Madame Speaker
Honourable members of the Legislature
Department of Transport Officials and Stakeholders
Distinguished guests
Members of the media
Fellow citizens
All protocol observed
Who will cry when u die? This is a book by Robin Sharma, whose title suggests that we should live such a life that the world cries when we die. A critical question which drives us to explore our existence as human beings on this earth is being asked in this book.
Are we living a noble life, a life full of integrity, a life geared towards the advancement of ourselves and others? Are we adding value in the areas of responsibilities where we are? Are we good parents? Are we good leaders? Are we championing the cause for development for the broader society or are we selfish? Are we making a positive impact in the positions of power where we are so that one day when we die somebody cries? When a baby is born, the baby cries as a symbol of life.
As the baby cries everybody rejoices because it confirms that the baby is alive and healthy. The period between the time we are born and the time we die is a very critical period for it determines who will cry when we die. Crying at death is not automatic; crying at death might not necessarily mean tears of sorrow; but tears of joy that the trouble maker is finally gone. It is therefore important that during the period of our birth and death we live a life that will manifest the fullness of our talents.
It is a life where the people we serve can say, yes this man, yes this woman made a difference to our lives. There were no roads in our village, there were no houses in our village, we used to live in dire poverty, the children could not go to school; but through his leadership, through her leadership government monies were not squandered, the quality of our lives improved for the better.
The woman from Ntabamhlophe who bears no relations to you must weep when you die for you have served her community well. The child from Umkhanyakude who bears no relations to you must weep when you die for you have brought development to her village. Wherever we are let us work with responsibility to serve our people so that one day they may cry when we die!
Chairperson, the past achievements of this government have created hope for a better future to the people of this province. Our targets and provincial priorities are clear, that our mandate is to change the lives of our people for the better. The recession we are in has placed an enormous burden upon our budget; however, we remain conscious that in spite of that burden our primary object remains to defend the weak.
To that end, we will not compromise on Road Safety and Operation kuShunqu’ Thuli; indisputably these will remain key focal points in this year’s budget vote under the theme "Work for the Difference". Without a doubt, working together we can do more. We shall continue to defend the weak! Working for the difference informs our existence. When men, women and children from eMabomvini, Ngolotshe, Mashonangashoni, Sqandulweni, kwaQwasha bears testimony of euphoria – it confirms the trail of thought by Robin Sharma in his book, Who will cry when you die.
The challenge therefore honourable members, is that since the communities of KwaZulu-Natal hold this department in the highest esteem by virtue of its track record of service delivery, common citizens do not comprehend the magnitude of the budget cuts. For the communities of kwaNocomboshe eMsinga all they expect is that there is a new government in place which will change their lives for the better.
- For the communities of eNtabamakhaba, eBulwer all they expect is that the department of Transport will come to my village this financial year. For the communities of kwaNongoma all they expect is that, there will be access to schools, to clinics, to agricultural land, to tribal courts, to police stations.
- For the communities of eNkandla all they expect is that they are safe on the road.
- For the communities of eSayidi all they expect is that finally this financial year the road to my village will be tarred.
- For the communities of eMzimkhulu all they expect is that gone are the days in this community when weddings and funerals will be postponed, for this is a new year with new allocations.
The revised budget allocation for the 2009/10 financial year vote 12 is R5,147, 898 billion. In essence, this means that we begin this financial year with a big budgetary cut on the already limited budget. This is as a result of a 7,5% budget cut across the board as well as the penalty for overspending on the last financial year's departmental budget. The overspending by this department is as a result of a combination of factors such as the recent sharp increases in the construction indices brought about by the unprecedented high fuel (81,2% ), cement (7,9%) and steel (84,1%) price escalations which even the best economists globally could not predict (Figures from the South African Bureau of Economic Research, March 2009). Litigation against the department, flood damages further exacerbated the state of affairs.
It is therefore important that this department juggles its balls wisely in an attempt to provide the much needed infrastructure to the people of KwaZulu-Natal. In essence it is important that this department stays on top of its agenda by continuing to be a champion for service delivery amidst the unprecedented budget cuts. The things we have done properly and the things we will do properly will keep this department’s name in good stead.
