MP, at the National Assembly
30 May 2006
The Departmentâs timeframes, targets and programmes highlight key components
of our strategy to âsecure cost-efficient, poverty breaking integration across
the transport systemâ by entrenching innovation, reprioritising budgets,
reinvigorating the departmentâs skills base and the agencies that report to
us.
The Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA) points out that investment in
economic transport infrastructure lagged behind social infrastructure
investment in the first years of democracy. Transport is about reducing the
costs of doing business and âimproving the quality of lifeâ of people and of
âincreasing workforce productivity.â Development is more likely if âthe
infrastructure is purposefully managed and financed to deliver the services
where or when the economy requires or people need at prices affordable to both
the economy and the individual.â But âinfrastructure provision needs to be
sensitive to context in order to most effectively enable and support the
translation of productive investment into efficient growth and equitable
development.â
Co-ordination and a âcomprehensive, overall transport infrastructure funding
strategy (that matches) financial resources with identified needs to develop
infrastructure in a rational, integrated and coherent fashionâ are central to
success.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) describes
South Africaâs transport system as âstellarâ in an African context but notes
that the quality is uneven and requires significant investment.â It highlights
government co-ordination as a major factor for success and singles out roads as
regular recipients of investment, but slams the railways and ports as the
âweakest links in the South African transport system.â
Both reports provide a starting point for discussion but there are important
silences in them such as our more recent efforts relating to rural strategies
and in the public transport arena. Many challenges bedevil the transport system
but public transport, the freight logistics system and safety and security of
the transport system as a whole are critical to our project. I will focus on
these three this afternoon.
Public transport must focus primarily on the needs of the urban poor and the
rural disadvantaged and isolated communities. But our planning must also build
a future where public transport is a viable alternative for all travellers.
Currently financial support for public transport is applied in different ways.
For example, the subsidy for rail commuter subsidies addresses historical
backlogs and operational costs, whilst bus subsidies are operational in
emphasis. Support for the minibus taxi industry takes the form of
recapitalisation as a step towards the integration of the taxi sector into a
re-organised public transport system.
The public subsidy review is due in September and aims to benefit the
commuter probably through a more equitable subsidy system for rail, buses and
taxis by rationalising route definitions and allocations between different
types of transport and integrating public transport systems suited to local
commuter needs.
The merged South African Rail Commuter Co-operation (SARCC) or Metrorail
entity is working to achieve administrative rationalisation and aims to improve
safety on trains, reduce train delays, improve comfort for passengers, and
improve access to more people. In the meantime the SARCC and Metrorail are
upgrading lines in Durban, Cape Town and the Witwatersrand areas.
As far as the Gautrain rapid rail link is concerned, I am pleased with the
way in which all stakeholders have reconfigured the original concept towards
greater integration into the wider public transport system of Gauteng. This
will ensure a broader social return on our investment than previously
estimated. We expect to release more details about the project shortly.
The taxi recap programme is divided into stages such as the current
conversion of permits into operating licenses and I am heartened to note that
as of yesterday, conversion applications had been received from 85 percent of
taxi operators. This is a marked increase since last year when we twice
entertained the industryâs request to extend the deadline. Licensing boards
have struggled to process these applications and the national Department has
provided resources to help them. I have also requested MECs to monitor the
licensing boards to ensure that the backlogs are sorted out quickly.
I must stress however, that there is no intention to penalise operators who
are not in possession of the new permits after 1 June, as long as they have a
receipt showing that they have applied for one. In the few cases where it
appears that receipts were not issued I have asked provinces to regularise the
situation urgently.
New safety requirement compliant taxi vehicles are now available in a price
range from about R140,000 excluding the R50,000 scrapping allowance. We expect
that there will be between six and 11 different models for taxi owners to
choose from across the three vehicle categories. With the appointment of the
scrapping agency soon we should be well on our way by the second half of the
year to reach our target of 10 000 scrapped taxis by December.
Honourable members, the freight system is huge and complex with multiple
structural inertias that reduce its capacity and efficiency. The difference
between earlier projections and actual growth highlights the difficulty of
responding to immediate challenges while developing the future structure and
mechanics of the system. We must integrate sub regional initiatives to get the
most out of potential growth areas. The Department of Transport (DOT) has
sought the assistance of, amongst others, the University of Stellenbosch
Business School to improve our understanding of and to develop a robust
modelling for the sector.
Transport currently contributes some six percent to Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) despite an acknowledged negative impact of continued bottlenecks, non
transport related tariffs and other impediments. But the data shows that we
have to exert more transport effort to achieve the same goals than comparative
economies around the world. In short, we have to transport freight over much
longer distances to create the same unit of GDP as other countries. The spatial
concentration of economic endeavour in the hinterland is a major contributor to
this unhappy situation and it also influences our corridor traffic densities
and invariably the cost of production. Furthermore, although expenditure on
roads has increased quite dramatically and is set to continue across the Medium
Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), real expenditure is under pressure from
sources such as the spiralling costs of bitumen. High fuel costs have also
increased transport costs.
Currently the imbalance between road and rail use is wholly inappropriate
and getting worse. Heavy vehicle registrations have grown dramatically while
the locomotive fleet for general freight business has plummeted. The locomotive
fleet for the profitable heavy haulage iron-ore and coal lines has increased by
83 percent over the same period. In short, general rail service capacity is
declining while service capacity to mining companies is outstripping the growth
of the economy.
