MEC Sam Mashinini: Free State Police, Roads and Transport Prov Budget Vote 2017/2018

Budget Vote Speech for the Department Of Police, Roads and Transport (Vote 10) delivered by the member of the Executive Council, Hon. M.S. Mashinini (MPLl), Fourth Raadzaal, Bloemfontein

Hon. Speaker, Hon. Deputy Speaker
Hon. Premier of the Free State Province
Hon. Members of the Free State Provincial Legislature
Hon. Members of the Executive Council
Executive Mayors, Speakers, and Councillors present
HoDs, Provincial Commissioner of SAPS
Regional Commander of SANDF and Regional Commissioner of Correctional Services
Provincial Director of Public Prosecutions
Regional Head of State Security Agency
Provincial Head of IPID
Members of the Community Policing Boards and Forums present
Members of the Road Safety Councils and Taxi Councils present
Members of the Business Fraternity
Representatives of NEHAWU, POPCRU and SAPU, Media Houses
RTMC
Office of the Auditor-General, and
All our esteemed guests.

­­­Honourable Speaker allow me to preface this address by appreciating the inheritance left to us by our forbearers, heroes and heroines of our struggle who left us an enduring legacy of freedom and human rights as enshrined in the Bill of Rights of our Constitution.

We thank our glorious Movement, the ANC, for having declared this year, “The Year of Oliver Reginald Tambo” and therefore join both the President of our Country and the Premier of our Province in acknowledging the role played by this political Giant in getting us this far without letting us down.

Addressing the 60th anniversary of the SACP on the 30th of July 1981, he had this to say: “The objective of the struggle as set out in the Freedom Charter encompasses economic emancipation. It is inconceivable for liberation to have meaning without return of the wealth of the country to the people as a whole.”   This position was to later find expression in President Jacob Zuma’s State of the Nation Address last month when he said “Political freedom alone is incomplete without economic transformation.”

It is uncontested historical fact that the movement of the people has always be in the forefront of socio-economic transformation and The Freedom Charter bears testimony to this, Honourable Speaker!

Let me hasten to indicate that the Department of Police, Roads and Transport takes cue from both SONA and SOPA addresses respectively in acknowledging that political freedom did not automatically translate into economic emancipation. Whilst strides were made in the amelioration of the conditions of common men and women in our country, the economy and the means of productions are still in the hands of monopoly capital, made up of few white males, to the exclusion of the masses of our people who remain destitute. It is clear that the economic interventions that sought to empower our people economically in the form of BEE and BBBEE do not seem to achieve much in terms of the economic empowerment of those people who were economically excluded in the past, which are Blacks in general and Africans in particular.

My address today wishes to indicate what the Department of Police Roads and Transport has been doing to address this shortcoming and what it will be doing to further enhance its contribution towards fundamental socio-economic transformation in response to the President and the Premier’s calls.

Training and Development

Speaker, the successful implementation of the National Development Plan (NDP) as the blueprint for economic and social development is dependent on the transformed, highly skilled, efficient, professional and corrupt-free Public Service. The Plan itself identifies the task of improving the quality of public service as critical to achieving transformation. To this effect, the Department has committed to ensuring that employees are provided with training that is aimed at equipping them with the knowledge and skills that will be a driving motivator for career growth and development.

The Department has embarked on a massive training campaign where the University of the Free State Business School has been appointed as the training provider. There have been some achievements in this regard because as from September 2015 until November 2016, a total of 848 employees have benefitted from this training as follows:

  •  Management Development Programme: 35
  •  Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration: 3
  • Masters in Business Administration: 2
  • New Managers Programme: 66
  •  Monitoring and Evaluation for Public Service: 20
  •  Supply Chain Management: 20
  •  Customer Care for Supervisors: 207       
  • Customer Care for Customer Service Agents: 276
  •  Introduction to Customer Care: 65
  • Introduction to Customer Care for Traffic Trainees: 154

As training is a continuous process by which employees are capacitated in order to be able to ensure that the Department achieves its strategic objectives, for the 2017/18 financial year, the Department has selected 105 employees to enrol with the University of the Free State Business School on the following programmes:

  • Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration: 14
  • Advanced Certificate in Fraud Examination: 21
  •  Management Development Programme: 30
  •  New Managers Programme: 40

Worth mentioning again is the fact that the Department has enrolled 15 officials into the Internal Audit Technician Programme which will result in the acquisition of a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) designation. This initiative will equip our Internal Auditors with sufficient skills and competency to assist in the improvement of internal controls and clean administration within the department.

