bodabodas promote economic empowerment- investment clubs in zambia invest in bodabodas

Economic empowerment

 Economic empowerment is thought to allow poor people to think beyond immediate daily survival and to exercise greater control over both their resources and life choices. For example, it enables households to make their own decisions around making investments in health and education, and taking risks in order to increase their income. There is also some evidence that economic empowerment can strengthen vulnerable groups’ participation in the decision-making.

There has been an exponential growth of investment in boda boda business as the sole way of earning their livelihoods in Kisumu West District. All indications are that this proportion has grown exponentially not only in Kisumu West District but in most areas in Kenya. Many school drop outs and young teenagers have ventured into this area. This should not come as a surprise as the number of motorcycles in Kenya has grown from 3800 in 2005, to more than 120,000 in 2012 (Otieno, 2012). In 2008 the government of Kenya removed tax on motorcycles to promote jobs in transport and some young people who joined this business have increased their earnings with 50%, using these as taxis.

Motorcycle Based Transportation

 The Traffic Act Cap 403 Sec.2 defines a motorcycle as a motor vehicle with less than four wheels. This classification includes the two wheelers or three wheelers popularly referred to as Tuk Tuks (Jamal 1997).

Motorcycles come in different kinds, each specially designed for different riding conditions. Those intended for use on paved roads and highways are called street motorcycles. Off-road motorcycles are designed for riding on dirt roads and trails. Racing motorcycles are lighter and more powerful (Howe, 2003). They vary considerably depending on the task which they are designed, Such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sports and racing or off-road conditions. 

A motorcycle (also called motorbike, bike or cycle) is described by Oxford English dictionary (2009) as a two-wheeler motor-driven road vehicle but with an internal combustion engine. Bodaboda transport services are a Ugandan innovation that has grown from small beginnings in the 1960s in the border region with Kenya (Malmberg, 1994). The term itself is a corruption of the English ‘border border’. They mainly provide a passenger taxi service, although they can sometimes be hired to move goods. The original services were provided on a man’s bicycle equipped with a padded cushion fitted over the rear carrier. In the early 1990’s bicycle-based carriers were complemented by, and compete with, light motorcycles that have greatly extended the range and load carriage of services (Malmberg, 1994).

 In Kenyan motorcycle based means of transport popularly known as boda-boda has greatly employed a large number of youth groups. According to previous researches, many youths in Kenya are unemployed and that's why most of them have sought for other ways of improving their living standards like venturing into bodaboda industry as a business.Being the commonest means of transport in the county, the number of Bodaboda operators balloons by the day. Another reason for its fame is because it is the cheapest and the most flexible means of transport in the region especially when one wants to cover short distances (World Bank Road Research 2009).

Effects of Bodaboda Business on Economic Growth

 Socio-economic or social economics is an umbrella term with different usages. 'Social economics' may refer broadly to the "use of economics in the study of society . According to Leyland (1999), transport is considered as one of the basic requirements to steer economic growth of any country. In Cameroon, the structural adjustment programme of the 1990s coupled with the liberalization of the Cameroonian economy led to the laying off of many civil servants to reduce government expenditure (Howe 2003). The rate of unemployment grew all over Cameroon as the private sector did not prove to be strong enough to soak these unemployed citizens. Many then

turned to the informal sector to sustain their livelihoods. This situation also affected the Tombel population as

well (Naddumba, 2004). Among the growing population of youths (scholars and non scholars) who are unable to

find jobs in the cities, some turned back to their home towns (urban-rural migration) considered a more favorable

environment to sustain a living. They lived up idling around. These youths between the ages of 15 to 35 provided

a labour force quickly absorbed by the activity of motorbike taxi, thus offering self employment (Walker, 2006).

 In Ghana, thousands of jobless youths have resorted to motor-taxi employment. One of the factors that contributed to high unemployment rate in Ghana is the closing of the cocoa and coffee marketing board and this move liberalized the cash crop sector in Ghana as noted by (Adams, 2002). With no protective price barrier, many farming activities are left in the hands few farmers and middlemen who offers little attention on farming.

This has therefore led to the reconvention into tertiary activities such as the activity of motorbike taxi rider. It is  European Journal of Business and Management observed that Kenya’s rural and peri-urban towns where provision of essential services such as health, education, water, fuel and markets are inadequate; the use of bicycles to move people and goods is growing at a fast rate.

Presently, a number of bicycles are being used for passenger hire service. Popularly referred to as ‘bodaboda’,

which is a corruption of the English ‘border border’, it provides a relatively low-cost low capacity means of

transport. In areas where they have been introduced, bodaboda is one of the most significant means of

transporting people and goods as well as a source of employment and income for bicycle operators and owners.

2.3 Empirical literature

Over the past decade there has been a significant growth in the use of motorcycles as a commercial public

transport mode in countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Asia. While offering certain transport

advantages in the form of easy maneuverability, ability to travel on poor roads, and demand responsiveness,

commercial motorcycle service growth has also led to an increase in road accidents, traffic management

problems, pervasive noise and increases in local air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Government efforts

to regulate the market have had the contrary impact of compounding the problem by distorting market structures.

Current operators have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo and they use their considerable economic

and political power to obtain political influence which, in turn, promotes policies to protect the interests of a

select few.

 In Nigeria, Several studies have been done on the use of motorcycles as means of public transportation in

Nigeria. We can only review a few of these studies. Ogunsanya and Galtima (1993) did a study on the use of

motorcycle as means of public passenger traffic in Yola town, Adamawa State. The study identified economic

depression and inadequate transport facilities as some of the factors that gave rise to the use of motorcycles as

means of public transportation in Nigeria (Ogunsanya and Galtima, 1993: 190). In a similar manner, Adesanya

(1998) focused on the evolution of motorcycles for public transportation in Ibadan. He looked at the socioeconomic profiles of motorcycle operators, the characteristics of public motorcycles operations and the impact of

motor bikes on passengers especially in terms of fares and safety. Another writer, Fasakin also did a study on the

factors affecting the daily profits of commercial motorcycle operators in Akure, the capital of Ondo State, South

West Nigeria (Fasakin, 2001). Furthermore, Kayode Oyesiku, dealt with the subject of public transportation in

his Inaugural Lecture. Among other issues, he looked at the rise in the use of Okada for public transportation in

Nigeria pointing out that the decrease in the supply of new vehicles of all types since the 1970s contributed to

the emergence of motorcycles for commercial transportation (Oyesiku, 2002).

 The motorbike taxi riders are at the centre of this activity and the main actors. Their perception of the activity

varies from one individual to another and from one place to the other. In Tombel as noted by Olvera (2007), the

motorbike taxi riders view their activity as a source of income and social progress on a general scope. The

ongoing more so economic situation gives room for very few job opportunities. Many are the diploma holders

who face difficulties in getting a job related to their field of study. The employment crises have pushed many

into motorbike taxi riding. The youths have seized this employment opportunity which feeds them. From a

secondary activity to farming, motor bike taxi riding has become the primary activity of most riders in Tombel

who live from this activity (Olvera, 2007). The farming of cash crops has been relegated to a second position due

to its instability of prices. Riding is the main source of income for many youths who use the activity as a base in

the construction of their future lives. Even part time riders (students and farmers) use the income generated from

this activity to sustain their livelihood.