Welcome remarks by the Minister of Transport of South Africa Mr M.J. Maswanganyi, on the occasion of the visit by the Australian High Commissioner, His Excellency, Mr Adam McCarthy, to South Africa held in Pretoria
His Excellency Mr Adam McCarthy,
Second Secretary in the AHC, Ms Pamela Currie; Delegation from Australia;
Acting Director General, Mr Matabatha Mokonyama; The South Africa delegations from DIRCO; Department of Transport Officials;
South Africa Road Transport Entities representatives; Ladies and Gentlemen;
Good Morning,
It gives me great pleasure to welcome you, His Excellency Australian High Commissioner, Mr Adam McCarthy and your delegation.
South Africa has declared the year 2017, the Year of Oliver Reginald Tambo in honour of this illustrious son of our country, President Oliver Reginald Tambo, who would have turned 100 years old this year, had he lived.
The selfless patriot adult life was dedicated to a tireless pursuit of the liberation of our country and its people. He left a lasting legacy for all South Africans, and not only for the governing party, the African National Congress.
Equally, the month of June is widely celebrated in South Africa as youth month in recognition of school pupils who lost their lives during the 16 June, 1976 youth uprising that took place in Soweto. This significant action led to a change in the course of the country’s history and political future.
His Excellency, South Africa and Australia established diplomatic relations in 1947 and enjoyed very close political and economic ties.
As campaigns for international isolation of South Africa intensified in the 1970s and 1980s, successive Australian governments placed Australia firmly in the anti-apartheid camp, supporting UN resolutions against apartheid and implementing the oil, trade and arms embargo as well as sport boycott against South Africa.
After the inauguration of the first democratically elected Government of South Africa in May 1994, relations were normalised.
In 1997, the Australia-South Africa Joint Ministerial Commission was established which is chaired by Trade Ministers. The JMC is the peak forum for the discussion and strengthening of the trade and economic relationship between South Africa and Australia.
To be specific, South Africa and Australia have a history of productive cooperation across a range of sectors and issues, including fisheries protection, mining, law enforcement, sport, tourism, education and training [in fields such as information and communications technology, public administration, mining and resources management], defence relations and customs cooperation.
Cooperation on the aforesaid fields is enshrined and encompassed in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Australia and South Africa that was signed on 21 September 2010, recognising the long history of cooperation between the two countries and aiming to strengthen political, economic and strategic engagement.
His Excellency, having said that, it will be our utmost pleasure to find further collaborations with Australia on transport related matter, in line with the UN Decade of Action on road safety call, particularly Target 3.6, which indicate that by 2020, we should halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents and Target 11.2 which states that by 2030, we should provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons.
South Africa through the Department of Transport, as the custodian of Transport road entities, comprising of the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), the Road Safety Infringement Agency (RTIA), the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL), the Road Accident Fund (RAF), and the Cross Boarder Road Transport Agency (CBRTA), have set out key milestone for South Africa in the achievement of the UN decade of Action, in line with the UN resolution.
It is to this end that the Department of Transport is looking forward to collaborating with Australia on matters including, but not limited to:
- Implementation of ISO39001 (road traffic safety management system) and
- Training on Road Infra Safety Audits (Australia have an accredited course and South Africa does not have one).
His Excellency, on Aviation, a Bilateral Air Services Agreement between South Africa and Australia was agreed on 18 July 1995.
The agreement was reviewed in October 2015 and we are still engaging with our sister departments of Justice and International Relations and Cooperation for concurrence.
I take this opportunity to welcome you to South Africa, enjoy the African winter and explore our entire splendor.
I thank you!
