Minister Dipuo Peters: Shareholders committee meeting

Statement by the Minister of Transport, Ms Dipuo Peters following the shareholders committee meeting in Kimberley

MEC Sam Mashinini, Free State Department of Police Roads, & Transport
MEC Sasekani Manzini Mpumalanga Department of Public Works, Roads & Transport
MEC Pauline Williams Northern Cape Department of Transport, Community Safety & Liaison
MEC Mxolisi Sokatsha, Department of Northern Cape Roads & Public Works
MEC Dr. Mpho Motlhabane, North West Department of Community Safety & Transport Management
SALGA Representative Mr Sibulele Dyodo
Acting Director General Mr Mathabatha Mokonyama
RTMC CEO Adv. Makhosini Msibi
Deputy Director General Mr Chris Hlabisa
Head of Departments
SALGA Representative
Officials from the Department of Transport and Entities
Members of the media

Ladies and gentlemen, you are all welcome to this media briefing. It gives me a great pleasure to have this opportunity to brief you about the outcome of the meeting we held here in Kimberly today.

This was our regular meeting with MECs and representatives of Salga, as the shareholder committee of the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), to discuss transport and road traffic related matters in our country and to review progress we are making towards the attainment of safer roads in South Africa.

As you are aware South Africa is a signatory to the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011- 2020 aimed at reduce road fatalities by 50% by the end of 2020. This requires that we must constantly review the progress we are making towards the attainment of that goal.

As this was our first formal meeting after the festive season, we considered the festive season state of road safety report and the implications it has for the coming Easter period. As you know there was a five percent increase in the number of fatalities in the 2016/17 festive season bringing the total number of deaths on the roads to 1 714 compared to 1 629 the previous year.

The increase in fatalities over the festive season was not consistent with the 26.43% decrease which we had experienced in the Easter period of 2016. This brought the number of fatalities down from 333 to 245.

I commend the National Anti-Corruption Unit of the RTMC in collaboration with the SIU and all Law Enforcement Agencies for their efforts to ensure that we eliminate unethical traffic officers who solicit bribes from motorists.

We are also made making strides in dealing with crime and corruption at the Driver Licence Testing Centre (DLTC) and the Private Testing Centres, particular issues relating to issuing of fraudulent drivers licences and roadworthy certificates. Endeavours will be vigorously pursued to cancel all fraudulently issued

Ladies and Gentlemen, what stands out between the outcomes of these periods, notwithstanding the fact that the Festive Season is longer than Easter Period, is that the Festive Season 2016/17 was marked by a number of internal challenges which need to be addressed before this year’s Easter Period.

Key among the challenges were:

  • A gap in supervision caused by cost containment measures
  • After-hours and weekend operations were affected by lack funding for overtime.
  • Some provinces experiences challenges with necessary resources such as vehicle availability
  • There was flagrant deviation from the approved festive season plan which affected visibility of the traffic officers on the roads and led to abdication of responsibility for prioritisation of major routes.

This state of affair confirms that the massive fragmentation within the road traffic and law enforcement leads to inconsistency and lack of uniformity in the manner in which road traffic and law enforcement is carried out.

It compels us to move with speed in implementing the decisions we took in Mangaung in August 2015 to work towards harmonisation and integration of the traffic law enforcement to impact on this situation and make South Africa’s roads safer.

I have therefore appointed an independent committee, to be known as the national traffic law review committee, to:

  • Conduct a comprehensive assessment of the traffic law enforcement fraternity, identify areas for review and develop a consultative strategy draft document on traffic law enforcement.
  • Consider constitutional mandate and related legislative imperatives pertaining to the law enforcement environment and ensure integration, harmonisation and alignment of various functions.
  • Develop a blue print for the future design of the Traffic Law Enforcement, provide for adequate resource framework, provide guidelines for streamlining of training framework and determination of relevant appropriate qualifications for Traffic Law Enforcement.
  • Provide and develop benchmarks of best practices in law enforcement  in order to compete and operate favourably within Regional and International Context and
  • Review the current environment and consider Traffic Policy that supports the priorities identified by Government and simultaneously review and confirm Traffic Law Enforcement Mandate with related functions and level of effect and structure amongst other tasks.