Chairperson, Road infrastructure development has a total allocation of R3,58 billion excluding a further reduction anticipated as a result of over expenditure by the Department in the last financial year. In essence this means that the bulk of the budget for Vote 12 is dedicated to infrastructure development. As a developing country, infrastructure forms a platform to promote growth whilst serving as an enabler for the provision of other social services through our mandate of providing the much needed infrastructure.
I have recently returned from the 2nd Annual Global Infrastructure Conference in Kuala Lampur Malaysia. It emerged at the conference that governments internationally are not coping with infrastructure development. The most striking yet bittersweet finding which emerged at the conference is the fact that South Africa is ranked number two internationally on infrastructure development. Whilst this is applaudable the critical question to ask is, where is the spending on infrastructure going?
Essentially, whilst this spending creates job opportunities, it goes to Gautrain, Airports and stadia in particular. It is on that score that the budget for this department puts an emphasis on Operation kushunquthuli so as to ensure that there is spending in infrastructure in rural areas which are underdeveloped. Our budget is intended to ensure that amidst budgetary constraints, we will not cut costs to the detriment of the people of this province.
Honourable members, the big leading buzz words for the government of the day are rural development. Operation kuShunquthuli focuses on road infrastructure development in rural areas which are the areas of emphasis for service delivery in this term of governance. Our point of departure as the department of Transport is that, road infrastructure development forms the backbone of rural development or any other development. To that end, there needs to be emphasis on co-ordination and co-operation on the three spheres of government. Furthermore, staying in the rural areas, the general populous there must be active and partner with government in the interest of their development, in particular the leadership and developmental structures such as RRTFs, CSRCs, PTAs including traditional and other social structures such as amakhosi, izinduna, abefundisi, to mention a few.
Honourable members, as this department we will find relations with other sister departments such as local government, agriculture, education, social development, health in particular in the interest of co-ordinated service delivery. It is important for us to establish where development in these departments is going so that we can plan together and lead with the provision of the much needed infrastructure such as access roads and bridges.
We make a call for discussion before construction of schools, clinics, tribal courts, multipurpose centres amongst others if indeed we are serious about co-ordinated development. We make a call that as this government; let us move beyond the provincial clusters to the focused, co-ordinated workings of colleagues at various levels of the hierarchy so that what we seek to achieve filters down to every employee on the ground. A case in point for rural development through co-ordination at all levels could be the maximum usage of government resources across all spectra.
The waterkant used by the department of transport in road infrastructure development for instance, could through co-ordination and co-operation be used to water gardens in villages all in the interest of rural development. The Department of Transport is proud to announce to this House that the money allocated to it for infrastructure development in the past financial year, indeed went an extra mile in changing the lives of the people of KwaZulu-Natal.
The highlights on the deliverables are as follows: in the financial year 2008/09 for instance, 35 Causeways, 11 pedestrian bridges and 12 vehicle bridges were built. One of the pedestrian bridges, eQwasha bridge, has yielded positive spin-offs for the neighbouring community. Nomzimase high school, for instance which is serviced by this bridge, has noted a pass rate increase from 50% to 80%.
Subsequently, the enrolment has increased from 170 learners to over 250 learners. The dignity for the teachers and learners is now restored for they no longer have to undress to cross the river. The Operation kuShunquthuli projects which include the road from Ngolotshe to Hlabisa with a vehicle bridge over the Mona River, the road to Tugela Ferry, Qhudeni which is under the village of Shiyanyawo, the road D1273 linking KwaNocomboshe and road P549 linking Greytown to Matimatolo, had a collective budget of R79, million of which R181 million was actually spent. The total kilometre upgraded from gravel to KZN Department of Transport black top was 55,5 kilometres.
