Brugte biler holder afrikanere i gang, men der er stadig bekymringer for dumping

Sælgere fløjter til potentielle købere af snesevis af køretøjer, der skinner i eftermiddagssolen. En lastbil kan bringe over $20, 000, men det er langt fra den "splinternye" tur, som sælgeren siger, at den er, mens han forsøger at starte motoren.

Lastbilen er en af ​​titusindvis af brugte køretøjer, der hvert år importeres til Uganda fra Europa eller Asien, især Japan. I store dele af Afrika syd for Sahara, importen opfylder efterspørgslen efter mobilitet, mens mange offentlige transportsystemer er rudimentære, og nyere modeller er ikke overkommelige for mange i den voksende middelklasse.

Men de brugte biler er et problem, siger embedsmænd. De bidrager med forureningsbyrden på et kontinent, der bidrager langt mindre end andre regioner til de emissioner, der forårsager global opvarmning.

Afrika er blevet "gravpladsen for køretøjer, der kører på fossilt brændstof, efterhånden som Vesten vender sig til elektriske og nyere renere teknologier, " sagde Philip Jakpor, en aktivist med den nigerianske afdeling af gruppen Friends of the Earth.

Mange brugte køretøjer sendt til Afrika fra Japan menes at have fejlet, eller var ved at mislykkes, forureningstest der, ifølge FN's miljøprogram. Men i mange dele af Afrika håndhæves sådanne regler ofte dårligt, og udbredt korruption sikrer, at brugte køretøjer kan glide forbi enhver kontrol.

UNEP, som kalder luftforurening en "stille dræber" i Afrika, der er ansvarlig for omkring 7 millioner dødsfald hvert år, har advaret om, at emissioner fra køretøjer er en væsentlig kilde til forringet luftkvalitet i blomstrende byer.

Mere end 1,2 millioner brugte køretøjer blev importeret til Afrika i 2017, ifølge FN-tal. De fleste var bestemt til Nigeria og Kenya, to af Afrikas største økonomier. Begge lande har også bilmonteringsanlæg.

"Vesten har nægtet at overføre teknologi eller gøre teknologien til transit til at være billig og tilgængelig, " sagde Jakpor. "Vores regeringer har lige så undladt at investere i vedvarende energi og omstilling, så vi vil have denne dumping i lang tid."

I Uganda, mere end 80 % af alle køretøjer er brugte importerede. Dels for at dæmme op for strømmen, Lovgivning vedtaget i 2018 forbyder import af køretøjer ældre end 15 år og pålægger strengere afgifter på køretøjer ældre end ni år.

Et brugt køretøj fremstillet i, sige, 2010 kan virke nyt for både køber og sælger i det østafrikanske land uden et eneste bilsamlingsanlæg, og hvor vakkelvorne køretøjer er allestedsnærværende. Det er ikke ualmindeligt at se køretøjer, der udsender en tåge af mørke dampe. Politiet tilskriver ofte dødelige ulykker til køretøjer i farlig tilstand.

"Du kan ikke vågne op og sætte et totalforbud" på brugte køretøjer, sagde Dicksons Kateshumbwa, Ugandas kommissær med ansvar for toldindtægter. "Der er en voksende mellemindkomst (klasse). Alle, der får et job, og får penge, vil køre. "

Afgifter på brugte køretøjer er "en nøglekomponent" af skattemyndighedernes overordnede opkrævningsmål, han sagde. Han tilføjede, at der ikke er beviser for, at stivere miljøafgifter på brugte biler skærer i efterspørgslen.

Car dealers in the Ugandan capital of Kampala told The Associated Press that demand for used vehicles remains solid because importers target certain vehicles that are much sought-after no matter how old they are. The Toyota RAV4 and Toyota Harrier are much-loved locally, for eksempel.

"Ugandans are conversant with older models, so they are looking for those, " said car importer Amir Hussein of Cosmos Uganda Ltd. "For many people, it is their mindset:that old is solid, is good."

Uganda's government last year contracted two companies to inspect used vehicles before they are shipped. The head of the standards agency acknowledges the system is imperfect as not all vehicles are subjected to tests as they cross into the country. Inspectors based in Uganda only carry out spot checks.

Ben Manyindo, head of the Uganda National Bureau of Standards, called for a plan that eventually would lead to the banning of used vehicles from abroad.

The question of whether to impose import restrictions remains contentious despite wide recognition of the dangers of an unlimited flow of used vehicles into Africa, the continent least equipped to deal with climate-changing carbon emissions.

I Zimbabwe, where the government has tried and failed to impose restrictions amid resistance from importers and others, there is no age limit for imported cars. Used cars are not checked for emissions levels when they enter the southern African nation from ports in Tanzania, Namibia and South Africa, which notably allows the importation of used vehicles only for re-export to other countries.

Zimbabwe's environment protection agency lacks the resources to conduct effective spot checks for emissions, and over the years the government has appeared fickle in its attempts to regulate the trade in used vehicles.

In 2010 the government banned the importation of vehicles older than five years but later backed down. In December the finance minister announced that older cars would pay less import duty than newer cars, sparking criticism from some lawmakers and environmentalists who argued the measure would encourage people to buy cars that are more harmful to the environment.

"The old cars have higher emissions and are dumped on us because they are no longer considered as fit for the roads in their countries of origin, " said Byron Zamasiya of the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association, which urges stricter controls. "We should be incentivizing people to import newer cars than older ones."

Used cars from Japan are so common in Zimbabwe that the business may be one of the few still profitable in a country reeling from serious economic woes. Zimbabweans spent over $5 billion importing used cars between 2006 and 2016, and an average of 300 pass through Beitbridge, the main border crossing with South Africa, according to official figures.

Open spaces in cities such as Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, have been taken over by used-car dealers selling anything from small sedans to rundown buses following the collapse of the country's once-vibrant car assembly industry. A usually unreliable public transport system also fuels demand for used vehicles among people who can still afford one.

Like Uganda, Nigeria restricts importations of vehicles older than 15 years, but importers working with corrupt officials can always beat the system, according to importer Motola Adebayo. He believes the ability to bribe customs officials has encouraged an influx of very old vehicles into Africa's most populous country.

"Many of them are being used for commercial transportation, " he said of the imports. "Very old vehicles are now becoming the standard means of commercial transportation in Nigeria."

Oke Ndubuisi, a taxi driver in Lagos, reasoned that "here in Nigeria, because people are paying very little as transport fares, you cannot easily recover the cost of your investment in a vehicle if it is an expensive one."

The taxi he drives is one of many that contribute to air pollution in Nigeria's bustling commercial capital.

"The prices of new vehicles will have to come down in order to address the problem of pollution caused by old vehicles, " han sagde.

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