I Jacobs: Launch of the Taxi Scrapping Agency

31 March 2007

Programme Director
Executive Mayor of Ekurhuleni Metro, Councillor Duma Nkosi
Friends and colleagues
Ladies and gentlemen

Introduction

Let me start by quoting the famous line and adage that says "there is
nothing as powerful as the idea whose time has come." All of us here today,
have made great strides. We have crossed the public transport Rubicon. We have
laid the building blocks, and, in the same vein, we have also become the
building blocks. Together with our partners in the taxi industry and the
commuter organisations, we as government, have mobilised more than 50 000 taxi
operators to apply to convert their radius based permits to the new Route Based
Operating Licences, and also laid the foundation for the modernisation of the
taxi industry. And, we have also managed to help unite commuter organisations
in our province, under a new and united voice for public transport users, known
as the Gauteng Commuter Organisation. All of us are also united behind a common
programme to improve a significant part of public transport in our province and
our country, the Taxi Recapitalisation Programme.

And to those at home and at work, those travelling to places of sporting
activity, we as government would like to say, that what we are celebrating,
this morning, here at Ekurhuleni Metro, and in Gauteng province, is not a
partnership for self-serving convenience. It is not a worthless means to an end
and it is also not a dream doomed to fail. Instead, it is a living
relationship, between government, the commuters, the taxi industry and the
broader community of our province, based on a common vision for our country's
socio-economic wellbeing. It is about collective confidence in achieving a
better Gauteng. It is also about holding one another's hand and walking the
path towards a better public transport system that is effective, efficient and
integrated as well as safe, affordable, accessible, reliable and
environmentally sustainable, and better placed to serve the needs of our
people.

Context

All of us hold in our hands, not just the extension of a united resolve and
determination to change the face of public transport for the better, but the
continued growth and development of Gauteng province, the economic hub of South
Africa. We, in Gauteng province, are playing our part in building our beloved
country based on the massive belief and aspirations of the people of South
Africa, in the possibility of the attainment of our own "Rome." Today, we
gather to also speak of a future Gauteng, whose transport system shall be of
world class standards, and whose new spatial planning and design is already
linking communities and enabling faster access to economic opportunities, thus
creating a city region of united services. Through our growing partnerships,
with all stakeholders in our province, we are living that dream.

Public transport is the future. Our province is now home to more than nine
million people, and the population continues to grow. This brings with it,
countless possibilities and opportunities to engage in more business activity
in the transportation of people, goods and services. What we as government
would like to see is also a taxi industry that will take its rightful place in
the broader transportation arena, producing entrepreneurs who have an
understanding of the opportunities that exist in the area of transport in
general.

Challenges

As government, we believe that transport is the heartbeat of our country's
economy. It is up to all of us to decide whether we want to become the heroes
of the very moment we hold in our hands or whether to miss the opportunity to
change things for the better, and for the benefit of the broader community.

Let me also say, however, that the Taxi Recapitalisation Programme is not
just about cars and their age or condition. It is about the Reconstruction and
Development of our country. It is about redressing historical imbalances in the
investment of the mobility of people, so as to make it easier, and better, for
thousands, of mothers, fathers, children and workers, to get to their
destinations on time, in comfort and in safety, using public transport that is
equitably accessed by all, irrespective of how far they stay or their
socio-economic standing. The mandate of this democratically elected government
is to use the resources at its disposal to bring forth the possibility of the
achievement of this very important goal and strategic objective.

Public transport must enable us to break the obstacles and the barriers to
meaningful participation in the livelihood of our communities. And on that
note, we would like to acknowledge the important and historic role played by
the taxi industry from the dark days of historical disadvantage and
underdevelopment.

Thank you, for patiently building a network of public transport corridors
that have since become the very lifeblood of the economic heartbeat of our
country's economy. Even though by deliberate design, you were excluded from
meaningful participation in the growth and development of our country's
transport system, you have defied all odds to take your rightful place on
matters of public transport.

The Taxi Recap Programme and the scrapping of old taxi vehicles

The old taxi vehicles have played their part and helped us to become better
communities. They have built families, over many decades, and they have taken
us to school, and to work, and other places of trade. They have given us access
to the once distant possibility to overcome the odds and to become one, in the
most difficult times of the growing pains of our country. These vehicles have
written the history of our province, bringing, to Gauteng, and shuttling,
millions of migrant workers. They have transported and also built a forever
growing African Diaspora that continues to converge in the very economic centre
of Mzansi Africa, giving us the possibility to benefit from the knowledge and
the collective skill of Africa's best talents.

The scrapping of the old taxi vehicles is also symbolic of the rebirth, the
growth and the modernisation of the taxi industry so as to ensure that it
better serves and whets the socio-economic appetite of the many communities
that Gauteng continues to give birth to. Public transport is also critical in
the mission to defeat the twin challenges of poverty and underdevelopment in
the Southern African socio-economic hive of activity and trade.

Conclusion

Today's event is also not just about taxis alone. It is also about
integrating all public transport modes into a seamless system, resulting in the
delivery of a united service to the people. It is about building an integrated
public transport system. Government is now working tirelessly to build a public
transport friendly road network together with integrated public transport
corridors. All of this work will put us in a better position to introduce new
taxi vehicles that take will the quality of public transport to higher
levels.

Yesterday, we launched and also celebrated the opening of a new centre of
driver excellence, in Gauteng; a new fully automated drivers' licence testing
system, at the Langlaagte Drivers' Licence Testing Centre; and we are convinced
that it will help us to produce better drivers who will enable us to improve
the quality of service, improve road safety and to save precious lives.

As a caring government, we believe that this initiative will tie with
today's official launch of the Scrapping Agency in Gauteng and also help us to
achieve our strategic objective.

Issued by: Department of Public Transport, Roads and Works, Gauteng
Provincial Government
31 March 2007