The impact of the above will significantly affect the overall distance to be travelled as follows:
- reduce the distance from Shiyanyawo to Tugela Ferry by 140 kilometres
- reduce the distance from Ngolotshe to Hlabisa by 86 kilometres
- reduce the distance from Shiyanyawo to Pietermaritzburg by 150 kilometres
The department will continue to build Roads of National importance, African Rennaissance Road Upgrading Programme, Roads for Rural Development including Umzimkhulu Development.
Safety on our roads
Road safety is another area of emphasis which the department of Transport will focus on. The reasons for this strong emphasis are twofold, namely, the negative impact that crashes and deaths on our roads cause, as well as, what we find when we visit the homes of the victims of road crashes. The call we want to make is that people must internalise road safety matters as part of their well being. People must begin to understand that government is not nagging them but this is in their interest.
This we believe could be achieved through Education! Education! And Enforcement! As Goebels, Hitler's Minister of Propaganda would say, though not a leader one would often agree with, "If you keep repeating one and the same thing, the people tend to believe it".
To that end the department will embark on the student driver education project. This project prepares high school learners particularly from the disadvantaged backgrounds to obtain their drivers licences. The main objectives of the student driver education project are, to create an opportunity for learners to be trained in the K53 system of vehicle control. Furthermore, to inculcate and develop proper skills required in the world work. For the current financial year 335 learners will be given an opportunity to acquire these skills. The department will continue to focus on other educational programmes which have proven to be successful over the years.
Chairperson, the call we want to make is for this government to elevate road safety to the level of HIV and AIDS, to the level of Tuberculosis (TB), recently to the level of swine flu so that everybody talks about it. The socio-economic impacts of crashes, deaths and collisions on our roads eat on families, on state resources in particular. Child headed families for instance; in as much as they are born of HIV and AIDS they are also born by fatalities of economically stable families. Immediately, this becomes a cost to Social Development.
At this stage let me take this opportunity and salute the Department of Social Development and the South African Social Security Agency under the leadership of Dr Meshack Radebe who are always with us as we visit these families. The same accolades go to our friends in the Health sector who are always with us on the roads in crashes, in major collisions. Ironically, Honourable members, the people who die on the roads are recent medical, law, engineering and other highly qualified graduates who have just bought cars. The people who die on the road are affluent people who earn a decent living and can support their families.
The people who die on our roads are the economically active sole bread winners who are on their way to work so as to support their families. The people who die on the road are our youth, our future who are on their way to school in order to make sure that their tomorrows are better than their todays, their todays are better than their yesterdays.
Our government has not shied away from dealing with serious pandemics in our society such as TB, HIV and AIDS. We have not shied away from dealing with malaria and other diseases. We should not also shy away from dealing with an immense focus on road safety. Ironically, innocent people meet their deaths without any preparation for that death. The victims are neither emotionally nor financially prepared for the ultimate demise brought on by disregard of the rules of the road.
Honourable members, quantifying the costs of accidents is extremely difficult, but the World Health Organisation (WHO) reports (2008) that the cost of accidents to the continent of Africa exceeds the total amount of all foreign aid donated to the states of Africa. In essence this means that as a continent we are standing still, marking time, if not actually moving backwards because we are at once consuming lives and incurring costs of hospitalisation and rehabilitation unemployment at the same rate at which foreign aid is donated for development.
A glimpse of the impact of road crashes can be fully captured in this scenario.
Typically, a passenger bus accident at Kokstad where the bus is fully laden,
12 people are killed and 30 are injured results in the consumption of all the
ICU bed days budgeted for by the Kokstad Provincial Hospital per annum.
The same applies to other small to medium size hospitals throughout
KwaZulu-Natal.
We therefore call on everybody to partner with us on road safety. We call on the church as a whole to be part of safety on our roads. We must, as a department, preach road safety to the church in its entirety. Mothers must speak to their daughters and sons about safety on the road who themselves do not go to church. We make a call for road safety to be part of the curriculum. To that end the Education department can come on board with their life skills curricula. We need to make it a policy to work with taverns.
