Why Transport and Communication Matter, and Their Problems

1Why transport matters

• Trade: farmers get their crops to markets, and shops get goods to sell.
• Services: people reach schools, hospitals and offices.
• Jobs: drivers, moto riders, mechanics and port workers earn a living from transport.
• Tourism: visitors can reach places such as Volcanoes National Park and Lake Kivu.
• Unity: roads link Rwanda to the other East African countries.

2Why communication matters

• It spreads news and warnings, for example about heavy rain or disease.
• It helps business: a farmer can check market prices by phone before travelling.
• Mobile money lets people pay and receive money without walking far.
• It helps learning, on the radio and online.
• It keeps families and friends in touch.

3Problems with transport

• Road accidents, caused by speeding, drunk driving, overloading and riding without a helmet.
• Poor roads in some rural areas, which turn to mud or are blocked by landslides in the rainy season.
• High transport costs, because fuel is imported and goods travel a long way from the sea.
• Traffic jams in busy towns.
• Delays at borders while lorries are checked.
• Pollution from old vehicles.
• Overloaded boats, which can sink.

4Problems with communication

• Weak network in some rural places.
• Cost of phones, airtime and internet bundles.
• Power cuts that stop phones charging and radios working.
• Fake news and rumours that spread fast and cause fear.
• Scams, for example a stranger asking for your Mobile Money PIN.
• Misuse of the media to spread hate. You will learn in a later unit how radio was misused before and during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

5Solving the problems

Careful! Buying a bigger lorry does not fix the cause. A bigger lorry sinks even deeper in mud.

Try it yourself

Answer each one, then tap Show answer to check.