Service Delivery Improvement

Honourable Speaker, with regard to the improvements on the delivery of services and in line with Batho Pele principles, the Department will continue to ensure easy access to information on services rendered, procedures to follow and directions to service points at all Registering Authority Offices in the Province. This will ensure that clients experience a seamless service chain when visiting our Centres.

During the 2016/17 financial year, the Department completed the first phase of improving signage at all 64 Testing Stations, which included installation of signage boards inside premises with the logo of the Department and the address to promote accessibility.   The Department managed to improve its image and brand through in-house production of nametags and directional signage to various service points. The second and third phase of this project will commence in the new financial year and priority will be given to the 13 towns, according to the Corporate Identity Revitalisation Plan that was developed in 2015. This effort is meant to ensure that service delivery points of the Department are visible and user-friendly to all Free Staters.

Motsamaisi wa Dipuisano, ha se pinyane hore mebila kapa ditsela di ruisa setjhaba ka mekgwa e fapaneng kahare ho metse le metsana ya rona! Empa ke nnete hape hore Mmuso wa ANC o tobane le diphepetso tsa ditlhoko tse ngata ebile di le bohlokwa kaofela ka nako e le nngwe. Maemo a boletsweng a na le kgahlamelo e mpe ho tsa polokeho mebileng.

Ke kahoo ditekanyetso tsa rona di itshetlehileng haholo ho ditokiso (maintenance) ha ka lehlakoreng le leng re nste re ntshetsa pele kaho ya mebila e metjha moo e hlokahalang teng.

The Free State has five major routes that bisect and encircle the Province, connecting people and spanning the boundaries between neighbouring provinces and the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho.

The Department has 6 730 km of tarred roads and 22 000 km of gravel road, that includes food security routes, to maintain in the Free State.

This basically means that the Department is responsible for the promotion of accessibility and mobility including a safe integrated road infrastructure network that is environmentally sensitive for stimulation of socio-economic growth in the Province. Honourable Speaker, we cannot overemphasize the significance of taking care of these precious assets we have.

The Department is employing creative means while at the same time providing support to emerging contractors. Emerging Contractors who are participating in the Contractor Development Progarmme are being utilised in the maintenance and development of the provincial road network and we are proud to announce that 47 Contractors are on the exit or graduation stage of the Contractor Development Programme.

Due to increased demand for participation in the program and backlog in service delivery, the Contractor Development Programme was expanded to include more youth and women and the new intake now stands at 31 Learner Contractors of which 4 are women, 20 are youth and 01 is a person with disability.

To address challenges posed by growing grass on the roads, the Department initiated a Grass-cutting Programme and to date, 36 grass-cutting Learner Contractors were appointed and trained. Out of the 36 Contractors, 9 are women and 14 are youth.

Honourable Speaker, we are pleased to indicate that the capacitation of the above-mentioned Learner Contractors in both the Contractor Development and Grass-cutting Programmes was boosted by the donation of 58 LDVs and some equipment to ensure sustainability, growth and real economic empowerment. Other initiatives will be explored to look into further strengthening the Contractor Development Programme. 

For the 2017/2018 financial year, the Department has budgeted R102 million for the Contractor Development Programme and R33 million for the Grass-cutting Programme. Both programmes are expected to create approximately 1 400 job opportunities in the next financial year.

Based on numerous ad hoc requests for assistance with road maintenance equipment the Department has been receiving from various Local Municipalities and as part of promoting integrated service delivery provision, we plan to explore the implementation of a “joint maintenance plan,” which will see us collaborating with Local Municipalities to maintain identified local access roads and streets. We anticipate for the latter to become reciprocal in nature and thus result in cost-sharing between implementing bodies. Ntjapedi ha e hlolwe ke sebata

Honourable Speaker!  Re motlotlo ho phatlalatsa diphihlello tsa Lefapha ha re sheba morao selemong se fetileng. Mmoho le baahi ba Foreistata, Lefapha le atlehile ho phethela kaho ya ditsela tsena tse latelang:  