In as much as they sell liquor they have a responsibility for and to their customers. To that end, we call on tavern owners to come on board in many ways. They could offer non–alcoholic beverages for free to designated drivers. When the owners of taverns and shebeens have been recruited to be the patrons of road safety they could be supplied with breatherlisers so as to test their customers before departure home, where necessary alternative transportation be arranged. We need to change the mindset of the people to see this department, this government as a partner in road safety. We make a call to families who have lost their loved ones to speak up.
This department, this government will give them a platform to speak up. It could be on the airwaves, at public gatherings to sensitise us how much they have been messed up by a sudden death in the family. Whilst the call for Education! Education! Education! Chairperson, law enforcement will kick in where education falls short. This financial year the department will step up on new technology to ensure that the vehicle population on the KwaZulu-Natal roads is road worthy. To that end the mobile brake tester technology adapted from London and Australia models will be widely used on our roads to test vehicle fitness. I am also pleased to announce Honourable members that we have a number plate recognition vehicle which is currently parked outside of this Legislature. This vehicle is able to pick up any vehicle number plate and dictates outstanding fines and warrants of arrest.
Again in the interest of safety on our roads, during the 2009/10 financial year, the Technical Compliance component of the Motor Transport Services directorate will phase in more stringent and regular inspections of vehicle testing stations, motor dealers, mining industry, freight industry, forestry, etc, thereby eliminating fraud, reducing damage to provincial roads and preventing the use of unroadworthy or incorrectly classified vehicles on public roads. All these are attempts to reduce crashes, collisions and fatalities on our roads.
Honourable members, in 1974 the province of KwaZulu-Natal had a total of 123 traffic officers. Coincidentally, the class of 2009 which graduated on 14 July 2009 had 107 graduates at one go bringing the number to a total of 1 025 in the province. This depicts the level of growth and seriousness with which this department puts on the road safety matters.
The evident women representation at RTI is part and parcel of this growth. Whilst on Road Traffic Inspectorate, our whole purpose is to save lives and everything we do is designed to make roads safer, prevent accidents, deal with obstructions and detect traffic crime. However, the costs of accidents and crashes are worrisome. Generally, accidents involving hazardous substances or heavy motor vehicles involving dislodged cargo resulting in long term (12 hours) closure of national routes can cost the economy of this country in excess of R1 million per day in lost cargo, lost delivery, lost export shipments as well as decontamination costs. On average the decontamination of the roadside where dangerous chemicals including hydro carbons are spilled can cost anything between R500 000 and R1,5 million per clean up depending on the extent of the spillage. There are about 10 major dangerous goods incidents a year in KwaZulu-Natal.
We felt it prudent to give this honourable House an estimation of these costs as the RTI contribution in KwaZulu-Natal alone to attending the above mentioned events in an attempt to put an emphasis on why pitch road safety to such high levels.
- personnel costs: 5 900 000
- audit fees: 145 000
- cell and radio communication: 150 000
- photographic images and rapid speed timing: two million
- emergency response to major disasters: 425 000
- maintenance and repairs of machinery and equipment: 30 000
- legal advice: 20 000
- emergency rescue and radio equipment: 93 500
- uniforms and protective clothing: 310 000
- training and staff development: 73 000
- total operating costs for PTEU: 46 924 000.00
Total costs: R56 070 500 million
In addition to these proportional costs borne by RTI and PTEU Operations, there are other operational costs incurred by the private sector in the provision of specialised breakdown vehicles, mobile cranes and privatised decontamination services such as DRIZIT, private ambulance costs, private hospitals costs, social security costs, government hospital beds including personnel, and road accident fund claims in respect of passengers and pedestrians in particular.
It is on this score that as a department we make a call for legislative review of traffic offences to make it criminal rather than an offence to break the rules of the road under certain conditions as they do in Australia. These include drinking and driving, overloading, driving an unroadworthy vehicle in particular. The department is of the view that the road user already has an intention to transgress from the rules of the road as soon as she or he steps on the road under these conditions. For instance, a driver who gets himself seriously drunk and takes it upon himself to drive a vehicle despite the fact that he has lost all his faculties resulting in the death of another innocent motorist or pedestrian ought to be treated as a criminal that he is.
