Honourable chairperson
Honourable members
Ladies and gentlemen
During the department's budget vote speech on 3 July 2009; we made the point that a country is only developed once its people have unfettered access to water, energy, peace, democracy, transport and communications.
Today is an important day because we are addressing provinces. It is in provinces and municipalities where we can best answer the question of whether South Africa is a developing or developed country. It is in provinces where we will confront the question, how long will we be satisfied with being a developing and not a developed country? It is in provinces where the issue of uneven development is revealed in all its starkness. It is provinces and municipalities which are at the coalface of service-delivery, right up to a village and street level.
When President Jacob Zuma delivers the State of the Nation, when Premiers talk of the State of Provinces, someone must be concerned and talk of the state of the village. Development is national, development is provincial, but development is also, and primarily, local.
Coordinated transport planning
This government has strengthened its capacity to undertake long-term development planning.
This is to assist national, provincial and local government as well as all state entities to better plan, prioritise and coordinate their service delivery programmes.
Consequently, as Department of Transport, our plans must relate to the national plan which in turn links the provinces and municipalities into the national planning grid. Through our public transport plan, the 2010 FIFA World Cup transport plans, transport infrastructure development, freight logistics and corridor development, we have started this coordination.
Corruption
In line with President Zuma's State of the Nation Address on 3 June 2009, we have adopted a zero tolerance stance when it comes to corruption. At the Department of Transport, we are committed to the reform and tightening of the regulatory regime and instruments dealing with anti-corruption, particularly with regards to supply chain management, driver licence testing and the Road Accident Fund. Through this house as well as platforms such as our extended Minmec, which includes provincial departments of transport, municipalities and Department of Transport agencies, we will instil this culture throughout the transport family. In this regard, our first extended Minmec and transport family meeting, last Thursday 2 July 2009, was very promising.
In order to address fraud and corruption in the driving licence system, we are moving towards computerised testing systems and have rolled out mobile and fixed stations in parts of the country. KwaZulu-Natal already has 21 fixed stations and two mobile stations; Gauteng has one fixed station and two mobile stations;
Mpumalanga has three fixed stations and one mobile station. One of our key focus areas will, therefore, relate to advancing the coordination, implementation and integration of transport activities across the three spheres of government.
Public transport-taxis
Just before the elections in April, the taxi industry approached President Zuma and the President told the industry to defer negotiations on the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system until after the elections. During the State of the Nation Address President Zuma said the Minister of Transport would resume discussions with the industry by 11 June 2009.
On 11 June we met with over 2 000 representatives of the industry made up of taxi associations and their organised structures at Gallagher Estate in Johannesburg.
At this meeting we announced the formation of a national joint working group on public transport. This week we are finalizing the names of the representatives for the working group. From the side
of government, the working group will comprise representatives from the national Department of Transport, provincial Department of Transport as well as the 2010 host cities. We have agreed that the working group members, both on the side of government and the taxi industry, must have a full mandate from their structures because they will be making binding decisions. We are aiming that, hopefully, by the end of September, there will be no outstanding matters with regards to the taxi industry. There must be a normal relationship with this important economic sector.
Government is taking this matter very seriously and therefore it has received attention from the highest level. We also want to commend the taxi industry for the serious manner in which they have been engaging with us on this issue.
Both government and the taxi industry are committed to finding a lasting solution to all outstanding matters.
The taxi industry plays a key role in the transportation of our people in all provinces and municipalities. At the last estimate, at least 65 percent of our people were using taxis and other public transport modes on a daily basis.
We have therefore tailored our approach to address real issues in the taxi industry. This will help us move quickly to a solid post-conflict era in government's relationship with the industry.
The pillars of this engagement are:
* Integrated public transport networks
* Implementation of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) networks
* Taxi Subsidisation and Taxi Recapitalization Programme
* Enterprise Development
* Legislation, Licensing and Regulatory Issues.