These trends represent a major challenge to provide cheaper transport
services where producers already face cost structure problems brought about
through structural and spatial contexts. Government will introduce competitors
across the entire rail network as articulated in the National Freight Logistics
Strategy (NFLS), with the exception of the heavy haulage lines that are better
suited to single operators. Our analysis of the entire freight market suggests
that rail services (not infrastructure) supply is inadequate while road supply
(not infrastructure) is higher than levels of demand. The movement of
appropriate cargo to rail is an imperative but we must ensure that rail
capacity actually exists to take up whatever shifts are needed.
Corridor development is a core project. The Gauteng-Durban Corridor, for
example, aims to optimise and integrate all activities along the corridor to
improve efficiency. Linking city to deep, the planned Harrismith Hub, Durban
Container Terminal, Dube Trade Port, the possible freight hub at Cato Ridge and
other infrastructure and operational initiatives will greatly improve the
situation. We have a better understanding of the growth and dynamics of the
freight network now as a result of our experiences to date.
There is an artificial divide between the first and second economy
production systems, exemplified by an absent integrated transport network. We
cannot starve the second economy participants from economic prosperity.
Secondary rail network rehabilitations aim to support second economy
integration with the first economy. Targeted investments rather than large
investments are required in these rural and second economy interventions.
Current projects include the Kei Rail, Belmont - Douglas and Nkwalini
upgrades.
Self contained and integrated rural development activity that envisages deep
rural areas developing public and freight movements systems both to encourage
economic development and interaction within these areas and facilitating access
to the outside world and vice versa, are also critical interventions.
The integrity of the whole transport system relies on adequate safety
systems and regulatory regimes to protect people and cargo. Road safety is the
most visible and pervasive of all safety systems. It must encompass a range of
elements including technical and engineering standards in road design, signage
and of course vehicle safety. But it also involves policing and enforcement of
regulations and laws, currently the responsibility of the Road Traffic
Management Co-operation (RTMC) various locally based structures.
Part of the problem with road safety and this is brought about by the wholly
unacceptable levels of violence and deaths on our roads is that we are
encouraged to consider the success or failure of initiatives on the basis of
immediate results. Road safety is as much a cultural matter of road users as it
is the responsibility of state agencies. I look forward to the release in mid
year of an updated and reformulated Road Safety Strategy (RSS).
As far as compensation for road injuries goes the combination of new blood
at the Road Accident Fund (RAF) the implementation of the changes that
parliament recently approved the public discussion of the draft regulations
published yesterday and their adoption either in current or amended form
shortly should go some way towards bringing sense and sensibility to the
system.
Incidentally I have requested the DOT and Special Investigation Unit to
prepare a detailed presentation sometime soon on the ongoing investigation into
drivers licence fraud. Let me just say that things are not as chaotic as some
would have us believe but watch this space!
Safety and security across the transport sector are critical components that
support the integrity and contribution of the system; but their absence only
undermines it. Violence and insecurity on our suburban trains, in the taxi
industry and to a lesser extent in the bus sector have long plagued our public
transport system. Since the deployment of South African Police Service (SAPS)
trained personnel, we have witnessed a general decline in criminal acts of all
kinds on the lines where they have been present. We have decided therefore to
increase the number of special rail police from 400 to 5000 by the end of 2008
to bring more areas under their control. We believe this will go some way to
improving peopleâs safety on trains and in stations although a lot still needs
to be done.
SARCC/Metrorail management assure me that the safety of commuters is a
priority that they are addressing through a range of actions, such as
investments in signalling, stations, refurbishment of rolling stock,
installation of CCV cameras and so on. The ongoing extension of capacity in the
rail safety regulator is also encouraging.
We have not seen the current levels of deaths and violence on some of our
trains since the apartheid regimeâs war against commuters on trains and in
taxis in the 1980s and early 1990s. No amount of rhetoric can justify these
actions today and I am sure parliament joins me to condemn the organisers and
perpetrators unreservedly, whoever they may be. The cost to life and limb and
to property, are enormous.
Infighting in the taxi industry is also an incredible waste of human and
other resources and I would have hoped that by now these problems were behind
us. The associations themselves together with law enforcement agencies have a
combined responsibility to bring taxi violence to an end; at the very least for
the safety of passengers and the public. I must also state that I am deeply
concerned that officials who have been tasked by government to develop,
implement and oversee the taxi recap programme have been subjected to
intimidation and of threats to their lives and wellbeing. This is thuggery and
government will act forcefully against those responsible.
Honourable members, I have not touched on some issues such as the 2010 FIFA
World Cup preparations or other matters that have been dealt with in recent
parliamentary questions. And I am sure that more issues will be raised in the
course of the debate that will require some response at the end. Some of them
like the World Cup, aviation, maritime and provincial project items I will
address tomorrow in the NCOP Budget debate.
I have simply provided a snapshot of some of the critical issues that
confront us as we overhaul our transport systems. These are complex issues that
do not lend themselves to simplistic solutions. But having said that we must
not dilly dally in implementing measures that will move as forward towards
constructive interventions. That is why the strategic plan is both ambitious
and practical but its implementation will be marked by movement into the
unknown and we will judge progress partly from this perspective.
I thank you in advance for an instructive debate.
Issued by: Department of Transport
30 May 2006
