Why West African Truckers Can't Do Their Job

West African truck drivers spend days, weeks, and sometimes months dealing with corrupt border officials and illegal checkpoints on harrowing delivery trips that should take just a few hours.

All of which turns shipments which would take a few hours in Europe or America into grueling, day to week to monthlong affairs punctuated by long and unpredictable periods of complete standstill. Which, in addition to wasting fuel and driving up the cost of goods with every unplanned stop, also fuels the sort of boredom that can only be fought by dumping money into the less savory sectors of the economy. Namely booze sales and roadside prostitution. Which is where the AIDS come in.

Intrigued by the African long-haul trucker's dual reputation as the foundational building block of West Africa's would-be robust economy and lotharious Johnny AIDS-leseed, we hitched a ride with a trailer full of soap to see just how hard it is to get from point-A to point-basically-A-and-a-half.

Hosted by Thomas Morton

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