The committee is appointed for a period of 18 months and it brings together men and women with vast experience in law enforcement, academic and labour. Members of the committee are:

Dr Kesolefetse Olivia Lefenya

Dr Lefenya is currently a Senior Lecturer in Public Law at the North West University, Mafikeng Campus. She is an admitted Advocate of the High Court of South Africa and she will be chairperson of the committee.

Mr Titus Mbuyisiwe Malaza

Mr. Malaza is currently the President of the Institute of Traffic and Municipal Officers of Southern Africa (ITMPOSA). He retired from traffic law enforcement in 2011.

He holds a BA degree in Police Science from the University of Witswatersrand and a Master of Management Local Government & Development degree from UNISA.

Mr Benjamin van Rooyen

Mr van Rooyen is currently the Principal of Lyceum Correspondence College of Higher Education, which amongst others provides traffic policing training programmes and qualification.

He holds a BA (Honours) in Police Science from UNISA and is currently enrolled for the Master in Police Practice at the Southern Business School.

Mr Isaac Sipho Dlepu

Mr Dlepu is currently the Director for Operations at the Johannesburg Metro Department. He holds a BA in Police Science from UNISA and currently studying towards LLB.

Mr Hlula Msimang

Mr. Msimang is currently the Head of Public Safety Department at the City of Johannesburg.

He holds a BSc Sociology Honours from University of Zimbabwe, a Postgraduate Diploma in Security from the University of Witwatersrand and is currently studying towards Masters in Business Administration at Regenesys.

Ms Dorcas Khosa Shikwambana

Ms Khosa-Shikwambana is currently a Lecturer at the Department of Safety & Security in the Faculty of Humanities at Tshwane University of Technology.

She published papers in a peer reviewed journals and presented several papers at different conferences in Southern Africa and overseas.

She holds a Master’s degree in Policing as well as a National Diploma in Public Management from the Tshwane University of Technology; South Africa.  She is currently finalising her studies in Doctor of Philosophy in Criminal Justice with the School of Law at UNISA.

Dr Maria Peenze

Dr Peenze is currently running her own consulting which focuses, amongst others, on public sector governance, governance and legal research, policy and procedure drafting and editing, regulatory frameworks and compliance models etc.

She holds a D Tech in Business Administration from the Central University of Technology in Free State, LLM on Human Rights, LLB and B Juris from the University of the Free State.

Mr Paul Browning

Mr Browning is currently a Consultant specialising on Public Transport for Transforum Business Development. He is a portfolio expert on Public Transport.

He previously served a Non-Executive Member of the RTMC Board and his term of office expired in December 2016.

Mr Oupa Sebiloane

Mr Sebiloane is a seasoned trade unionist and a member of the National Executive Committee of the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union. Mr Sebiloane sits in various committees in Cosatu

This committee does not have the luxury of time. It has to hit the ground running and help us realise the vision of harmonisation of road traffic and law enforcement in the country which will align management and operations of all traffic and law enforcement authorities across the three spheres of government.

Harmonisation must streamline the delivery of essential road traffic and law enforcement services, facilitate coordination, collaboration and ensure implementation and compliance with agreed uniform national standards for discipline and training among others.

Ladies and gentlemen, we believe that harmonisation and integration will ensure a greater impact on the prevention of road traffic offences, a reduction in road traffic fatalities and effectively contribute to increase visible policing.

We are committed in ensuring that we do everything we can to make travelling on our roads safer.

It is important to remember that every day is road safety day and we all have a responsibility to make our roads safer and to create a better life for all South Africans.

I thank you.

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