Programme Director,
HOD for Roads and Transport, Mr Ron Swartz
MEC for Roads and Transport, Dr Ismail Vadi
Mr Alain Flausch, Secretary-General of the UITP
Mr Ousmane Thiam, former President of the UITP
Mr Jack Van Der Merwe, President of the UATP
Mr Zoro Nagone, Secretary General of the UATP
MMC for Public Transport in Ekurhuleni, Mr Thumbu Mahlangu
MMC for Transport in the City of Joburg, Ms Christine Walters
Members of the Portfolio Committee on Transport in Gauteng Legislature
Leaders of the Taxi Industry
Distinguished delegates and guests
Members of the media
Ladies and gentlemen
It is my singular honour to welcome you to the Gauteng City Region. On behalf of the Gauteng Provincial Government, I am pleased that the 3rd Congress and Exhibition of African Public Transport, convened under the theme, Growing Africa through an Effective Public Transport System, is being held in our province during our October Transport Month Campaign.
The theme for this conference is line with our vision to contribute significantly to Africa’s new industrial revolution. This theme is also appropriate and consistent with our determination as South Africa and Gauteng province to play our role in positioning Africa as the centre of gravity in global politics and economics in the next century.
As Africans, we must be the first to understand that the future is Africa and Africa is the future. The rest of the world understands fully that Africa’s rise is unstoppable. The question is whether we Africans are ready to ensure that the world transact with us on our terms. We have to take steps to position our economies and political institutions in a way that will facilitate economic development that addresses the wellbeing of our peoples. We need bold plans and visionary leadership that is uncompromising on the need to meet the needs of our people.
Under President Jacob Zuma, South Africa has adopted a bold plan - the National Development Plan, Vision 2030. This plan addresses our long term vision and aspirations. It deals with all facets of human development, social development, economic development and ecological sustainability. It places skills development and infrastructure development at the centre of our vision for a better Africa.
South Africa’s investment in infrastructure has grown exponentially from about R600 billion in 2009 to R1,3 trillion in 2014. Public transport infrastructure investment has been an important part of this story of growth and expansion in infrastructure investment. The metropolitan municipalities have benefited enormously from the drive for infrastructure development.
As our concrete programme to implement the National development Plan, we in Gauteng have adopted a Ten-Pillar Programme of Transformation, Modernisation and Reindustrilisation of Gauteng. We see ourselves as Africa’s first City Region:
“A seamlessly integrated city-region, characterised by social cohesion and economic inclusion; the leading economy on the continent, underpinned by innovation-driven, green and sustainable industrial development.”
To understand the significance of the Gauteng City Region in context, all delegates present should know that Gauteng is no small economy. The province contributes 35% to South Africa’s GDP and 11% to Africa’s GDP. The Gauteng economy is worth R1 trillion in goods and services.
Going forward, we want to ensure that our province continues to be the economic hub of our country and the Gateway to Africa. How are we going to maintain our leading edge?
Through the ten pillars programme of Transformation, Modernisation and Re-industrialisation, we want to grow the province to a R2 trillion economy through:
- radical economic transformation: interventions in key sectors of the economy to unlock growth and employment potential and bring in blacks, youth and women and revitalise township economy.
- decisive spatial transformation: through public transport and new sustainable and integrated human settlements and new cities.
- accelerating social transformation: modernise education and build smart schools; improve quality of care and modernise health institutions and rollout of NHI; tackle urban poverty and social development challenges; dramatically improve community safety.transformation of the state and governance: build developmental state capabilities through better organisation and professionalisation; promote activist, purpose-driven and results- based government; active citizenry, sectoral engagement and community mobilisation.
- modernisation of the public service: build green and smart public services and infrastructure to deliver services effectively and efficiently: build a connected government; vertically, horizontally, back office, intranet, government to citizens, citizens to government etc
- modernisation of the economy: focus on economic modernisation through deployment of research, innovation science and green technology
- modernisation of urban development and human settlements planning: planned urbanisation and urban development
- modernisation of public transport and other economic infrastructure:
- Re-industrialise Gauteng and South Africa
- Take a lead in Africa’s new industrial revolution
We are therefore humbled that you have chosen our province to be the host of this the African Association of Public Transport (UATP). I am confident that we learn from this conference on how best we can reindustrilise the continent and in radically transform and modernise our transport system.
South Africa is making great strides in building an integrated public transport system that is so critical to economic growth and development. Gauteng province has some of the most advanced and modernised public transport infrastructure – Gautrain is the Africa’s speed train and Bus Rapid Transit systems being rolled out in our metros is a symbol of the future integrated urban transit system in our country. The planned recapitalisation of the commuter trains by the Passenger Rail Agency South Africa (PRASA) is a significant contribution to the modernisation of public transport infrastructure. All these are living monuments that give evidence to the narrative that Africa’s rising. We are proud of our contribution to this rise of Africa.
This Conference takes place in a municipality that is rising to become Africa’s first aerotropolis, OR Tambo International Airport, is the hub of the new airport city that places transport and logistics as the future of economic development. The Mayor of Ekurhuleni is championing the development of an airport city as a key driver of Africa’s growth. I am glad that we meet in Ekurhuleni, Africa’s manufacturing hub that has experienced significant de-industrialisation over the past three decades.
Together with our national government, we are using public transport infrastructure rollout to re-industrialise different parts of the province. Trains and busses are going to be assembled and manufactured in this City and this will boost local production which will enhance employment creation and inclusive growth path.
I am equally pleased that there is so much interest in this the 3rd Congress and Exhibition of African Public Transport.