The challenge facing the taxi industry is to take part in the transport sector in its entire value-chain. We will assist the industry towards this goal. There are other activities, up or down the value-chain, including transport finance, fuel, spare parts, tyres or even the manufacture of vehicles. The taxi industry must consider its involvement in the other sectors of transport including rail, freight transport, maritime, aviation and infrastructure development. These are not out of reach for the taxi industry.
We recognise as government that this industry represents a critical entry point for Black people into the mainstream economy of South Africa. The challenge is to agree on how best they can play a more meaningful role within a proper regulatory framework. In our view the sky is the limit.
Taxi recapitalisation
The taxi recapitalisation programme was introduced to ensure that the ageing taxi fleet, and those taxis whose roadworthiness were due to expire, were replaced with new and safer vehicles. To date more than 27 800 old taxi vehicles have been scrapped with more than R1,4 billion paid out to operators. A total of R7,7 billion has been allocated for the Taxi Recapitalisation Programme.
Road safety
In terms of road safety, we want to focus on the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO), the points demerit system and improved security features on the card licences.
We want to ensure that the process to roll-out AARTO and the demerit system is fully underway in the next few months. In the interim, we will consider certain road traffic amendments in order to ensure the suspension and/or cancellation of driving licences as mandatory penalties on a wider basis.
A birth certificate, identity document, driving licence and passport are the most important documents for an individual. The first two define that you exist and the other two define your well being. To this end, we have extended the contract of the current service provider of the smart card drivers' licence to December 2009, since it lapsed in April. We will use the tender process to ensure that the latest product is tamper proof and has improved security features. From next year, you should not be in possession of a driving licence and a death certificate; one must cancel the other in much the same way that a death certificate automatically cancels a voter on the voter's roll.
Working with Home Affairs, we will ensure that the new driving licences have enhanced security and unquestionable integrity to be accepted in our country and internationally.
This could assist towards ensuring that a driving licence forms part of our primary identification documents.
Public transport-rural areas
Rural development is one of the key focus areas of this government. The role of transport in this regard cannot be overstated. Working with provinces we should ensure that access to schools, clinics and all public facilities must, as a matter of priority, be accessible by road.
A number of our people in rural areas are poor, but one of the characteristics of poverty is the inability to access essential services of government. Rural poverty is therefore also characterised by transport asset poverty, where roads and public transport are not available. The transport deficit means that communities cannot reach schools, business centres, hospitals and other opportunities.
We must have a balanced enhancement of our institutional arrangements for us to achieve increased investment, job creation, poverty alleviation and sustainable social and economic development.
We also plan to extend the rural road maintenance and the contractor development programme to other provinces using labour intensive methods to create jobs. This is based on success in KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and other provinces where infrastructure development creates thousands of jobs. These will form part of our contribution to the Expanded Public Works Programme and the national target to create 500 000 jobs by December this year.
Public transport-infrastructure
We are going to make the following transport infrastructure investments during the current Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) period:
* R18 billion for passenger rail infrastructure
* R70 billion for infrastructure, the bulk of which is road infrastructure
* R20 billion for airports infrastructure
* R19.6 billion for public transport infrastructure for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Among important projects which are funded by the public transport infrastructure and systems grant are the following:
* Public transport links and facilities
* Public transport interchange facilities
* Rail infrastructure and systems upgrade
* Inter-modal facilities
* Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) facilities
* Non-motorised transport facilities.
Integrated public transport
Honourable members, we are moving very fast towards an integrated public transport system. This is necessary to ensure efficiencies and to move us closer to the status of a developed economy. The integration of taxis, buses and rail transport in all municipalities becomes one of our priorities.
The transport modes must be integrated in order to deal with the challenge of the last mile. The last mile refers to people not being able to get home because for instance they arrive at a train station when the taxis and buses have already stopped operating. This could be avoided through better integration of the various modes. Distances between these modes must also be cut down drastically.
We are already implementing integrated ticketing to facilitate the movement of various transport modes in municipalities. Our integrated rapid public transport networks are in eight major cities of Johannesburg, Tshwane, Cape Town, eThekwini, Polokwane, Nelson Mandela, Mbombela and Mangaung.