  • Meloding – Virginia Route
  • Vrede – Memel Route
  • Monontsha Route
  • Vredefort - Parys
  • A57 Meadows (Bloemfontein)
  • Kroonstad Through Route
  • Harrismith Internal Route
  • Thaba Nchu K53 Vehicle testing station Parys K53 Vehicle testing station

Leano la Katoloso Ya Mesebetsi Ya Setjhaba (The Expanded Public Works Programme) ke le leng la maano a Mmuso a reretsweng ho HLASELA Bofuma!  Jwalo ka ha Puo Ya Naha ka President (SONA) e phatlaladitse, EPWP ha esale ho tloha ka 2014 naha ka bophara, e hlahisitse menyetla ya mesebetsi e fetang 2 million. Ho menyetla ena ya mesebetsi.., e ka hodimo ho 1 million e fihlelletswe ke batho ba BATJHA. 

Mohlomphei Motsamaisi wa Dipuisano.., le rona re le Lefapha la Sepolesa, Mebila le Dipalangwang re se re kgathile tema e bonahalang. Re ikemiseditse ho tswela pele ho tsetela ho EPWP ditoropong le metsaneng ya rona selemong se tlang sa ditekanyetso. Tse ding tsa Diprojeke tseo re tswellang pele ka tsona ke:

  • Vrede Transport Route
  • Cornelia Access Route
  • Tweeling Access  Route
  • Thaba Nchu Public Transport Route
  • Botshabelo Transport Route
  • Tumahole Transport Route
  • Qwa Qwa transport Route

The above projects will be funded with a total budget of R151 million.

Other critical projects that will continue through the capital programme during the 2017/2018 financial year include:

  • Deneysville – Heilbron
  • Bothaville – Kroonstad
  • Hoopstad – Bultfontein
  • Senekal – Marquard
  • Jim Fouché - Deneysville
  • Bloemfontein -  Dewetsdorp -  Wepener

Milling and re-sealing of roads to assist in enhancing the lifespan of our roads will also continue and the critical routes that were identified are:

  • P39/1 Bultfontein - Welkom
  • P42/1 Bethlehem – Reitz
  • P44/2 Jim Fouché – Deneysville

In total, the above-mentioned projects will cost R150 million.

New projects to start in 2017/2018 are:

  • Sasolburg - Heilbron
  • Kroonstad - Steynsrus
  • Vredefort – Viljoenskroon
  • Wesselsbron – Hoopstad
  • Bothaville – Viljoenskroon

In order to improve the gravel road network, R75 million has been set aside for the re-graveling programme throughout the five (5) districts and these would include roads leading to farming communities as well as learner transport routes.

It is anticipated that all projects mentioned above will create more than 6700 job opportunities.  

The Department is extremely proud of the Contractor Development Programme (CDP) as it won the best Innovative Service Delivery Institution for 2016 at the Centre for Public Service Innovation (CPSI) awards out of 1 050 entries across all spheres of government and private sector entries.  As National winner, the Department has achieved an automatic entry in All Africa Innovation Awards.

Our CDP is actually one of a kind in the country. As it can be seen, we started the implementation of allocating 30% worth of work to emerging contractors as far back as 2014. It is a programme that is truly empowering our emerging contractors to ultimately become self-sustainable. It therefore came as no surprise for it to be declared a winner hence other provinces approached the Department for benchmarking purposes.

This is where the Department has actually set the pace amongst its counterparts when it comes to the notion of Radical Socio-economic Transformation, Honourable Speaker!

Again, consistent with EXCO decisions, we wish to commit that implementation of some of our identified projects will be done through “Massification” in order for maximum benefits to accrue to local communities where these projects will be happening.

Re tla hlasela tlhokeho ya mesebetsi le tlala metseng ya rona!

Honourable Speaker, we wish to emphasise that, no nationally-driven or initiated project will get implemented in our province without us vigorously advocating for biasness towards the local SMMEs and communities in terms of the actual work on the ground.

Right to equality before the law

The NDP has observed that “South Africa's high accident rate places a huge burden on society, both emotional and health, costs of death and injury, and the financial costs of damaged and lost cargo.”  The Free State Provincial road network is at the centre of the country, whereby road users pass to different destinations, especially during high peak periods. The high volume of traffic exposes the Province to higher risk of road accidents.

