Rural tranport policies and strategies are important and their absence causes confusion and inconsistencies.Policies lay down the basic rules and requirements that should guide all decisions and actions. Strategies set out the steps to operationalize or implement the policy. Policies are the what and why. Strategies are the how, who, when and where.The policy formulation process is briefly explained below, and a sample rural transport policy document is provided.
KEY ISSUES
- Why are Rural Transport Policies and Strategies Important?
If policies are well defined, then there are clear guidelines for taking decisions. Without policies, actions can be haphazard, inconsistent, and biased. Once policies are in place, strategies and plans can be derived at, which can be used to guide day-by-day decision making. - Typical Policy and Strategy Documents
- Statements and documents published by public administration bodies.
- Relevant laws and statutes, especially their preambles and announcements.
- Decisions of the courts and regulatory bodies on important issues.
- Guidelines and procedure manuals issued by relevant organizations concerned with the management of sector activities.
- The Policy Formulation Process
Policy formulation needs to determine which rural transport issues to address in which order of priority. A structured and iterative approach with parallel and coordinated top-down and bottom-up processes is required if resulting policies are to be implementable and sustainable. The approach should seek to integrate the rural transport policy into the framework of wider policies, such as the ones for the road sub-sector, and the transport sector and rural development in general. The nature of the instruments available for policy implementation must be understood. When the RTPS process is launched, it is necessary to identify champions for the case of rural transport and a lead organization (for example, Ministry of Local Government). Often an initial Stakeholder Workshop is held were key issues and appropriate policy measures are identified. Stakeholders to be invited to the workshop will be relevant government officials from involved sector ministries and from the different levels of government, representatives of relevant NGOs, associations of rural transporters, representatives of rural communities, and relevant private sector organizations (e.g. Chamber of Commerce, Transporters Associations. Facilitation and the use of the logical framework approach with participation and problem, objectives analysis and the establishment of a logical framework is highly recommended. - Policy Implementation Process (Strategy and Action Plan)
A strategy and action plan is required to implement policy. A steering committee with a secretariat should be set up to formulate a strategy and action plan for policy implementation. Strategy needs to distinguish between those measures that can be implemented immediately and those which take longer time. Whereas a strategy may be defined in fairly broad terms at a high level, an action plan is much more detailed. The action plan must be very specific about the activities to be undertaken, the individuals responsible for each component of the strategy, the timing of implementation and the resources required. It should also contain performance indicators to enable the monitoring of the implementation process. The strategy and action plan should be public documents and consist of a framework document, a corporate plan and business plan. - Examples of Rural Transport Policy and Strategy Documents
Rural Transport Strategy for South Africa
November 2003.
The draft national rural transport strategy described in this document has two main strategic thrusts; (i) promote coordinated rural nodal and linkage development, and (ii) develop demand-responsive, balanced and sustainable rural transport systems.
A rural transport policy documentdeveloped in a participatory way with stakeholders in the framework of the Andhra Pradesh Economic Restructuring Project - Rural Roads Component. The policy was officially adopted by the Government of Andhra Pradesh in December 1998.
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