the Provincial Taxi Indaba, Karibu Leisure Resort, Tzaneen, Mopani
District
28 October 2007
Programme director
Executive Mayor of Mopani District Council
Honourable Minister of Transport Jeff Radebe
MEC for Roads and Transport Justice Pitso
Leadership of South African National Taxi Association Council (Santaco)
Chairperson of the Provincial Taxi Council
Taxi operators
Commuter representatives
Vehicle manufacturers
Financiers
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
It is a well-known fact that the majority of our people depend on taxis as
the main mode of public transport to ferry them from home to work on a daily
basis. More often than not, these taxis are mechanically not roadworthy hence
not safe to move people on our public roads. Whilst majority of taxi operators
do their best to uplift their vehicle's roadworthy standards, it is a sad fact
that our law enforcement officers, still come across those that are without
permits, and others without proper functioning brakes and those with worn out
tyres. Arrive Alive yearly statistics continue to show that unroadworthiness of
vehicles contributes to not less than half of all the major collisions that
happen on our roads. The people who die through these kinds of accidents are as
usual, breadwinners who leave their dependents orphaned and widowed. This
virtual circle adds a huge burden on our social security system, and reduces
the potential of our country to meet its developmental goals, especially if we
have to factor in, the economic costs that go with these accidents.
We remain worried about this trend, because we continue to see horrible,
bloody and fatal accidents that rob our country of much needed talents and
human resource which we need in order to develop. It is not easy for anyone to
forget the kind of accidents such as the ones, we saw recently along the
notorious Moloto road where a mini-bus claimed the lives of 13 kids from O R
Tambo High school in the Moutse area. We are nearing the festive season and
every possible care need to be taken by the taxi industry and all motorists to
ensure that no life is lost.
Programme director
Underpinning this indaba is a common desire by all in sundry to make our
roads and transport systems contribute towards economic growth, and most
importantly, save the lives of millions of our people as they travel from one
destination to another.
As delegates to this important indaba, we are challenged to make transport a
human right, a human pleasure, an economic resource and a servant of economic
activity. The taxi industry is a Small, Medium and Micro Enterprise (SMME)
sector which is known to create hundreds of thousands jobs in the transport
value chain. It is also one of the biggest enabler and facilitator of economic
activity both in urban and in rural settings. The 2020 Public transport
strategy aims to bring integration in all modes of public transport such as
rail, bus and taxis. This in our view will make the sector more dependent to
other sectors, profitable for operators, less stressful or conflicting for
stakeholders, bankable by the private sector, and most importantly user
friendly for commuters.
One of the most critical objectives of this indaba is to offer a platform
where all stakeholders will be able to appreciate, both the failures and the
successes of our public transport initiatives, especially the taxi
recapitalisation programme rollout.
All of you will know that, historically, the taxi industry has been a
largely black industry, which was unregulated and operating on a radius based
system. The new programme which government has introduced seeks to do away with
this system by introducing an operating licence system, which is based on
well-defined routes. In pursuance of this objective, one is pleased to note
that our province has already established a law enforcement unit which has been
overseeing taxi route compliance as early as 2005.
Of importance to note is that, the new system has been designed with the
commuter in mind, but also with an intention to formalise what has always been
largely a disorganised sector. The apartheid government never saw the need to
regulate this industry in the first place, hence the industry was characterised
by violence which claimed many innocent lives. The radius based permit system
of the past contributed to untold conflicts over routes, which became the order
of the day especially in the 80's and the early 90's. Since 1994, measures have
been taken by our government, in collaboration with taxi associations, to weed
out incidences of violence in the taxi industry.
Major milestones have been achieved to transform the sector into a thriving
and a better organised sector. For instance, in the past, we did not even know
how many taxis we had, since one person's permit certificate could be used to
operate at least two or more taxis. This no longer happens, as a permit is now
issued in accordance with a designated route. One other benefit that will be
derived from the taxi recapitalisation programme is the envisaged subsidy
system. We all know that bus operators have always been the only ones who
enjoyed government subsidies throughout the years and not taxi operators. It is
the stated intention of the taxi recapitalisation programme to subsidise taxis,
in order to ensure that commuters benefit from lower fairs as they do with
buses.
Since the beginning of the conversion of permits to operating licences
during 2004/05 a number of engagements with stakeholders have been taking
place. We have covered enough ground of consensus from the days when we did not
trust each other's actions about the real reasons for regulating and
transforming the industry. One remembers the early days when the taxi
recapitalisation programme was first mooted by government, when scores of
perceptions and innuendos were raised by stakeholders who saw this exercise as
nothing else than government's attempt to push taxi operators out of business,
and a hidden agenda by government to take away their routes. Through mutual
engagements and consultation with all parties, we have now succeeded to brush
our fears aside, and are now working together to see the realisation of the
taxi recapitalisation programme. It is our belief that all parties represented
here, now accept that the benefits of these programme far outstrip any of the
fears and concerns which might still be there.
This is why we are happy to report that the province has received
approximately 12 000 applications for conversion of permits to operating
licences. Of this number at least 8 600 operating licences have been issued to
operators in the entire province and the remaining ones are still undergoing a
process of verification. We are also witnessing good progress in the process of
scrapping old vehicles since the launch of the programme in February this year.
It is with deep sense of satisfaction that we are able to report that at least
1 700 vehicles have been scrapped out of the 2 000 applications we received
since the programme began early this year.
We look forward to see taxi operators who have scrapped their vehicles
switching over to vehicles that are more compliant with the new taxi vehicle
standards, especially with regard to passenger safety.
However, after all is said and done, we believe that the industry would
still need to pay particular attention to the question of individual behaviour
and conduct on our roads. While the introduction of new taxi vehicles is a step
in the right direction, all of us would have failed in our duties if we do not
correct recklessness and certain driving mannerisms which compromise safety
standards. Through education and awareness programmes, the industry may
consider setting up acceptable norms and standards of driving behaviour which
do not compromise passenger safety and the safety of other motorists.
The provincial government will on its part, continue to do its best, to
ensure that the condition of roads, which motorists are supposed to utilise are
safe and usable at all times. It is a stated goal of this government that, in
less than ten years from now, no motorist should travel longer than 10 km
before reaching a tarred road. This we will do not only to spare the lifespan
of our taxi fleet but also to ensure that travelling in Limpopo becomes a
joy.
I declare this conference officially opened!
Thank you
Issued by: Limpopo Provincial Government
28 October 2007
