Programme director Mr Chris Hlabisa
MEC for Transport Mr Willies Mchunu
UMtshezi Municipality Mayor Councilor M Shelembe
Transport Portfolio Committee Chairperson Mr T Khaunda
Senior government officials
Distinguished guests
Members of the media
Ladies and gentlemen
We are here in Wembezi as part of the Transport Month Campaign which seeks to focus the country and all our people on the role of transport in the socio-economic development of our people. The October Transport Month focuses our attention on all the modes - road, rail and maritime and air. In particular we answer some questions about the role that these transport modes, together and individually, play in our lives in urban and rural areas.
This year's October Transport Month Campaign has been influenced by a number of elements. Typically, our activities this October are influenced by the opening of Parliament speech by the tone set by President Jacob Zuma and particularly the performance agreement that the minister signs with the president. During this October Transport Month we will take into account the following six outcomes of the Department of Transport.
These are:
- Transport infrastructure
- Public transport
- Safety
- Rural development
- Job creation
- The environment.
It is through the implementation of these outcomes individually and together, that we will determine the effect of transport on our people's lives. We have also focused the country's attention on safety by launching the National Rolling Enforcement Plan as part of the Decade for Global Safety in South Africa and the world.
Sanral Interchange
In this regard this interchange today was requested by the people of this area to consider the construction of an interchange on the N3 where the provincial road MR29 crosses it just north of the Wagon drift Dam. This was to give access to the people residing along MR29 at Wembezi,
Ntabamhlope, White Mountain and further westwards towards the Drakensberg foothills.
In June 2005 Sanral appointed BCP Engineers to conduct a feasibility study in this regard. The study established a need for the interchange at Wembezi.
- The expenditure to date of this project is over R33 260 000
- By the time of completion in 2013 the estimated cost will be over R46 million.
Road Safety Campaign
At the beginning of October we launched the National Rolling Enforcement Plan (NREP) which is about safer roads in South Africa. Since the start of the NREP campaign we have stopped more than 500 000 vehicles nationally.
Each road block indicates clearly that we are right with the NREP. There are far too many transgressions. There are far too many deaths. We are going to stop these unnecessary deaths.
We will stop no less than one million vehicles every month to check them for roadworthiness, infringements and offences. In addition we will produce one million new drivers over the coming year that are schooled in a new driving culture that we will help us reduce accidents and death.
On Thursday we were in the Eastern Cape as part of the NREP.
- We stopped 783vehicles
- We had 438 prosecutions
- We had 33 warrants of arrest
- 17 public transport vehicles were impounded for using invalid permits.
We are convinced we are correct; we can see the need for renewed enforcement. Safety and efficient transport are just some non-negotiables if a country is to move fast to become a developed country.
Supporting economic growth
Our legacy lies in part in recognising the importance of infrastructure as the basis of a solid delivery process for economic growth. At a macro-economic level research shows a correlation between investment in economic infrastructure and economic growth. The effect of appropriate and timely investment in economic infrastructure lasts up to 20 years and beyond. Infrastructure development contributes information of the country which has a correlation to a country's gross domestic product. Infrastructure development also contributes significantly to job creation especially in our country where economic growth is not labour absorptive.
Job-creation and increase in job opportunities is thus a key outcome to be achieved by the transport sector through our various delivery agencies (roads departments, agencies and technical services at a municipal sphere).
The roads component of the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) remains a key pillar of the Department of Transport's contribution to job creation through the implementation of labour-intensive projects.
The following amounts are targeted for provincial roads development in the 2010 MTEF EPWP allocation:
- R2.2billion in 2010/11
- R2.8 billion in 2011/12
- R3.3billion in 2012/13.
Rural transport infrastructure
Colonialism and apartheid balkanised South Africa. It created underdeveloped Bantustans which contrast sharply with well-developed white-owned commercial farming areas. This has left deep scars of inequality and economic inefficiency in our country. As part of government we are engaged in efforts to make a decisive intervention to change the conditions of our people towards the attainment of the vision of a better life for all. To this end, a Rural Transport Strategy for South Africa (RTSSA), aimed at achieving sustainable growth and development for improved quality of life of the rural communities, has been developed.
A project called Operation Emakhaya shall cover the following six strategic priorities:
- Community access roads: to address rural roads backlog by building new, rehabilitating the current access roads and instituting a regular road maintenance programme, which links communities to public amenities such as schools, clinics and essential social services
- Building of bridges and non-motorised transport facilities and related infrastructure
- Developing and implementing the integrated public transport networks for regular transport services
- Developing and upgrading airport network with a proper road-link infrastructure and services
- Revitalising the rural railway operations by expanding rail passenger services and freight operations to the rural areas
- Rural transport safety and law enforcement.
This programme seeks to respond to the massification of job opportunities through building community access roads and through labour-intensive methods. We must also seek permanent jobs through the construction of transport infrastructure and road maintenance programmes such as those pioneered in this province of KwaZulu-Natal such as Zibambele and Vukuzakhe. We also believe that the extension of rural transport services would yield further benefits to new entrants of transport operators.
