Members of the Shareholders Committee,
Members of the Board,
Management and staff of the RTMC,
Members of the Media,
Ladies and gentlemen,
This is markedly a historic day in traffic management in this country as we come together here today to witness the formalisation of the governance agreement between the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) and the Shareholder's Committee. I can assure you that the road travelled, in order to be able to sign this statutory document today, has not been easy and it was certainly the road less travelled.
Please allow me to share with you the journey that was undertaken and which brought us here today. I believe that the history and plight of the RTMC is well known to all present here – however, sometimes we need to remind ourselves about the departure point of our journey.
In 2010, the RTMC Board in existence at the time was dissolved by the Shareholders Committee on the basis that it neglected its fiduciary duties and responsibilities, having failed to exercise its oversight function over the Executive.
This was due to a number of irregularities and instances of mismanagement of resources as well as maladministration in the Entity which were discovered. This also included the non-payment of transaction fees to the department, which led to a process where a Task Team was appointed, to conduct investigations into the irregularities at the RTMC.
However, governance issues and a culture of non-compliance continued unabated at the entity. In order to address the intolerable situation at the RTMC, the Shareholder's Committee held a workshop on 14 February 2013 to deliberate on whether the Corporation is a viable entity in the foreseeable future.
The RTMC's Shareholder Committee subsequently passed a resolution to dissolve the RTMC and transfer its co-ordinated and related functions to the National Department of Transport. The resolution was as a result of challenges that faced the RTMC.
Since its establishment, the executive leadership of the RTMC acted outside the governance framework of the RTMC Act, thereby not fulfilling its legislative mandate. The RTMC was involved in cases of gross financial misconduct due to the irregular usage of the eNatis Transaction fees and in particular failed to adhere and follow the prescribed Supply Chain Management processes.
To compound the shortcomings the Shareholders Committee did not convene as articulated in the RTMC Act, thereby not properly managing the operation of the Corporation, leading to further disarray in the working of the Entity.
With Corporation riddled with bad publicity due to mismanagement it was unable to obtain the necessary funding and sourcing mechanism it was intended to achieve as prescribed in section 24 of the RTMC Act, resulting in it being solely reliant on the fiscal contribution.
Dear Colleagues and Media I am delighted to share with you today the events subsequent to the decision taken to dissolve the RTMC:
On 2 August 2013, the Shareholders Committee met and reviewed its resolution of 14 February 2013, i.e. to dissolve the Corporation thereby setting the following as a roadmap towards reviving and stabilizing the RTMC:
- appointment of the Board to facilitate the operationalisation of the RTMC;
- appointment of a permanent CEO for the RTMC
- development and approval of the Governance Agreement between the Shareholder Committee and the Board
To date, the roadmap set in the meeting of 2 August 2013 has been implemented and progress has been swift. Testimony to this fact, that the Board, which comprises of persons with vast experience in their field of expertise, was appointed with effect from 1 December 2013. In addition a permanent (as opposed to acting) CEO was appointed with effect from 3 January 2014;
We are confident that the appointment of the Board will present a refreshed outlook on traffic matters in the country.
Furthermore the RTMC has presented its Strategic Plan and the Annual Performance Plan to the Shareholders Committee which was considered and approved. The RTMC has taken its mandate seriously with regard to pooling its resources and powers to prevent fragmentation in the traffic sphere and in particular consulted stakeholders to obtain inputs and endorsement of its vision with regard to its strategy. This process was successfully undertaken in the last month.
With all this achieved in a short space of time, it is imperative that the Governance Agreement is presented for consideration and signing between the Shareholders Committee and the Board with the Strategic Plan and Annual Performance Plan being an integral part of the Agreement.
The purpose of the Governance Agreement is to formalise and regulate the working relationship between the Shareholder Committee and the Board pursuant to the provisions of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), National Roads Traffic Act, 1996 and the RTMC Act, 1999. The Agreement will furthermore define procedures and processes for accountability and reporting in order to facilitate the achievement of the entity's predetermined objectives.
I make a clarion call to the board and the RTMC staff to vigorously and robustly ensure the effective functioning of the Entity and urge all to take cognizance of the stipulations contained in the Agreement. I furthermore expect the Board to fulfil its oversight role in respect of the entity. The members of the Shareholders Committee will be accountable to me for the progress made within the entity.
We are confident that our vision to create an Entity that is well governed and well regarded to assume its role as a lead agency on road safety issues will be a reality and come to fruition. At the same time, I wish to thank all the roleplayers who played such a significant part in bringing us where we are today.
We particularly thank the members of the media who have supported us through the trying times and we know you will be there to promote our success story – the revival of a new era at the RTMC. I assure you that it will no longer be “Business as Usual”
Finally on the eve of the Easter Period and in the spirit of the celebrating 20 years of Freedom we call on the media to encourage road users to exhibit a sense of caring and patriotism to their fellow countrymen and women and be compliant and responsible road users.
I would like to leave the following thought in your midst:
J.R.R. Tolkien said “Not all those who wander are lost…. I believe that we have found our way and that our journey is just beginning”.
I thank you.