Once more we welcome delegates from nine overseas countries, namely, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, India, Iran, Netherlands, the Russian Federation and Switzerland. I am particularly pleased that 12 African countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivore, Gabon, Morocco, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Zambia and South Africa) are represented here in one form or another. This augurs well for a speedier development of our various transport systems, and hopefully, much greater integration and inter-linkages across the continent.
We are certain that the many delegates who have joined us from the African continent and elsewhere will contribute positively to our understanding of how to build and develop our public transport systems, to world class standard. It is a commonly known fact that public transport systems in Africa and in many other developing countries is largely ‘under-developed’ or virtually non-existent, and in need of urgent attention by governments, the private sector and transport operators.
While some progress has been made such as the development of the Gautrain in our province and the Bus Rapid Transit systems in several African cities, much more work, effort and resources need to be put into the development of a reliable, accessible, safe and affordable public transport systems for the citizens of the African continent in particular and the developing world more generally.
Financing of public transport infrastructure should be one of the issues that should receive the attention of this Congress. We need to find innovative infrastructure financing solutions outside the fiscal constraints. With the rapid rate of urbanisation across the continent, more pressure is put on our urban systems.
Larger numbers of people are migrating into African towns, cities and capital cities. Their mobility is highly restricted and costly, thereby limiting and minimising their life opportunities and experiences. The World Bank’s Transport Business Strategy for 2008-2012 notes that efforts to accommodate the mobility and access needs of large numbers of new residents in cities have created unprecedented stress on public transport systems in developing cities.
Hence, the vast majority of our people rely almost wholly on unregulated, unscheduled, unsafe and informal transport modes or other non-motorised forms of transportation. Good busses and a credible rail system is a luxury that they can only dream about, perhaps, at a time when their grand children or great-grand children will grow up in years to come.
Urban transport plays a major role in the sustained growth and development of major cities. An effective urban transport system is necessary for the orderly and safe movement of people, goods and services, and to ensure economic growth of cities in Africa. This can only be achieved if there is synergy between transport planning and land-use planning. Moreover, there is a need for planning, regulating, control and organisation of the public transport sector, illustrating the contribution that public transport makes to the affluence of African cities. The African public transport experience is that the informal taxi industry provides transport to a large number of commuters across the continent and it therefore has to be intergated into whatver new modern public transport systems we are building across Africa’s towns, cities and villages.
In line with our National Development Plan and Gauteng’s Ten-Pillar Progamme, the Provincial Integrated Transport Master Plan addresses a set of strategic areas. These involve:
- Prioritising transport solutions that are safe, integrated, affordable, green and effective;
- Focusing on transport as an entire network as opposed to individual transportation modes;
- Finding ways to become less dependent on transport-only solutions by improving spatial planning and driving spatial transformation in cities so that people can live closer to areas of employment; and
- Convincing South Africans to increase the use of public transport, thereby lowering carbon-intensive transport mode usage, which will reduce the environmental, social and economic costs associated with transport.
It is vitally important to develop and implement effective and attractive public transport systems; ensuring sustainable infrastructure and spatial development of cities, and improved mobility and accessibility for the urban populations on the African continent and in the developing world.
Furthermore, the development of public transport is widely seen as the backbone of economic development in Africa. It is placed high on the agenda of the work of the Southern African region and there are huge expectations among our people from policy makers, decision makers, administrators and business. We are being called upon to set the pace and the footprints of a radically transformed public transport system.
One of the key requirements for this to happen is the transfer of knowledge and best-practice lessons and experiences from Africa and the world. I am led to believe that as part of this Congress, a two-day training programme was organised by the UATP; the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport, and the City of Johannesburg. Three professional trainers from the UITP’s Transport Centres for Excellence, Mr Kaan Yidizgoz from Singapore; Mr Thierry Wagennagt from Geneva, and Mr Eric Trel from the Netherlands, presented the programme. Forty delegates attended the programme and the feedback has been very positive. This kind of practical training is admirable and desirable and I am happy that six more training sessions will be arranged in the next year.
From the outside, the Congress programme looks very interesting and informative. It has various themes that are chosen to address the current challenges facing Africa in implementing an effective and efficient public transport system. I wish I could stay longer to participate in the various sessions devoted to different aspects of public transport such as “Urbanisation and Public Transport Policies”; “Mobility costs and public transport policies”; “Modal choice and integration of urban transport”; “Green transport and electric bus industry development”, and “Rail transport and urban mobility”.
My work schedule does not allow me spend the next few days with you. I must confess that I have a keen interest in many of these topics as they have a direct bearing on the priorities we have set for ourselves since taking office in June this year.
I wish to thank the various companies and government entities that have made generous contributions to the Exhibition. Without your active support this Congress would not have been possible. So, thank you for your sponsorship and support; we really appreciate it.
May I also take this opportunity to urge delegates to spend some time with the Exhibitors. They have the practical knowledge and experience in transportation and could be of great help in providing answers to questions you may have on unique problems in your area.
I invite all delegates to also take time to experience our public transport system by taking a ride on the Gautrain to park Station and change into the BRT bus to Soweto to visit Vilakazi Street where they will be treated to twonship hospitality and tourism. This is what Gauteng offers as part of the conferencing experience.
In conclusion, I wish all of you a successful Congress. In the end, we should not attend this kind of Conference because it allows us to visit our beautiful country or to meet friends. We come here to share experiences and to learn from one another so that we can go back to our countries and cities and introduce meaningful changes in the lives of our people. We must recommit ourselves to building and developing integrated, reliable, safe, accessible and affordable public transport systems for the people of Africa.
Together, we move South Africa and Gauteng Forward! And together, we can move Africa Froward!