During the past Festive Season in December 2016 and January 2017, road accidents escalated thus increasing the fatalities by 17% compared to 2015 Festive Season. Most of the fatal crashes were caused by head-on collisions due to human factors (attitude of drivers, especially taxi drivers)

Success in bringing down fatal crashes could be achieved if road users were to change their attitude and behaviour on the roads. It is unfortunate that road safety education alone is unable to change behaviour towards the rules of the road. Some motorists have to be forced to change their behaviour and to this effect, the Department will be increasing traffic offence tariffs as a deterrent to violations.

In as far as resource utilisation is concerned; an additional 153 Traffic Officers have been deployed throughout the Province in order to increase traffic officers’ visibility. The Department also upgraded the traffic fleet to high performing vehicles such as BMW’s & GTI’s, which are used in tracking offenders.

We need to mention again that for acceleration of service delivery 50 examiners have been trained and placed in Mangaung and Lejweleputswa for testing light and heavy motor vehicles. More examiners will be appointed for Fezile Dabi and Thabo-Mofutsanyana in the new financial year. We must accelerate turn-around time for testing applicants!

The Department managed to upgrade 21 Testing Centres by the end of February 2017. In the new financial year, 6 Testing Stations in Petrusburg, Bultfontein, Virginia, Viljoenskroon, Warden and Phuthaditjhaba will be upgraded to “Grade A” testing stations.

Taxi/Bus operations and Learner Transport

Support to the Taxi Industry

It has always been the Government‘s plan to capacitate the Taxi Industry to be able to participate in the mainstream transport economy. The Department has long started to contribute towards the empowerment of the taxi operators by allocating R5 million to the Provincial Taxi Council to assist in the administration of their affairs. In addition, vehicles were provided to enhance Operation Hlokomela to monitor compliance with law and to also complement law enforcement. 

The Department will continue to fund the Provincial Taxi Council and improve accountability by ensuring that the Council submits business plans inclusive of all the Regions and all local Taxi Associations in the Province. Henceforth, the Department will be responsible for the auditing of their books and future assistance will be informed by such accountability.

The Department is trying to strengthen co-operation and ensure stability within the Taxi Industry in the Province and the bilaterals with the affected bodies have already commenced.

Cross-border challenges

The Province, through the Department, is working tirelessly to curb the economic by-pass caused by cross-border passenger operations along the Free State - Lesotho borders.  The impact of this economic by-pass is that the Free State Madiboho Taxi Association operators are excluded and as such the taxi business in the area suffers. This state of affairs has got a potential to destroy business viability of the nearby towns and these could easily become ghost towns as it is the case with places such as Winburg, Ventersburg and Theunnisen. Engagements are afoot with the Transport Minister and the National Ministerial Task Team to come up with amicable solutions.  

Bus Industry Transformation

The Department is subsidising three bus companies namely: Itumele Bus Service (IBL) operating in Mangaung and Soutpan; Interstate Bus Service; and Maluti Bus Service operating in Maluti A Phofung and Dihlabeng.

As part of economic empowerment of the previously excluded, the Department has initiated the transformation of Maluti Bus Service. This is a process that resulted in the change of shareholding to the benefit of the former employees as well as the taxi operators in the region. As we speak, employees’ shareholding stands at 5%, while that of the Taxi Associations stand at 60%.

The transformation process for the IBL is under way. As a result of the Department’s interventions, shareholding has changed, even though real transformation is yet to take place. Currently shareholding at IBL is as follows: Black Management 23%, white Management 37%, Black sub-contracting 5%, Botshabelo, Bloemfontein, Thaba Nchu Small Bus Operators (BBTSBO) 9%, Taxi Industry 16% and Employee Trust 10%. The Department will continue to engage with IBL with regard to the Radical Transformation project.   

Learner Transport

The function of transporting farm learners migrated from the Department of Education to the Department in 2015 since transport is our core function. The Department has initiated some processes in an effort to improve efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of this service.   

