Discuss the view that poor road network is a greatest hindrance to economic development of Malawi.

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DISCUSS THE VIEW THAT POOR ROAD NETWORK IS A GREATEST HINDRANCE TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF MALAWI

  1. An efficient and well-integrated transport system is paramount to the development of any country, especially a land-locked country like Malawi, which is heavily dependant on external trade, using a complex of transport systems.A good quality road infrastructure is paramount to a country’s economy. But a poor road network, not only in Malawi, but also in other developing countries, is a hindrance to economic development. “In adequacy or absence of such infrastructures and existence of bottlenecks frustrate economic development of a country by inhibiting some activities that contributes to a country’s development.”
  2. Without transport, development is impossible. Transport simply means; infrastructural networks and means of locomotion as to the economic activity represented transporting of goods and passengers. Development refers to growth, understood as an increase in national wealth as may be defined by nations accountants. The building of a road or railway, the making a way of means of moving about makes possible to export the produce of local production operations to other markets. These outlets allow intensified production, increased income for population, diversification of consumption and thereby contributing to economic development of a country.
  3. Road transport network in Malawi consists of a network of 14,595 km square of roads, of which 2,849 km square were bituminised as at 1995 and the rest was earth and gravel road systems classified as; main, secondary and rural roads. Below is a piece of statistic of roads in Malawi as at 1997: 
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 These statistics show just how inadequate the roads in Malawi are and just how much lack of maintenance and increase of road infrastructure is evident seeing that from the year 1989,bituminised roads were 2,220.1 square kilometres in total and at 1997,after eight years, it was 2,885.4 square kilometres, showing a difference of only 665.3 square kilometres of roads which had been added. There is just too much of earth and gravel roads, which become inaccessible during the wet season and such roads have a negative impact on economic activities of our country.

  1. The following are the are examples ...

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