There is nothing accidental in intentionally getting drunk, proceeding to drive and then killing other innocent road users. It is deliberate and ought to be treated as any other deliberate act of killing an innocent person. The road killer has to take full responsibility for the death of the victim and the only way we can ensure that it happens is by making the act of killing, murder as opposed to culpable homicide.
Integration of public transport
Honourable members, our point of departure on public transport is that the disjointed kind of people movement must come to an end. As a province and a department we are married on the best methodology for moving people rather than whether it is Bus Rapid Transit system or Rail Rapid Transit system. The development of new settlements demands that we seriously look at optimal ways of mass movement which is not confined to apartheid era planning. It cannot be correct that people outside the existing transport plans are catered for by feeder systems even when in the main the statistics dictate they are the main community in their own right.
The downside of confined planning translates to expensive transportation costs especially for the marginalised communities. As government we need to defend the weak. As government we need to think outwardly. We need to plan anew without locking ourselves in the discriminating kind of planning. This obviously requires a necessary financial muscle but it is a necessary exercise.
The department is also working with municipalities with regards to the development of Integrated Rapid Public Transport Networks. Our next project in this regard will be Ulundi Integrated Public Transport Facility at a cost of R31 million.
Chairperson, I am pleased to announce that this department together with Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) is now at an advanced stage in exploring the business train that will travel between Pietermaritzburg and Durban. This train will cater for workers who commute between the two cities on daily basis. Discussions between ourselves and PRASA also include the safety of the park and ride areas including overnight safety. The target date for the launch of the train is in December 2009; however, in view of the fact that this falls on a holiday month where most workers are on leave, the date of the launch is currently a subject of discussion.
The Provincial Team composed of the officials from the department,
Ethekwini and PRASA has been set to ensure the integration of all Public Transport Planning processes in the metro and further fast track the implementation of such plans. This process will ensure a well integrated planning and programmes that enjoy the support of all relevant stakeholders.
Skills
One of the 10 national strategic priorities to which we subscribe to as this department, is to, strengthen the skills and human resource base. Integral in this aspect is the huge need for government to develop a tight retention strategy. As a department, we will do our bit so as not to loose the skills we need in the department. We will continue as part of our human resource development strategy to provide quality and relevant training to all employees in the department to improve service delivery. We will continue to provide bursaries to the youth to pursue careers in the Transport Sector, thus addressing the scarce skills shortage especially in the fields of Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Transport Economics and Transport Management taking into account gender and demographics of our country.
We want to have more women engineers, we want more African engineers, and we want more engineers from the rural areas. The department will further continue to provide learnerships to the employees of the department and the unemployed in the relevant fields. This will ensure that people are skilled and prepared for the world of work. We will continue Honourable members to provide internships to the unemployed graduates to equip them with the skills needed for future employment. We will continue to provide Adult Basic Education Programme so as to promote lifelong learning thereby improving the lives of employees socially and economically. We will continue to manage and broaden the scarce and critical skills through partnerships.
To that end, I am pleased to announce Honourable members that together with PRASA, we are working towards the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to share the capacities and opportunities of the engineering expertise. This translates to more opportunities for internships, in service training including exchange of the engineering expertise especially when we deal with bigger projects. With regards to Driver Training, we take cognisance that this is a necessary skill for every citizen to possess. This skill correctly executed ensures that we have drivers on our roads that are compliant with the driving legal prescripts.
It is a skill that ensures that safety of road users is upheld. It is a skill that ensures people are employable amongst other things. We take cognisance of the fact that there be continuous improvement in the way this is done in order to always remain on top of the game. We recognise as a department that driver training normally takes place during the day yet the reality of the matter is that people drive at night as well. We also recognise that code 10s upwards; do their tests on empty vehicles whilst the reality is that they will drive loaded vehicles. Continuous improvement on this aspect will look into how best we capture such factors and address them.