These include amongst others; conducting a proper route analyses; verification of learners benefitting from the programme and identification of the number of learners in need of transport.  As a result of this exercise the number of routes increased from 326 to 422 while the number of learners increased from 8 053 to 10 689. Based on this, the Department advertised a tender for the scholar transport for farm learners. The tender specifications were crafted in such a way that there will be security features to enhance monitoring, and that there will be assurances that learners are transported regularly and will always be on time for school.

On crime prevention

Honourable Speaker, no economy can grow in an environment of lawlessness and rampant crime.

To tackle crime, multi-disciplinary hard work around crime prevention will continue and, as has been shown by the announcement of the crime statistics in the past three years, the collaborative approach adopted by the Free State is paying off.

During the previous Budget Vote Speech, we reported, based on the National Crime Statistics of the previous financial year that the Free State Province positively showed a downward trend in almost all crime types except murder, car-hijacking and truck-hijacking.

There has been a call, particularly from the opposition benches, that crime statistics must be released regularly and because Government is led by a listening party, such was heeded to hence on the 3rd of this month, the Minister presented the 2016-17 first semester Statistics to the Portfolio Committee on Police.

We will continue to acknowledge and commend those men and women who distinguish themselves for excellent service. In this regard, we wish to congratulate our Medal Awards winners for making us proud and they are: Maj Gen PE Gela, Brigadier JHB Bonthys, Serg. N Mokatsanyane, and Const. D Naidoo.

The Department will continue with Social Crime Prevention Programmes, assessing and supporting CPFs, auditing Police Stations on the compliance with Domestic Violence Act, monitoring Victim Empowerment Programmes and conducting Public Education and Awareness Programmes as reflected in our Annual Performance Plan. 

The following critical campaigns were implemented;

Rural Safety: An Imbizo was held in Qwa-Qwa on 30 June 2016 to address matters related to Rural Safety especially stock-theft which is a major problem in areas bordering the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho. The 4 x 4 Vehicle donated by the Department was duly handed over to the Anti-Stock Theft Patrollers. The vehicle is suitable for the harsh mountainous terrain.

The Department participates in the Cross-border Crime Prevention Forum held monthly in partnership with delegates from the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho.

Anti-Gangsterism: Awareness campaigns were held in Kutlwanong, Makeleketla and Botshabelo to dissuade especially young persons from joining gangsters and indulging in alcohol, drugs and substance abuse.

Anti – Human Trafficking Campaigns were held in Ficksburg for it being used as the exit point for trafficked persons from Lesotho.

Community Police Relations: 110 CPF structures were assessed during the 2016/17 Financial Year. Approximately 30% were found to be dysfunctional. Some have been revived and others will be revived during the course of this year.

The Department continues to handle service delivery complaints against the SAPS in cases where the victims of crime or communities are not satisfied with the manner in which they have been assisted by the SAPS.

The collaborative efforts that are paying off are reflected in the work of the Priority Committees which are targeting specific crimes such as stock-theft, gangsterism , substance abuse, illicit mining, etc., for interventions. The Priority Committees are made up of various stakeholders who meet on a monthly basis to consider each stakeholder’s contribution in the reduction of specific crimes and develop ongoing mechanisms to deal with such crimes. This collaborative multidisciplinary approach derives from the Provincial Crime Prevention Strategy that was launched in 2013.

The decentralisation of Provincial Secretariat Services to other districts is underway and now Free State inhabitants can access these services at the district level. This is in line with the Government’s Batho Pele principle of ensuring access by bringing services closer to the people. 

The Department mobilises key stakeholders and engages with communities to participate in crime prevention initiatives under the auspices of the Provincial Crime Prevention Strategy. Our Crime Prevention Programmes continue to focus on, amongst others, anti-human trafficking awareness, drugs and substance abuse, rural safety and stock-theft as well as the monitoring of community policing structures. 

During the 2015/2016 financial year a total of 577 firearms were destroyed.  The Province will continue to address the contributors of crime in respect of the confiscation of firearms, illicit drugs and liquor.

Fraud and Anti-Corruption

In the financial year 2016/17 the Department received 34 fraud cases reported by walk-through and anonymous reporting. The Department has investigated and closed 31 cases of fraud and corruption and 3 are still under investigation. The Department has established a strong working relationship with Directorate of Priority Crime and Investigations (DPCI) HAWKS and the joint work between the Law Enforcement Agency and the Department is beginning to produce results.

