By William de LesseuxPosted on 23-09-2019Modified on 23-09-2019 at 04:59

In Senegal, vehicles are about 20 years old on average, twice as many as in developed countries. Ranked the world's 91st most polluted city by the World Health Organization, Dakar, the capital city, faces increasingly dense urban traffic. The state wants to develop public transport, without attacking old polluting vehicles.

At the exit of the arrivals of the Blaise-Diagne airport of Dakar, a row of Bio-Taxis awaits the passengers. State-of-the-art cars, hybrid with gas and gasoline, very low polluting, manufactured in Senegal. The 500 vehicles, which are used solely for transit between the terminal and the city, are the government's showcase for fleet renewal, and therefore pollution control.

On the streets of Dakar, these new generation taxis are unfortunately in the minority. They account for only 2% of the capital's 25,000 taxis, according to figures provided by the city's Executive Council for Urban Transport (CETUD). The vast majority of yellow cars are models from Europe, the 1980s or 1990. All share the road among others with the fast cars, multicolored Renault minibuses, built in the 1960s. The latter continue to circulate despite several orders of the prefecture of the capital, forming part of the landscape.

Repeated pollution spikes

The inventory does not leave the inhabitants indifferent. " The state did not do its job " against all these old diesels, says Aby Kamara, waiting for his bus in the popular district of Yoff. On the roundabout, a ballet of repaired sedans fights over access to the expressway. " We see that there is a lot of pollution," says the girl. It's a shame to live in this country. Many of these cars should not drive. "

The figures from the Air Quality Management Center (CGQA), a pioneering center in West Africa, confirm that pollution peaks, frequent from December, come from road traffic. In the air of the city, all year round, the measuring devices record seven times more fine particles than the threshold set by the WHO.

The streets are totally saturated. " We must not forget that Dakar is a peninsula, says Haïdar El Ali, activist and former Minister of Ecology of Senegal. But when there is no sea air, it becomes unbreathable. At the same time, Dakar can not expand. "

Measures neither incentive nor binding

The State does not reject this finding. " There is strong pressure " of car traffic in Dakar, recognizes Thierno Aw, director general of the Executive Council of urban transport. According to his figures, 70% of Senegal's 530,000 cars are concentrated in the capital.

Regarding old vehicles, there is no concrete measure at this stage, only a few initiatives, including a program to replace fast cars. " It will take more restrictive measures " concedes the director, without putting forward a calendar or agenda.

One certainty: the government does not want to encourage the model of the individual car. " The destiny of big cities is to work with quality urban transport ," says Thierno Aw. The State has taken the option of investing in public transport capacity, "starting with the Regional Express Express, which will link Dakar to its suburbs. The commissioning of this train is scheduled for early December at the earliest.

As for imported vehicles, the sinews of war, the age limit of cars crossing borders will continue to be limited. The measure was taken by the government of Abdoulaye Wade in 2003. In 2012, the president Macky Sall raises this limit to eight years. According to our information, the government is studying the application of a tax from five years of circulation to limit the number of imported vehicles. But the measure remains in the draft stage.

The State of Senegal has every interest not to encourage the importation and acquisition of new cars: the rate of motorization remains low, three Senegalese out of 100 have a car. " It's ten times less than in so-called developed countries " explains Thierno Aw. " Better to move households to public transport than to favor the individual : Dakar could not absorb such traffic . "

On the lack of concrete short- and long-term measures, Macky Sall's former prime minister, Haidar El Ali, appears resigned, " We are a small country with few means. The problem is mainly these multinationals who send us all these cars ... and these diesel poor quality. The planet is being held hostage, and it's more violent here in Senegal. "

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