Speech by the Minister of Transport Ms Dipuo Peters, at the stakeholder engagement session on the Moloto Road Developent Project held in Kwa-Mhlanga, Mpumalanga
MEC Nhlengethwa
MEC Mapula Mokaba-Phukwana
MEC Ismail Vadi
Traditional Leadership present
All Executive Mayors present here today
Director General and Senior Management of the Department of Transport
Senior Officials from SANRAL, PRASA and other DoT Entities
Ladies and gentlemen
The month of December is traditionally a period when the values of family, culture and religion are celebrated. For many of us it is an opportunity to take a short break at the end of a hectic year and to spend quality time in the company of family and loved ones.
However, it is also a period when traffic mounts up on our roads, when the volume of cars, buses and taxis show a significant surge and sadly, it is also when the number of serious crashes and fatalities start to rise.
I think that on a day such as this, when we come to engage on a project that will result in a much improved road, we can all agree that the number of deaths caused by road crashes in our country is unacceptably high. As communities we can no longer afford to tolerate this untenable situation and we should work together as government and civil society to bring lasting solutions to the table.
This road, the R573 or Moloto Road, is often referred to as “the road of death” because of the high number of accidents that have occurred here in the past. Unfortunately, the figures show that there have been 47 fatal crashes on this road in the period January 2011 to July 2014.
Ladies and gentlemen,
This is not how it should be. Roads are there to bring life to communities and society. Roads exist to bring economic opportunities, jobs, commerce and enterprise to our towns and villages. Roads transport people from home to work, deliver our children safely to their schools, move produce from farms to markets, connect families and friends over distances.
Roads are the arteries of our economy. They carry the vital lifeblood of economic and social activities that keep our country going and our communities vibrant. Roads represent growth, progress, opportunity and life. When a road assumes a name such as “road of death”, that is abnormal and points to the need for all of us to correct that situation. And the project we will be engaging on today is meant to do exactly that.
Programme Director,
The R573 – a road which connects three provinces in our country, Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumalanga – should provide safe access to economic opportunities to the 33 informal settlements and townships within its immediate vicinity.
As Government we have launched a number of major infrastructure development programmes designed to create the basis upon which the country will grow over the next three to four decades as we proceed with the implementation of the National Development Plan.
Within this framework, the Moloto Development Corridor will play an important role as a logistics spine that connect the three Northern provinces and, through its linkages with the N4 freeway, also extends into the wider Southern African region.
Within Mpumalanga the road will, no doubt, be a catalyst to stimulate economic growth, especially in the Dr J S Moroka and Thembisile Hani Municipalities. In Limpopo the road will be a strategic factor in the implementation of the Provincial Development Plan with its strong emphasis on mining, agriculture and tourism as the major drivers for future economic growth.
I think this project also demonstrates the wisdom of the decisions taken by both the Limpopo and Mpumalanga governments to transfer the management of vital provincial roads to SANRAL which has taken over responsibility for the engineering and maintenance aspects. These roads now become SANRAL assets and will be funded from the national fiscus.
In Gauteng, SANRAL and the provincial government have entered into an agreement where the construction of identified roads such as this one will be managed by SANRAL, but funded by the Gauteng province.
Programme Director,
It is interesting to note that the international community is currently focusing its attention on two distinct – but inter-related issues – that have major implications for the future of our global society. The first is climate change and you are, no doubt, aware that President Jacob Zuma recently represented South Africa at the COP21 Summit in Paris, France where he addressed leaders of 190 countries on behalf of the emerging nations of the world.
A second global focus area is road safety. We are in the middle of a period called the Decade of Action of Road Safety – an initiative launched by the United Nations and strongly supported and endorsed by the South African Government.
This initiative is a response to the stark reality that road crashes kill more than 1.25 million people per year world-wide. More people perish on our roads than from some high-profiled diseases such as malaria and TB.
However, ladies and gentlemen, in the week before we celebrate Christmas and in a period in which we look with anticipation towards the start of a new year, I want to emphasise the positive aspects of our campaign, celebrate the victories that we do achieve and use them as examples on which we can build for the future.
I recently attended the Global Road Safety Summit in Brazil during which representatives from across the world considered the progress we are making, examined the world-wide trends in road behaviour and accidents and presented on best practices and innovations that can be introduced to bring down the number of crashes and fatalities that currently occur.
