エチオピア道路公社のWorku Asratie Wubet所長と福林良典先生（宮崎大学）との討論会第二回です。司会は重田眞義先生（京都大学）です。
Discussion on road construction in the project model site (Part 2)
WORKU×FUKUBAYASHI [Moderator: SHIGETA]
“The Real Meaning of the Road”
———Not only local authorities but also local people want to have a good road, an asphalted or cemented road instead of gravel road. I understand this preference. At the same time, however, similar to this project, the importance of labor-intensive, low-cost road for daily use is crucial. It greatly changes the life of the people. So, I think this is a form of value system of the local people in terms of their view of the real meaning of the road.
I am assuming that convincing the local people is a key issue. I also do understand that they may want to have improved and high-quality road using the alternative technology. However, the reality is that we say this technology is cheaper, of a low quality, but it is good for local people in the third-world countries. Personally, I do not like this idea very much, because it is the local people who might really need high quality and highly technical machinery if necessary. They bear the right to use it (highly technical machineries). How can we say, “Don’t use it because you are poor. That’s not a good idea for you”. I also experience a certain form of difficulties by telling them: you must maintain the road though it is a labour-intensive method, it comes at a low cost and is beneficial for daily improvement. In fact we received a large sum of money for research that make us possible to bring the asphalted road to them. This scenario contains a kind of dilemma how we develop ourselves in third-world countries such as Ethiopia.
WORKU：I have been working to analyse the transportation economic costs. Obviously, private projects aim direct returns, i.e. profit. In the case of public projects, the major consideration is the social issue in which the reduction of traffic accidents is one of the criteria. However, the conflict on these issues is, especially for a country with above 120 million people. We also have limited resources distributing them fairly and equitably is a challenge. So, to whom a resource should be allocated would be one of the questions of the government or transport planners. As you said, we should also be honest to the local people. We need to have a certain common principle to determine who are to be benefited from a project. In addition, the least seen or overlooked people should be prioritized to be benefited.
FUKUBAYASHI：I have a question. After several activities in URRAP, you mentioned that road improvement spanned 100, 000 km under the program; why is it not sustainable? Evidently, the budget and resources are limited. I understand that. Nevertheless, and relatively, can you do something related to crucial activities? Of course, this aspect may not be a priority. You must run a training center.
WORKU：I would also give you the correct figure of the URRAP for the contracted project. The program is composed of two phases that last five years each. The first was completed successfully. For the second, however, only two years were successful due to financial constraints. As I said earlier, the other problem was that URRAP projects were assumed to be constructed majorly using labor base, but the nature of the topography did not enable to be implemented by this method. The equipment, especially the earth moving equipment, were applied which raised the initially assumed construction costs. Even the construction of a number of bridges was not materialized due to the shortage in budget. Another problem is limited experience. While the URRAP is under review, something should be learned from this project, especially in terms of the main barriers. These weaknesses should be mitigated. In RCFSP, which pertains to the continuity of URRAP, these issues will be considered. Targets in the previous one was highly overstated and the expectation was too high. Now, the budget and resources are known. Hopefully, the scope of the work that will be done will be determined based on the available resource.
FUKUBAYASHI：What do you think is the next target to be modified?
WORKU：Ethiopians are very diverse. Some are living in very rural areas and the others in big cities at times. Some lack access to water while some would demand road for access. That is, in terms of the infrastructure developments, a road might not be a priority for those who have no access for portable water, especially in regions such as Afar and Somali. Thus, projects or programs needs to be developed based on the prioritized demands of the society.
（Part 3へ続く）