We recognise as a department that driver attitude amongst other tangible things, largely influence the behaviour of road users and ultimately the crashes, fatalities, and collisions on our roads. The department seeks to focus on attitudes by instilling in, on the drivers that licences are a privilege not a right. The department seeks to place an emphasis on the fact that a licence belongs to a driver as long as that driver behaves. We want the community we serve to perceive us as partners in road safety rather than the current perception of naggers, big brother. We feel that this is one critical measure of bringing respect on the roads.
Job creation and poverty alleviation
We are mandated by the government of the day to create decent job opportunities, develop our people as we go about doing our core business as departments, whilst ensuring that the poverty alleviation programmes in line with the Expanded Public Works Programme principles are in place. To that end, the department of Transport has programmes to support these initiatives. The Vuk’uzakhe Programme, the Zibambele Programme and the Siyazenzela Programme assist us in fulfilling these mandates.
We are pleased to announce that the national government undertook to roll out these programmes countrywide. The Vuk’uzakhe Programme is of benefit to several emerging contractors. In the past financial year the department awarded 928 contracts to emerging contractors with a contract value of more than R492 million. In the spirit of continuous improvement, we recognize that an exit strategy for Vuk’uzakhe be explored. This will ensure that new entrants come on board whilst the emerging contractors who have grown to be established contractors are channelled to compete in an open market.
Zibambele Programme is a heart warming success story. To date we have reached our target of 40 000 with an investment of R225, 600, 000 in salaries for the Zibambele contractors. Each contractor now receives R470. The destitute women on the programme earning a meager salary have to date saved R12 million. The department is looking at the new ways of working with oZibambele using the money they have saved to take them to new heights. One such initiative is the bulk buying power of Zibambele which is currently being explored by the department and will be launched in August 2009. The project will be piloted eMpangeni region in the following district municipalities: uMkhanyakude, Zululand and uThungulu.
We are reaping success stories from the pilot of Zibambele co-operatives. Ezasehlobo cooperative, for instance from eMaqongqo makes safety vests for road workers. This is a sustainable way of supplementing their basic income from the programme. The scope for progress on this one is manifold. The KwaDindi mushroom pilot project is another initiative that is gaining momentum. The success of this pilot is opportune, particularly with the support from government. To this end, the department will work closely with the departments of Agriculture, Environmental Affairs and Rural Development including Economic Development to champion the advancement of this programme.
There is growing interest on the Siyazenzela programme from municipalities.
By the same vein of Zibambele, the department is exploring new ways of spreading the rand to create decent job opportunities for Siyazenzela and alleviate poverty. The cleaning of government buildings, washing government vehicles are such proposed initiatives. Furthermore, with the co-operation from the implementing municipalities, we plan to further introduce a recycling model within Siyazenzela in order to support Zibambele agricultural co-operatives so that waste collected could be turned into compost. In so doing, we would have also introduced an entrepreneurial model to the idea which would see these women able to pay school fees and take care of other basic necessities.
Once again, it is heart-warming to realise the willingness of the state owned entities including the private sector in partnering with the department in the interest of creating job opportunities taking on board the principles of the EPWP. PRASA, for instance, is looking into women that will clean their rolling stock. Tongaat Hulett is committing to exploring the usage of Zibambele women to clean their offices. This company is further exploring the usage of the Vuk’uzakhe contractors in their construction assignments. Truly Chairperson and Honourable members, together we can do more!
The use of labour brokers and agencies is a scourge that needs to be purged in the department, particularly because we value our people and we commit to their advancement rather than exploitation. It is a crime for a manager to use agencies to hire employees instead of employing a person within the public service prescripts. Once employed, we subscribe to the growth of people within the department. Capacity building, training must be part and parcel of our business.
We aspire to the continuous improvement and modernisation of our human resources in order to realise the mission of this developmental government. The Employee Wellness programmes of the department whilst better compared to other departments can be modernised to better serve our people.
Honourable members, we applaud the elevation of women and youth issues by the government of the day. To that end, matters relating to women and youth must find a home in this department not forgetting people with disabilities. This we believe, in the words of the Premier DR Z L Mkhize in his State of the Province address on 18 June 2009, will enable the department, “to join government in a journey to create an equitable and a prosperous country”.
