By Iliya Kure
A newly launched advocacy organisation, Part Worn Africa is calling on African governments and regulatory bodies across the continent to introduce and enforce stronger regulations governing the sale of second-hand tyres.
According to the organisation, Africa is plagued by inadequate legislative and regulatory frameworks and an absence of minimum safety and quality standards for what may constitute a safe to use second-hand or part-worn tyre.
Africa has the highest rate of road traffic deaths in the world, with 26.6 killed per 100,000 inhabitants.
The United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety (2011 – 2020) called on African countries to implement concrete actions to improve road safety and half road deaths by 2020.
“Unscrupulous operators take advantage of porous tyre waste disposal processes to gather ‘stock’ for resale, while others resell tyres rejected from other countries outside Africa because they are no longer fit for use. This makes them dangerous, a fact further compounded by these tyres often being ill-suited to Africa’s climate and road conditions,” explains Abdul Waheed Patel, Director of Part Worn Africa.
“There is a need to protect road users by developing, enforcing and monitoring compliance with appropriate legislative and regulatory standards and specifications for second-hand and part-worn tyres, uniformly across Africa. Drivers who may be experiencing financial pressure often choose unverified cheaper tyres without being aware of the associated safety risks,” he adds.
The advised that once the limits of tyres have been reached, they should be safely disposed of in accordance with regulated tyre waste management practice, as against the trend where many of these unsafe tyres are returned into the African market, with unsuspecting and financially strapped drivers becoming the victims.
Part Worn Africa says it would work with governments, regulatory bodies and multi-sectoral interest groups across Africa to address policy, legislative and regulatory deficits that expose unaware consumers to this major hazard on Africa’s roads.
“Addressing these issues will also confront an unchecked illicit economy in the trade and sale of unregulated and unsafe tyres, which is also typically characterised by unfair competition, irresponsible business practices and dumping of these tyres on African roads from jurisdictions where they are no longer suitable for use elsewhere,” it said.