TREPP 2026 — ARMFA-AFERA lays the foundations for sovereign African road evaluation: 4 recommendations to turn evidence into lasting impact
In the wake of TREPP 2026, Dr Ali Alkassoum reflects on an intervention that placed transnational road evaluation at the centre of Africa’s sustainable infrastructure agenda.
Dakar, 10 April 2026, Against a backdrop of profound reconfiguration of international cooperation, ARMFA-AFERA intervened yesterday at TREPP 2026. Dr Ali Alkassoum presented a bold, operational vision for African road management to decision-makers and development partners.
A structural trilemma at the heart of the problem
The intervention opened with the RAM Trilemma: the permanent tension between network Quality, user Accessibility and financial Viability of the maintenance system. «These three necessities cannot all be maximised simultaneously without strategic trade-offs», Dr Alkassoum told the audience. «And in most of our systems, that trade-off is still missing.»
The statistics made a strong impression: 71% of African RMFs without RAMS, a 42% financing gap, only 17% of corridors assessed under IRAP protocols, and just 20% of RMFs integrating climate change into their management. «This is not a problem of will», Dr Alkassoum emphasised. «It is a systemic problem.»
ARMFA-AFERA framed its response in four concrete recommendations 2026–2028:
① Establish a Continental Trust Fund (AfDB/WADB) to finance road maintenance in a predictable, aid-independent manner.
② Deploy a shared regional RAMS data platform across ARMFA’s 35 member countries.
③ Operationalise the RRAM Pillars, integrating climate resilience and IRAP’s safety into a harmonised regional road management framework.
④ Invest in AFERA Innov Academy and the MRFER Master’s programme.
«Africa has the resources, the people, the will. What it still lacks is the system.» — Dr Ali Alkassoum, TREPP 2026
Dr Alkassoum’s address took place in rich dialogue with fellow panellists: UEMOA Commission (Dr Souleymane Diarra), IDinsight (Mr Karimou Ba), DBSA (Ms Edeshri Moodley), PASEC (Mr Hilaire Hounkpodote) and SenEval (Ms Fatou Thiam). Key areas of convergence included shared commissioning mechanisms and the transposability of regional evaluation models to the road sector.
ARMFA-AFERA invites all stakeholders : States, RECs, African financial institutions, academics and practitioners to extend this dialogue and contribute to implementing TREPP 2026’s four recommendations.
PRESENTATION fv1_TREPP2026_Dr Ali Alkassoum – ES (Click to open)