Address at the National Press Club Roundtable on Transport Economy by Minister of Transport, Ms Barbara Creecy (MP), UNISA, Midrand
Members of the National Press Club
Ladies and gentlemen
Prompt execution of reforms in the logistics sector is essential to address and reduce the risks present in both our global and domestic environments.
Our SOEs and entities operate in an environment that is not of our choosing. Accordingly, this will require leadership and foresight to prioritise the interests of our country and its people. By ensuring that prompt execution of reforms in the logistics sector we can reduce the risks present in both our global and domestic environments.
To give guidance to this huge ecosystem and focus the work of all of our entities on a common programme to improve our passenger, freight and logistics system over the next four years, we are guided by six clear targets.
The first is to ensure that by 2029, 250 million tons of freight are carried on the Transnet network. The second is to improve the speed by which we load and unload ships to the international benchmark of 30 gross crane moves per hour.
The third is to ensure our passenger rail system provides safe, reliable and affordable transport to workers and their families and achieves 600 million passenger journeys per annum by 2030.
To boost the contribution of aviation to tourism, economic development and job creation we expect 42 million passengers and 1.2 million tons of air-freight to move through the ACSA network of airports by the end of this political term.
To ensure greater safety on our roads and reduce the devastating toll road accidents have on lives, livelihoods and the GDP we aim to reduce road fatalities by 45% by 2029 so we reach the UN target of halving road fatalities by 2030.
I am pleased to report here today that we have made significant progress in achieving all six of these important targets:
PRASA had, by end of May 2025, successfully revived 35 out of 40 service lines. It has also achieved an unaudited figure of 77 million passenger journeys for the last financial year and 116 million passenger journeys for the 25/26 financial year.
As a result of the hard work by the Transnet War Room, rail tonnage increased by 9 million tons to 161 million tons last year; and containers handled in our ports increased by 48 000 Units (TEUs), 54% up from last year. Since July this year we have been reaching or exceeding our weekly TEU target and I am pleased to report that there are no longer queues at our port terminals.
ACSA reports 489 000 tons of air freight moved through our airports last year and 18.97 million passengers indicating we are well on our way to achieving our 2029 targets.
Aggregated road accident figures up to the end of September this year indicated that we are 7% down on the number of road accidents and 8% down on fatalities from last year, with only Limpopo Province indicating an increase in fatalities as a result of the serious accident that occurred last month on the R51.
Fundamental to our rail reform program is our intention to re-establish rail as the backbone of transport for people and goods. Our freight rail reform programme is informed by the White Paper on the National Rail Policy of 2022 and complemented by the National Freight Logistics Roadmap of 2023.
The Roadmap for the Freight Logistics System in South Africa clarifies that strategic infrastructure such as rail lines and ports will remain in public ownership, as assets belonging to South African people.
The limited availability of state resources to fund infrastructure development makes private sector investment critical. To guide private sector investment in our five priority rail and port corridors, we have just concluded a Request for Information process.
We are currently processing the 163 submissions we received from private sector players and intend to release the first request for proposal or RFP by December this year.
In line with the Private Sector Participation envisioned in the White Paper on the National Rail Policy, we announced the first 11 private rail operators in August this year.
This year PRASA received a first trench of an estimated R66.1 billion over medium term period for maintaining, recovering and renewing rail infrastructure, rebuilding the signaling system, and rolling out new train sets for priority corridors.
ACSA has been allocated R21.7 billion for infrastructure development. This will improve facilities for passenger safety and comfort, over the medium term period and build a new freight terminal at OR Tambo International Airport.
Recently Oxford Economics Africa confirmed that SAA contributed R9.1 billion to South Africa's GDP in 2023/24, a figure projected to more than triple to R32.6 billion by 2029/30. Over the same period, the airline's operations are expected to support 86 700 jobs, up from the current 25 000, demonstrating their growing role as a national employer and economic catalyst.
SAA is pursuing a bold route expansion to strengthen its regional and global footprint. New regional routes from Johannesburg and Cape Town aim to boost intra-African connectivity, supporting tourism and trade. The airline has begun a measured fleet expansion to meet growing demand, reinforcing its role as a connector of economies across the continent and beyond.
SANRAL is responsible for 4.4% of South Africa's total road network (27 478 km), yet carries 34% of all annual vehicle traffic, and 70% of all long-distance freight.
The entity has a number of large scale infrastructure projects aimed at connecting communities, improving road safety and cutting down on congestion.
These include the R573 Moloto road upgrade, a route that traverses three provinces, the N2/N3 upgrade in KwaZulu-Natal, and the Huguenot Tunnel upgrade. Apart from improving connectivity across the country, these large scale projects are also key sources of employment in the areas they service. In the 2024-2025 financial year SANRAL created over 35 000 job opportunities, and provided support to over 2 000 SMMEs.
These projects are extensive and do not only entail re-surfacing and repairing roads, but include crucial safety upgrades such as improved lighting, widened lanes and the installation of traffic calming infrastructure. These measures will improve road safety and contribute to the Departmental goal of reducing road fatalities by 2030, as per the United Nations target.
The area of concern is the lack of capacity for road construction and maintenance at a provincial and local government level. This has led provincial governments to transfer specific roads to SANRAL for management and maintenance. To make sure that SANRAL is not burdened by these transfer, the Department has begun to assess the efficacy of road management grants sent to provinces, to see that these funds can be spent more effectively.
In conclusion, as I have shown, our efforts so far have resulted in some green shoots. But we cannot afford to be complacent. By continuing to institute much needed reforms we can increase our competitiveness and achieve our full potential and ensure that we are on a path to sustainable and inclusive economic growth, in line with the apex priority of the Seventh Administration.
With those few words, I also take this opportunity to officially launch the October Transport Month Campaign, under the theme implementing an integrated, sustainable and safe transport system that promotes inclusive economic growth, job creation and social development.
Thank you
#GovZAUpdates
