2024-09-20 20:36:30
Private transporters in Guinea, who work with mining companies, face many obstacles. Despite substantial investments, often financed by bank loans for the purchase of Chinese trucks of the Howo or Shacman brands, capable of transporting up to 50 tons of bauxite, their profitability remains precarious.
The root of the problem lies in the non-transparent practices of these mining companies, which have installed weighbridges to weigh trucks without the presence of government officials or transporters. Drivers are not even allowed to leave their vehicles during the weighing. As a result, the 50-tonne payload is almost always reduced to 40 or even 39 tonnes on the weighing slips. A 53- or 56-tonne slip is issued only once a week. Worse still, some mining companies import their own trucks from Asia and offer bank guarantees to relatives for the purchase of these vehicles. This reinforces the unfair competition faced by Guinean transporters, thereby reducing their margins. It is not only Chinese mining companies that engage in such practices; Indian companies, which were more regular before, have followed suit, no doubt encouraged by the government’s laxity. Another consequence is that they hire Guinean drivers with many more advantages, not being victims of bad weighings. This pushes some Guinean drivers to leave private transporters after 3 or 4 months to go and get hired by these new unfair competitors. With a rate per kilometer already very low and a tonnage regularly reduced during weighings, many national transporters find themselves bankrupt, unable to repay the credits taken out for the acquisition of their trucks.
Furthermore, the bank imposes monthly payment of a certain amount on transporters, while mining companies pay transporters according to their convenience, sometimes after 3 or even 4 months. Meanwhile, vehicle owners are subjected to harassment from drivers as well as suppliers of spare parts and other tyres. However, all contracts clearly stipulate that the transporter must be paid within 15 days of the invoice being submitted.
For now, the Guinean government remains silent in the face of this situation that is detrimental to local entrepreneurship. In the meantime, mining companies continue to act as they see fit, to the detriment of Guinean transporters, whose bankruptcy leads to job losses in this sector. These transporters, often local economic players, play a crucial role in the livelihoods of many families. Without rapid intervention and regulatory measures, an entire economic ecosystem risks collapsing, leading to disastrous consequences for local entrepreneurship and a significant portion of the Guinean population. A bleak outlook that the authorities concerned could, hopefully, reverse.
When he took office on March 15, 2024, the current minister called for a “sacred union” and a “common commitment” of all stakeholders to achieve the objective of harmonious and equitable development of the mining sector.
Bouna Sylla, considered a connoisseur of the mining sector, held several key positions in the sector before his appointment. His reassuring speech and his ambitions for the mining sector still give hope for an improvement in the situation.
Abdou Sy