In a move that will catapult South Africa’s transportation system into the next level, Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele will lead the hosting of an International Transport Investor’s Conference in Cape Town on 13-14 June 2011.
The conference will showcase projects aimed at improving transport infrastructure and services, whilst attracting appropriate investment into the rest of the transport sector.
“For the past few years, one of the critical challenges facing the Department of Transport and transport in general, has been the lack of sustained funding and investment. Investment in key transport infrastructure and critical public transport services has consistently lagged behind demand.
“As a result, we have seen the decay of our roads and the overloading on our commuter rail system because our assets are reaching the end of their life-cycle. However infrastructure upgrades are underway with a Capital budget of R19.5 billion over the next three years in areas such as Rolling Stock, Signaling Upgrade Programme, and Station Upgrades amongst others The deterioration of transport infrastructure has become a matter of life and death with thousands of lives being threatened in the process,” said Minister Ndebele.
“Government alone cannot afford to fund our requirements. However in the process of asking if we can afford the billions necessary for optimum investment, we must ask the question if we can afford not to make these investments any longer. Can we afford to delay these investments; can we afford the cost to our economy and the threat to lives? These are the hard questions we need to answer and the options are very limited except in partnership with the rest of the world,” said Ndebele.
Minister Ndebele expects the forthcoming international conference to focus on a range of areas including the upgrade of our national and rural road network and the modernisation of our entire sector.
“The debate in South Africa as in the rest of the world, is not whether we require transport infrastructure or not, but how we will fund this acquisition. Critical investment is, without debate, required in the proper and regular maintenance and upgrade of our infrastructure,” said Minister Ndebele.
“We must ramp up investment into these key sectors of our economy in order to drive South Africa faster on the road to being a developed country,” said Ndebele.
“We invite all investors in South Africa and internationally to join us in Cape Town so that together we can enter into meaningful partnerships which will be of mutual benefit but which will also benefit our region and continent,” said Minister Ndebele.
Media enquiries:
Thami Ngidi
Cell: 082 888 0852
Source: Department of Transport