There are a number of key lessons that we can learn from other countries and I am pleased to say that in many aspects of thinking and planning about road safety South Africa is making strides to get in line with modern approaches. We have adopted the Five Pillars of Road Safety approach to place equal focus on the issues of
- road safety management;
- infrastructure (which involves improved road design for all users)
- safe vehicles;
- road user behaviour; and
- post-crash response and care
Programme Director,
All these elements will be present in the upgrading of the R573 that we are discussing today.
From an engineering perspective, SANRAL’s interventions will create a safer road through the widening of critical sections, the introduction of roundabouts, pedestrian walkways and dedicated turning lanes at vital intersections, and the introduction of better street lighting. We want to improve this piece of infrastructure so that it becomes a safer road.
SANRAL has already started with routine road maintenance which includes the repair of potholes, the sealing of cracks, the cleaning of drains, the trimming of foliage along the road, new line markings and road signs.
To add to the safety aspects, some of the most hazardous illegal access routes that have sprung up next to the main road through the years will now be closed and proper fencing and walkways will be constructed.
I want to emphasise the fact that we will not allow the invasion of the road reserve. This is an issue we must all, as stakeholder, agree on as such invasion will only lead to delays in the implementation and completion of the project.
This road is of vital importance to the communities in the vicinity and we urge the community to take pride and ownership of the road, engage with us during its implementation and ensure its successful delivery.
I have already instructed SANRAL to ensure that the community and all stakeholders are kept informed, through direct interaction and various media and communication platforms, about progress on the project right from conception to completion.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I want to emphasise the fact that the road construction projects initiated by SANRAL across the country are always accompanied by opportunities for construction, job creation and training that benefit the surrounding communities.
On this project, SANRAL will again make use of emerging enterprises that are suitably qualified to perform the work and will employ people from communities who are located in the vicinity of the construction.
The different companies which are responsible for the main contracts will recruit labour from within the districts and municipalities in the area. Significant portions of the contracts will be packaged to enable small and medium enterprises to perform the work and, thus, gain experience on a major project.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I want to encourage contractors from this area and from within this community to form consortiums and to bid for the work packages that will go out on tender. This Moloto Road project will open up great opportunities for emerging contractors to establish joint ventures with the bigger construction firms and to create opportunities for job, training and skills transfers within the local economy.
Annually SANRAL spends about R2.4-billion on contracts with SMMEs, especially benefiting enterprises owned by black entrepreneurs, women, the youth and people with disabilities.
They are contracted to perform essential work packages on the primary contracts which are awarded to major engineering and construction companies. The range of work includes road marking, fencing, grass cutting and earthworks.
In addition, the training and skills transfer provided by SANRAL during the implementation of the project add value to the experience the enterprises gain by working with the primary contractors. This has, in the past, enabled many small and local companies to grow their business, create employment and work on future projects in the construction and related sectors.
Programme director,
Work on the most critical 25 kilometre section of the road will be completed during the first stage of the project and the full upgrade of the entire 139 kilometre R573 will be done over a five year period. The communities who live in proximity to the road will then be served by a world-class infrastructure development that can contribute to the economic activity in the region.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Through this development we are transforming the “road of death” into a “road of life”. We have listened to the concerns about safety and access expressed by communities, by civil society and traditional leaders. We have responded to the presentations made by local, district and provincial governments and elected representatives.
We have taken into account the views expressed by the business community, the tourism industry and the agriculture sector to provide a better and safer road that will help to generate economic activity and lead to job creation and regional growth.
Finally, ladies and gentlemen,
I want to make an appeal to the people of the three provinces that are being united through this road to regard it as a valuable asset of the community. World-class infrastructure can make a massive contribution to create a safer transport environment and reduce the number of accidents that occur on the roads.
But the roads cannot exist in isolation. We need changes in attitudes among road users. We need responsible behaviour by motorists, taxi operators and bus drivers. We need cautious pedestrians who do not cross the roads at unsafe venues. We need the leaders in our communities – the church leaders, the traditional leaders, the elected representatives, the teachers and parents – to emphasise the virtues of road safety and urge road users to respect the rules of the road.
Programme director,
I want to express my appreciation towards all the role players who are working together across district and provincial boundaries to make this project a reality. I am looking forward to seeing the contribution of the many small and emerging enterprises – drawn from within your communities – who will also be working on this project.
I am quite confident that we will see, within a very short period of time, a marked reduction in the number of crashes and lives lost on this road. We will have fewer families that will have to stand next to the open graves of loved ones who have lost their lives or visit the severely injured in hospitals.
Indeed, the new Moloto Road will become a major asset for the communities, local municipalities, the districts, the provinces and region in this part of our country.
I thank you.
