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Mozambique

Feeder Roads Programme (FRP)

Labour-based methods for road construction were first established in Mozambique through pilot projects with technical support from the ILO in 1981. The programme has received support from various donor and development agencies including Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA); Department for International Development (UK); Irish Aid; Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (KfW); Norwegian Administration for International Development (NORAD); Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida); United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF); United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Food Programme (WFP).

The focus of interventions has changed over the years as the country moved into a period of armed conflict (1975 – 1992) to post crisis development. Problems addressed through various interventions include:

Lack of access to services and goods – addressed through rehabilitation and maintenance of tertiary roads
Inadequate management capacity – addressed through institutional strengthening of the government management structures at central level
Centralised (bureaucratic) management system – addressed through decentralisation of the management of tertiary and other regional roads
Unfavourable policy environment – addressed through reforming the policy and institutional environments
Unemployment – addressed through introduction of labour-based pilot project in 1981 and mainstreaming the approach

The target groups include government employees, private sector contractors and consultants; and the communities (both male and female). The communities who did not work directly on the projects and industries, which supplied services, materials and equipment to the contractors, were indirect beneficiaries.

Building on the success of initial training activities and experimental sites, a phased expansion into a national programme was embarked upon in 1989. Coinciding with the signature of the Peace Accord in 1992, these methods were applied to a national programme, undertaking the rehabilitation of roads in virtually every part of the country. To date the programme has been mainstreamed and other elements of decent work have been incorporated e.g. gender equity and contract documents with socio-economic clauses.

At its peak the FRP was one of the ILO's largest technical assistance projects, with a staff of seven ILO experts and 26 advisers contracted by the government spread through nine of the ten Provinces. The size of the project was dictated by the fact that it operated nation-wide, and by the initially limited capacity and experience of the Mozambican authorities in implementing similar projects. ILO full-time technical assistance ended in August 2002, although technical assistance through ILO/ASIST continues.

Achievements of the programme

Success is reflected by the outputs of the programme over the years. Over 7900 km of feeder roads were opened between 1992 and 2002, contributing to resettlement of a large number of people who had been displaced by the war, and the revival of large areas of previously abandoned land.

The total programme cost exceeded USD 26 million. Up to 50% of project construction cost went to paying for labour this helped to distribute income and stimulate local economic development. The daily wage rate for labourers ranged from about USD 2.50 at the pilot phase to USD 1.20 during the expanded phase (reflecting a major decline in the value local currency). The FRP wage rate corresponds with the government statutory minimum wage. More than 40,000 rural people have worked on the programme creating about eight million worker days or 26,000 person years of employment in Mozambique. In the process they have acquired some skills (e.g. masonry) that they can use elsewhere.

Productivity for full road rehabilitation averaged 2600 person days per km. This figure compares well with productivity figures from other countries. Therefore, although the programme addressed social objectives it also remained cost effective in addressing the core objective of delivering infrastructure.

Impact of employment created

More than eight million worker days or 26 person years of employment were created during the programme – a total of 40,000 rural men and women were employed. In 1992, the participation of women was 2% and by 2002 the average participation of women was 19% although the Feeder Roads Programme adopted a National target of 25% participation. For many local residents this was their first opportunity to participate in formal employment, which increased levels of confidence to pursue future employment opportunities. The employment created led to an increased availability of cash in the local economy, which resulted in:

Reconstruction, improvement and enlargement of houses and purchase of livestock
Reappearance of the traditional savings and credit system (Xitique)
Initiation of small informal businesses
Increased attendance at schools.

Capacity built: local residents received training in basic construction skills. Nearly 5000 person weeks of training in labour-based technology have been provided since 1993. By year 2000 more than 50 ECMEP brigades (Government parastatal) and 20 private contractors were operational within the FRP creating employment for the local communities. Now a network of contractors exists throughout the country capable of rehabilitating and maintaining roads using techniques that are proving to be relatively sustainable at provincial level.

The ILO technical Advisers also effected technology transfer to local government counterparts and assisted the FRP in incorporating elements of fair labour standards practices into the programme. The in-house capacity has greatly improved and the private sector now has some capacity to do some of the work that was previously done by ILO.

Growth in local entrepreneurs

The local small and micro enterprises in the programme areas grew and earned profits, in addition to gaining invaluable experience from working in a formal contracting environment.

Increased awareness of HIV/Aids

: Through the HIV/Aids awareness activities carried out with a local NGO, Population Services International (PSI), the levels of awareness of the dangers of HIV/AIDS and methods of prevention increased in the local community.

Decent work and policy development

Over the years the programme has sought to influence policy and maximize the social and economic benefits derived by local communities through the construction process. The Government's poverty reduction strategy has resulted in increased political support for the use of labour-based methods, and these are advocated in the newly developed and adopted road sector policy.

The newly developed policy implementation strategy seeks to achieve social and economic objectives by introducing certain clauses and specifications in the Works Contract. These objectives include:

Involving the local authorities and the local community in the implementation of the projects;
Maximising local employment opportunities;
Enforcing Core Labour Standards, particularly the requirements of Mozambique labour law e.g. gender equity, no child labour, etc;
Provision of training and work opportunities to local contractors;
Implementation of a programme of HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention activities within the workforce.

In 1996, a Gender unit was set up within the Feeder Roads Programme and in 2000, a Social Issues Unit (incorporating the Gender Unit) were set up in the National Roads Administration to address cross cutting issues advocated for in the new road sector policy.

Institutional framework developed

In the early and mid-90's no specific institutional framework existed for the management and implementation of works on feeder roads. 1998 saw the creation of the Tertiary Roads Section within the National Directorate of Roads and Bridges. This gave the Feeder Road Programme a higher profile, which was increased with the creation of the National Road Administration in 1999. With each stage of this institutionalisation, the management of feeder roads occupied a larger portion of the responsibility of these new organisations with a consequent increase in emphasis within the overall road programme. In the process, the Feeder Road Programme has been transformed from a stand-alone programme to an integral part of the Directorate of Regional Roads in the Mozambican National Road Administration.
It can be said that the key achievement of the project is in the fact that the approach has been adopted as a country wide national programme and has been institutionalised within the government structures. Consequently, the impact is far greater than that of an ordinary project. This success is highly attributed to the political will of the decision makers and projects implementers.

Labour-based versus equipment-based roadworks cost comparison study

In 2003, ASIST coordinated, a cost comparison study behalf of the National Roads Administration (ANE). The study compares the financial and economic costs of labour-based and equipment based road construction and maintenance and reveals that labour-based methods have the potential to cost as much as 50% less than equipment based methods. The study also shows that labour-based methods can potentially create as much as six times more jobs per unit amount of investment compared to equipment based methods. Furthermore, the labour-based approach results in more economic benefits such as stimulating the local economy and a more equitable distribution of wealth. These findings were consistent with other studies carried out by the ILO in other countries in the region.