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In Senegal, carriers do not understand the ban on the import of used tires, one of the measures taken by the government following the Sikilo bus accident where 42 people lost their lives.
With our correspondent in Dakar, Juliet Dubois
Carriers are upwind once morest the measures taken to fight road safety. On an indefinite strike since January 17, they are protesting once morest a whole series of measures, including the ban on buses from running at night, but also the ban on the import of second-hand tires. However, these tires are largely in the majority in Senegal where new is unaffordable for many. According to professionals in the sector, more than 90% of the tires in circulation in Senegal are second-hand.
Read also : Transporters in Senegal on strike once morest measures on road insecurity
Sellers do not understand this measure. This is the case of Zacharia Ndiaye. In front of his small tire store in Ouakam, Zacharia waits for customers. It mainly sells used tires imported from the United States. Several times a year, her father ships containers. The young man also offers new tyres, but it can easily go a year without him selling any.
« New tyres, just one, can cost 50,000 or 60,000. A poor man like me can’t buy that… whereas a second-hand tire will cost 10,000 or 12,000 “says Zacharia Ndiaye. Nearly 80 euros for a single new tire…
The government measure is reacting. For Mor Diouf, mechanic and customer of Zacharia, the authorities are disconnected from reality: “ This announcement does not pass because before taking measures on the tires, we must first speak with the population. »
Mor Diouf believes that it is the vehicle controls that are at fault. “ The first thing to do is the technical inspections: even the buses don’t do it because it is the transporters who arrange, in exchange for money, for the car to pass without the technical inspection. »
Among the 23 measuresthe government also announced free roadworthiness tests for transport vehicles and the creation of control centers in the regions.
Read also :au Senegal, at least 39 dead in a tragic road accident
