Statement issued by the Minister of Transport, Ms Sindisiwe Chikunga, on the occasion of the media briefing held at Umjantshi House, Braamfontein on 20 July 2023 at 11h00
This morning we visited PRASA to conduct oversight on the functioning of the War Room that is meant to co-ordinate the recovery effort of various corridors and accelerate the infrastructure rollout, improve security and give momentum to the modernisation programme.
This effort is an integral part of accelerating service delivery interventions and to ensure that we achieve the targets that we set out in the Medium-Term Strategic Framework in 2019.
We are pleased with the progress PRASA is making, and through this War Room, we will accelerate the pace of our interventions so that we restore services in the corridors we have prioritised for recovery this financial year and deploy the new trains.
While on the subject of service delivery, on 12 July 2023, the Constitutional Court in handing down judgment on the constitutionality of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) Act, confirmed that indeed the law was constitutional, and no aspect of it encroached on the executive powers of other spheres of government. The ruling affirms our long-held view that this a necessary law to advance our efforts in arresting the carnage on our roads.
We welcome this judgement as its provides clarity on the mandate of the national government to determine and enforce norms and standards that apply uniformly across the country. A fragmented system of adjudicating road traffic offences based on the whims of individual Provinces would undoubtedly result in chaos and render road traffic law enforcement interventions ineffective.
The AARO Act is an important cog in our road traffic law enforcement interventions aimed at arresting carnage on our roads and alter driver behaviour. This will reinforce other interventions such as classifying traffic policing as a 24-hour, 7-day job, alongside the regulation of driving schools and introduction of an NQF level 6 training for traffic law enforcement officers.
The implementation of this law across the country has been pending for 25 years, with pilots in place in the Cities of Johannesburg and Tshwane. With this judgement having cleared the path for the implementation of AARTO, we will move with speed to roll out its implementation across the country without delay.
We have had the occasion to engage with the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) in order to assess our state of readiness for accelerated rollout of AARTO across all municipalities in the country. We are pleased that the progress we had made on the eve of the constitutional challenge enables us to target 1 July 2024 for the nationwide rollout of AARTO. We have already established 43 service outlets across various Provinces.
We have completed requisite processes to implement the AARTO adjudication process as well as the electronic service of infringements. The latter will come into effect as soon as the President proclaims the AARTO Amendment Act.
We are also ready to finalise our recommendations to the President for the appointment of the Tribunal and the proclamation of the AARTO Act nationwide implementation, as well as the promulgation of the AARTO Amendment Act.
We have also completed the process of drafting regulations and have consulted with the Minister of Justice and all MECs. We are finalising the matter of concurrence by MECs and have received concurrence from the vast majority of Provinces. This is a matter we intend to put to bed at the upcoming meeting of the Shareholders Committee, made up of MECs responsible for Transport and traffic matters.
We will equally move with speed with the implementation of the points demerit system, an important cornerstone of the AARTO Act, intended to act as a deterrent for wayward motorist behaviour on our roads.
We are pleased that this judgement not only removes the uncertainty that was created by this legal challenge, but enables us to focus on ensuring that our roads are safe for all road users with penalties that will make a telling difference. The unacceptably high rate of fatalities on our roads is driven by many factors, with driver behaviour being one of the most serious. We have no doubt that the AARTO Act will make a difference by introducing severe penalties which include attaching movable properties of infringers, putting an end to a culture of impunity.
As we proceed with the national rollout of AARTO, we will proclaim implementation in 69 municipalities by the end of this calendar year, while AARTO will kick-in in the remaining municipalities by 1 July 2024. We are working closely with the Department of Co-operative Government and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) in ensuring that all municipalities have the requisite capacity to implement the law.
While AARTO addresses driver behaviour on the road, we cannot turn a blind eye to criminality that makes our roads danger zones and undermines the economy.
In recent weeks, the country has been subjected to criminality in the form of torching of trucks on our roads. The impact of these criminal acts is devastating to the economy, considering that road freight accounts for approximately 1.5 billion tons of cargo movements.
In addition the main mineral resources of the country are located over 500 kilometres from the ports through which they are exported.
For the last couple of years, there have been a number of rampant incidents of torching of trucks particularly on the N3, the corridor that carries an estimated 80% of the country’s cargo, primarily from the Port of Durban to the rest of the country. This corridor also caters for cargo destined for other SADC countries.
I have expressed grave concern on the torching of trucks on our roads, with recent incidents spanning the Provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga, with earlier incidents reported in Gauteng.
These criminals are committing an act of economic sabotage, which will not be tolerated. Working with law enforcement authorities, we will ensure that the perpetrators are brought to book and their conviction must attract the harshest penalties permissible in law. Our road network is the lifeblood of our economy and transports valuable cargo that keeps the wheels of our economy turning.
Government has provided a platform of engagement for any party aggrieved by working conditions in the road freight industry and progress is being made in addressing the issues on the table. The Ministry continues to work as part of the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) led by the Minister of Employment and Labour, Minister Thulas Nxesi, to address the challenges facing the sector.
Behaviour by any party that chooses to remain outside of the legal framework will neither be condoned nor tolerated. We call upon law enforcement authorities to unleash the full might of the law in dealing with those who think they can sabotage our economy with impunity.
We equally appeal to other road users and communities to work closely with law enforcement authorities and report suspicious conduct on our roads. We will not allow our roads to be used as an arena to commit crime.
I thank you.