There has been a general increase in the employment of women within the department. Women represent 36,86% of the total staff complement. The most noticeable increase is in the African female category which has risen by 13% i.e. from 13,9% (April 2006) to 26,9% (May 2009).
The workforce profile of the Department currently shows that at SMS level
51,6% of the posts are occupied by females and people with disabilities account for 0,58%. The Department is concentrating its efforts on filling vacant posts with African females and people with disabilities in terms of its numerical targets.
Fighting corruption and fraud
Our point of departure as this government, as this department is that there must be a lot of concentration against corruption and fraud. These are educated crimes in particular, crimes committed by people in positions of responsibility and power. To that end all employees in the department who are found to be involved in fraud and corruption will be dealt with accordingly.
The directorate Motor Transport, for instance, will continue to ensure that all corrupt vehicle examiners are prosecuted to the full might of the law. I am pleased honourable members to say that the Motor Transport Services directorate has been instrumental in the cancellation of the registration of nine vehicle examiners and one Private Testing Station during the 2008/09 financial year.
The continued success of the campaign against fraud and corruption on KwaZulu-Natal road networks can among other things be ascribed to the fact that KwaZulu-Natal is currently the only province that has centralised certain high risk eNatis transactions. Only once these have been investigated and approved centrally, are the transactions permitted at the 77 Registering Authorities throughout the province. With the promulgation of the new traffic legislation, a number of functions / transactions which were previously performed at Registering Authority level are now dealt with at the central KwaZulu-Natal Vehicle Registration and Likening Help Desk, due to the high incidence of fraud and misappropriation of revenue at these offices.
2010
Members are well aware that 2010 matters are largely host city matters with the province having very little to do with 2010. As the department of transport we are working towards creating an enabling infrastructure through roads and bridges to access 2010 facilities and other amenities. To that end, access roads to public viewing areas, the road to La Mercy airport for instance are under construction. In an attempt to ensure that there are no glaring disparities between the underdeveloped rural areas and the host cities beyond 2010, the department is therefore putting the bulk of its infrastructure development to rural areas through operation kuShunquthuli.
Conclusion
Indeed there are budgetary constraints on our path chairperson but we will keep on moving forward to champion service delivery. The people of KwaZulu-Natal have mandated us to champion development amidst a backlog of 5 000 kilometres of road construction, 474 pedestrian bridges, yet to be constructed, for school children who cross crocodile infested rivers. The people of KwaZulu-Natal have mandated us to champion service delivery in the plight of school children who leave home in the early hours of the morning, at 4h00 kwaNongoma for instance, to be at school at 8h00.
The people of KwaZulu-Natal have mandated us to champion service delivery on behalf of families who postpone weddings and funerals due to swollen rivers that cannot be crossed. In the words of Frantz Fanon, political intellectual, in his book, The wretched of the Earth, “the presence of an obstacle accentuates the tendency towards motion”. We commit to defend the Weak! We commit to “Work for the Difference”.
Chairperson and Honourable members, at this stage I would like to sincerely thank the Portfolio Committee on Transport for its continuous support to the department; the CEO of PRASA together with his team, the leadership of the Taxi Industry for the good working relations, the Head of Department, Mr BC Hlabisa and the entire team of the transport family, the Communication directorate and the Office of the MEC for their tireless commitment in working for the difference in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal. To KwaZulu-Natal communities in particular the resilient Zibambele mothers, school children who walk long distances to school and cross swollen rivers, to amakhosi, to municipalities who have implemented Siyazenzela,
Nginethulela isiqgoko!
Allow me to formally table vote 12: Department of Transport budget speech to the amount of R5,147, 898 billion for the financial year 2009/10 which would be appropriated as follows:
Administration: 260,671
Road Infrastructure: 3,583,433
Transportation: 745,463
Traffic Management: 475,516
Community based: 82,815
I thank you!
Source: Department of Transport Community Safety and Liaison, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