This would also see more recruits and professionals entering the transport employment and small and medium businesses entering and staying in the transport sector. Today's occasion, which involves a number of levels of government, is an indication of the correctness of the slogan “Together we can do more"! In promoting inter-governmental collaboration, the department has put together technical coordinating teams, systems and tools for the delivery across sector and sphere.
In this regard, the process of prioritising rural economic nodes and the provision of rural transport to improve access, mobility and quality of transport infrastructure requires funding. We will continue to look at means outside the fiscus including public private partnerships and other innovations as a means to fund our programmes.
Shova Kalula Bicycle programme
The Department of Transport has the responsibility to address access and mobility challenges facing learners who walk more than three kilometers as a single trip to school on a daily basis, farm workers and rural women.
The primary project beneficiaries are currently those learners in the rural, semi-rural and peri-urbtransport or alternatives. They rely on walking to access their educational resource centres and the basic services. The Shova Kalula bicycle project has been identified as one of the key strategic focus areas in line with the requirements of the War on Poverty Campaign managed in the Presidency. Provinces prepare the business plans for the identification and selection of schools and enter into agreements with municipalities to put control measures in place. The Department of Transport then procures and distributes bicycles to the provinces, as per the approved business plans:
- In support of job-creation, the Department of Transport is facilitating the establishment of a bicycle manufacturing plant in South Africa
- A feasibility study will be undertaken, together with the Department of Trade and Industry in accordance with the industrial policy
- The study will be concluded in this financial year 2010/11.
We have spoken elsewhere about the importance of the state of the village, the state of the township and the state of the district.
Therefore, the delivery of rural transport services must include the delivery of:
- rural transport infrastructure
- village-level or intra-farm transportation
- rural passenger and freight transport services
- special needs transportation services.
We must support and improve the functioning of the market for rural transport services so we can reverse the townward migration of the best skills from the rural areas. Our focus remains the continued improvement of the current set of government interventions for rural transport.
These include public transport regulation, freight logistics, subsidisation and recapitalisation which are mainly peri-urban in bias. The purpose of the rural transport grant is therefore to improve mobility and access in rural municipalities. This we do in support of Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) by developing rural transport infrastructure including access roads, feeder roads and bridges.
Rail branch lines
The revival of rail as a viable means of transport has among others the benefit of bringing the overall cost of transportation down. We have identified and mapped branch lines including those that are under concession. Where possible the branch line network is aligned to the secondary road network in order to mitigate the deterioration of the road network. Transnet has issued an expression of interest on branch lines and has already started ring-fencing the branch line network over five years before this can be transferred to the department of transport.
Road freight strategy
Development takes place when people and goods are able to move freely and with the least cost to our economy. With a significant proportion of freight moving on roads, a road freight strategy is being developed by the Department of Transport (DOT). This is to optimise freight movement, encourage appropriate cargo on the right mode and preserve the road network of the country. We have gazetted regulations on secondary road reduction of axle mass limit. We have issued letters on the review of axle mass limits for comment.
Owing to the amount of inappropriate cargo on our road network we are spending high amounts of money on road maintenance. The state of our roads combined with our estimated backlog of R75 billion in road maintenance over five years is a cost we cannot sustain.
This is what informs our planning, seeking to reduce rising road maintenance costs, providing appropriate infrastructure and placing freight and commuters on the right transport mode. We are identifying critical projects ranging from institutional arrangements, funding options and infrastructure projects. The infrastructure projects are to be implemented by relevant local, provincial and State Owned Enterprises (SOE's) together with Department of Transport. Here are some of the projects that have been identified as high-impact national projects which will generate economic development; provide jobs and address:
- Development of Integrated Rapid Public Transport Networks (IRPTNs) for inter-city transport for the country
- Beitbridge to Cape Town Rail Link
- Road and rail regional access to Lephalale along R33 corridor
- N2 Multi-modal Coastal route corridor
- Development of emerging corridors in country
- Johannesburg to Durban Rail Link.
It is therefore against this background that the 2050 vision for the Durban-Gauteng corridor has been institutionalised and adopted on 15 September 2010 to be politically championed by the Minister of Transport. This is underpinned by a decision-making steering committee structure chaired by the Director-General of Transport, culminating into the various work streams.
Its main objectives are:
- To streamline freight logistics within the corridor, related corridors and sub-corridors
- Lower logistics costs within the corridor, related corridors and sub-corridors
- Improve efficiencies within the corridor, related corridors and sub-corridors
- Provision of capacity ahead of demand
- Short, medium and long term economic objectives.
The steering committee constitutes the following key stakeholders:
- Department of Transport (Lead Department)
- Department of Public Enterprises
- Department of Trade and Industry
- National Treasury
- Provincial Premier's Offices (DGs)
- KwaZulu-Natal
- Free State
- Gauteng
- Provincial Departments of Transport of the above-mentioned provinces
- Municipalities/Metros of the above-mentioned provinces
- State-Owned agencies
- Secretariat.
This process will focus on the following key nodal points within the corridor: Port of Durban, Cato Ridge, Harrismith and City Deep in Johannesburg.
Thank you.