The Department of Police, Roads and Transport was nominated by the Executive Council to champion a Provincial project to implement a Fusion Centre in the Province which include electronic security for access control and Time & Attendance. The project scope is for all Provincial Government Buildings.

The Project is being implemented in phases with priority being given to the OR Tambo building. The advantages by implementing the electronic security system in Government Building will be to; manage employee attendance, prevent unauthorised access in Government buildings, monitoring of irregular movements within Government Buildings, security of Government vehicles entering and exiting Government Premises.

Free State fleet management

The Fleet Management as the Department‘s entity is responsible for the provision of fleet not only to the Department but provides fleet services to National, Provincial and Local Government within the Province.

In response to the call for radical economic transformation, the entity is exploring ways of supporting and capacitating emerging entrepreneurs in the fields of Carwash, Panel beating, Mechanical repairs, Battery Centre and Tyre & Windscreen fitment centre.

To realise this ideal, Fleet Management intends to gradually procure equipment in order to enhance and promote economic growth throughout the Free State Province.

SMME’s will be sent to accredited panel beaters, auto electricians and battery centre for mentoring, prior to business operations.

In order to provide for transportation needs of the Departments, fleet management managed to procure and issue 564 vehicles, which include 75 Nissan ambulances and 20 patient transporters for the Department of Health.

With regard to social contributions, Fleet Management donated 27 vehicles to driving schools, with the aim of contributing to SMME’s. Fleet Management supports the skills development and training initiative in order to enhance opportunities for employment within the Free State province, as such 10 learner artisans, 13 welders and 10 apprenticeships, received training. The cost-recovery on disposed vehicles amounted to R5.6 million, while the outstanding debts of the municipalities is R169 million.

Honourable Speaker, in an effort to keep our citizenry informed on the Department’s performance in fulfilling its mandate, a quarterly publication (Departmental News Bulletin) has been developed and was distributed quarterly throughout the 2016/17 financial year. Through this publication the Departmental achievements and pockets of success have been show-cased and communicated publicly.

Budget allocation 2017/18

The total fiscal envelope of the Department for 2017/18 Financial Year is R2.672 billion which is an increase of 1.8% compared to the 2016/17 period. The Equitable Share allocation including own revenue is R646 million.

The Learner Transport function has been allocated R40 million for next year and over the MTEF. The Infrastructure Enhancement Allocation increased to R428 million.

The Provincial Road Maintenance Grant increased by 1.2% amounting to R1.275 billion. The Conditional Grant will be utilised to improve the road conditions in the Free State Province.

The Public Transport Operations Grant has increased by 6.0% to R255 million. The revenue collection target for the 2017/18 financial year was increased from R658 million to R707 million. So far, R647 million for the current financial year revenue collection constitutes 91% of the target, has been achieved.

Honourable Speaker, in closing, let me reiterate the President’s call in the words of our hero, and Isithwalandwe, OR Tambo,  at the close of the National Consultative Conference on 16 December 1990 when he emphasised the importance of working together and said “We are, accordingly inviting all those who love peace, prosperity and freedom for all, to join in the struggle that is bound to result in the liberation of every single South African in particular, we urge our white compatriots to join hands with us”.

“Working together as fellow South Africans, we have it within our power to transform this country into the land of plenty for all, where the nightmare of apartheid will be just a faint memory of the past”.

The fact that the majority of our people are still excluded in the mainstream economy is proof that we have not yet reached that stage where apartheid is just a faint memory of the past. The triple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment are constant reminders of the effects of apartheid to our people, however, we are on course and all that we need to do, as we have started, is to expedite the transformation agenda in the economic sphere.

Let me take the opportunity to express my appreciation of the support and leadership provided by the Premier of the Free State, a visionary who believes in actions rather than words, who, because of him, the Province is on the map and known for expediting service delivery.

I also wish to express my gratitude towards my fellow colleagues in the Executive Council and Free Provincial Legislature for their support in our efforts to make the Province better place for all.

My special thanks go to the Head of the Department and all the employees of the Department as well.

Lastly, I wish to thank my family for allowing me space to serve the people of the Free State without which the task at hand would have been somewhat difficult. 

Honourable Speaker, I hereby table the 2017/18 Department of Police Roads and Budget Vote for adoption by the House.

Thank you.

Province

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