National Freight Databank
8 October 2007
Thank you very much for affording me the opportunity to address this special
occasion and I am indeed privileged and honoured.
Let me first start by recognising the approval of the National Freight
Logistics Strategy by Cabinet in 2005, as a blue print that eventually came
into existence in order to assist in addressing the various challenges faced by
the sub-sector both at system and firm level within South Africa, the region,
continent and the global market.
In particular, the strategy also allows us to be able to access information
from all relevant stakeholders in order for the department to make informed
decisions and investments. The final approval of the strategy was a great
achievement indeed.
In my Budget Vote speech in May 2007, I raised the fact that revitalisation
of non-core rail lines must ensure economic sustainability of small towns and
rural communities.
In relation to my Budget Vote speech of 2007, today we launch one of the
remarkable tools that would enable us to locate these non-core rail lines and
find a solution in ensuring that economic sustainability in rural towns happens
and the communities of those towns benefit from the revival of these lines.
Today is also an important day in the South African freight environment, as
this country in its entire freight history, has never had a consolidated
freight database linked to a Geographical Information System (GIS) platform and
contributed squarely so, by both public and private sector.
I sincerely hope that this joint contribution between public and private
sector would be sustained forever. It is against this background that my
department, jointly with the province and private sector successfully completed
eight of the nine provincial databanks, with the exclusion of the Eastern Cape
province.
A process of bringing the Eastern Cape province on board in this regard has
been completed, and subsequent to its completion, a national update would
follow suit.
The National Freight Databank, I believe, Programme director, would create a
comprehensive platform to engage in constructive analysis of data, accurate
interpretation of data and make constructive and proper conclusions for
government to make informed decisions. The informed decisions out of the
National Freight Databank can only assist government to make proper investments
in both operations and infrastructure, if private sector commits to provide
accurate and real-time information.
The National Freight Databank should therefore be used as an integrated
baseline tool which will enable the mapping of corridors, enable regional
integration, determine freight traffic peak-times and congestion, particularly
at border posts and also assist and contribute in the development of freight
scenarios for 2014.
Having said that, Programme director, some of the issues highlighted above,
the Databank has already started a process of execution on them as follows:
* The tool is currently being used to integrate movement of freight between
the Republic of South Africa, Southern African Development Community (SADC) and
the continent through sharing of what we have as a country in terms of freight
movement, industry location and the various modal infrastructure, including the
landlocked countries.
* Both Government and private sector, through this process, have already
made it possible for the completion of eight provincial databanks, excluding
the Eastern Cape province.
* The tool, through the GIS platform, can already map corridors and
determine the rail/road market share.
* The National Freight Databank on the GIS platform can now be accessed on
the departmental intranet system.
* Lastly, it can determine peak-times on general freight flow and border
posts.
This therefore means, Programme director, as the tool undergoes its
implementation process, linked to it, there should be enhancement of skills and
capacity to successfully execute its implementation process.
I therefore want to take this opportunity to reiterate the 2006 Transport
Lekgotla resolutions, amongst of which was the imperativeness of provinces,
local and district municipalities to intensify the call of building capacity on
freight logistics.
Capacity building within the freight environment would therefore remain on
the
Transport Lekgotla agenda and expectation for as long as it is not visible.
This enhancement of freight logistics capacity cannot be achieved in isolation
but need serious private sector engagement in an effort to acquire shared
knowledge and expertise.
I therefore urge the private sector to assist in this regard as they know
the operational environment better than government, not withstanding the fact
that community involvement in this regard is equally important.
Programme director, let me take this opportunity by emphasising what I
think, as this process unfold, should be kept in the mind of every relevant
stakeholder:
It is President Thabo Mbeki's call in his address at the 95th Anniversary of
the African National Congress on 8 January 2007, that South Africa has a role
to play in its contribution to the successful functioning of the operations of
the African Union and the importance of it to continue working for the success
of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad) initiatives.
Through this call, Programme director, I sincerely think the National
Freight Databank has already started putting South Africa on the map, as far as
both SADC and the continent are concerned, in playing that role and will
continue the sustenance of playing the role.
Lastly Programme director, I would like to remind the present stakeholders
that this Databank is for public consumption and its ownership rests with
government, which means no one is allowed to make any commercial gains out of
it.
Secondly, I would also like to thank all the stakeholders who came and
sacrificed their busy schedule to come and be part of this joint initiative,
with particular reference to those from our neighbouring states if present
today, without them the National Freight Databank would not be a success. Your
continued support is highly appreciated indeed.
I thank you.
Issued by: Ministry of Transport
Source: SAPA
