. Easy flow of information

2. Source of employment e.g radio station

3. Source of income for employed

4. Radio and television stations provide source of entertainment