Buses
The operator of Durban transport has cited inadequate subsidies and escalating fuel costs as key to their difficulties. Together with the eThekwini Metro and the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport we will find alternative operators as a matter of urgency. We will appoint new operators who will start on 1 August 2009 for a period of 12 months. The city is finalising discussions with taxi and other bus services to provide additional trips during July to maintain ongoing services.
Buses remain part of our plans nationally to move our people from city to city.
2010 World Cup host cities
During the 2010 FIFA World Cup, all host cities and their respective municipalities should be able to transport soccer fans within the transport plans. The 2010 FIFA World Cup projects in host cities and their budget allocations include:
* Rea Vaya in Johannesburg at a cost of R329 million and will integrate trains, taxis and buses
* Inner City Distribution and BRT networks in Tshwane which costs R104 million
* Nelson Mandela Bay-Khulani Corridor a BRT project costing R200 million
* BRT on the Klipfontein Corridor along the N2 Airport City in
Cape Town
* The Warwick Junction in Durban Inner City
* Road infrastructure upgrading projects in Limpopo.
We hosted a successful Confederations Cup and stand ready to stage a successful 2010 FIFA World Cup.
A successful world cup depends on the success of transport and we are up to the task. We will set up a co-ordinating structure for transport to ensure that the buck does stop with us.
The 2010 FIFA World Cup is not just about sport, it is also about transport.
The national rail plan
Government has invested R25 billion over the MTEF to upgrade passenger rail transport services in the country. Of this R14 billion is being spent to upgrade rail passenger infrastructure and rolling stock. Increased spending on rail infrastructure is important for sustainable economic growth.
Since 2006/07 the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) has accelerated the rolling stock investment programmes. This has led to over 1500 coaches being refurbished to the tune of R5 billion. An additional 700 coaches will follow this programme at an estimated cost of R2 billion.
We have developed our regional rail plans in consultation with provinces and metropolitan authorities. The regional rail plans clarified the role that commuter rail should play in the context of an integrated approach to public transport.
The development of transport in all its various facets remains a key condition for the development of a country. All provinces and municipalities must be accessible to taxis, rail or buses and aviation. We cannot be a developed country unless our transport system is developed.
Rail security police
It is of no use to spend billions of rand in transport infrastructure and services without making sure that transport users are safe. We are therefore paying special attention to improving security measures within the rail environment.
Through our co-operative agreement with the South African Police Service (SAPS) we are building security related infrastructure required for the rollout of a dedicated rail police unit. The rollout is on course with more than 1700 rail police currently active in patrols in the rail environment.
The construction of rail police stations in Cape Town, retreat, Belville and Phillipi in the Western Cape has been completed.
Construction is advanced in Durban, Reunion, Cavendish, KwaMashu in KwaZulu-Natal; Tshwane, Denneboom, Mabopane, Germiston, new Canada and Johannesburg in Gauteng. The Cape Town network has
already seen a 32 percent reduction in crime-related incidents and fare evasion has reduced from 9 percent to 4 percent. The benefits of this initiative are clear and we will be rolling it out to all provinces.
Aviation
The influx of air travellers for the 2010 FIFA World Cup has required the provision of new airport infrastructure. The Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) is progressing with its five year investment programme in all major airports totalling about R20 billion. All our airports are being upgraded to meet this increased demand.
The following improvements have been undertaken to accommodate the expected increase in passenger and cargo movements:
* OR Tambo International (R2.65 billion)
* Cape Town International Airport (R714 million)
* Upington (R33 million)
* Bloemfontein (R43 million)
* Durban (R65 million)
* East London (R91 million)
* George (R15 million)
* Kimberley (R8 million)
* La Mercy- Durban (R7 billion)
* Port Elizabeth (R52 million).
Honourable members, transport stands at the centre of our efforts to grow our country from a developing country to a developed country. We are aware of this responsibility and we are up to it
I hereby table our budget for the 2009/10 financial year which is R23.7 billion.
Thank you.
Issued by: Department of Transport
7 July 2009
Source: Sapa
