Address by the Minister of Transport, Ms Dipuo Peters Mp, on the occasion of the Conference on Transport Authorities, Birchwood Conference Center, Boksburg
The Premier of Gauteng Province: The Hon. Mr David Makhura;
MEC for Roads and Transport in Gauteng: Dr Ismail Vadi;
Executive Mayor of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality: Cllr Mondli Gungubele;
Deputy Secretary General of the International Organisation for Public Transport Authorities and Operators, Mr Mohamed Mezghani;
Director-General of the Department of Transport in South Africa: Mr. Pule Selepe;
CEOs of State-Owned Entities;
Heads of Departments of Transport;
Industry players in the Public Transport Sector;
Academia and civil society;
Officials from all spheres of government;
Members of the media;
Ladies and Gentlemen
Good morning,
On behalf of the people and the government of the Republic of South Africa, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you all to this important conference. In particular, I want to extend my warmest embraces to our international guests who have made their varyingly extensive, but worthwhile journeys to our shores with the intention of making this conference an unqualified success.
Just a week ago, on the 4th March 2016, we witnessed as a Province, a great milestone in terms of transport in our country, particularly passenger rail transport. The sod turning for the construction of a billion rand factory in Nigel, for the manufacturing of rail rolling stock. More than fifty billion Rands will be spent in the building of 3 600 new coaches, translating into 600 train-sets in the first 10 years of the project. The Rolling Stock Fleet Renewal Programme is expected to create approximately 6 500 direct and indirect jobs over a 20 year period.
Programme Director;
I am truly delighted to be making this keynote address at this dignified occasion where we are meaningfully gathered under the theme: “Transition towards a Transport Authority: Gauteng, a Sustainable City-Region on the Move”.
By definition, ‘city-regions are the products of a linking relationship among various orders of cities and their surrounding areas, often but not necessarily having a shared administration.
The Gauteng City-Region (GCR) Observatory reports, “The GCR is South Africa's economic heartland. It holds 13 million people and generates a third of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), on 2% of its land area.” This gives a fascinating picture of the giant strides taken by the Gauteng Province to become a beacon of South Africa’s economic development since South Africa’s political transformation.
Given that this is a manifestation of the advent of democracy and booming regional economic prosperity, the culmination lends plenty of credence to Economist and current Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, Mr Li Keqiang’s, assertion that , I quote:
“Changes call for innovation, and innovation leads to progress”.
Close quote.
Ladies and Gentlemen;
As we are gathered here today to consult, brainstorm ideas and deliberate, I want to call upon each and every single one of us here to look into the future and to think about the coming generations throughout the course of our engagements.
Therefore, the pervading sub-theme of this very important conference should dovetail with the following prerequisites of effective and sustainable urban transport planning: innovative thinking, multi-modality, improvisation, cost effectiveness, environmental sustainability, efficiency, integration, safety, accessibility and futuristic designs.
It is crucial that our conference encompasses all of the above-mentioned requirements, because forecasts indicate that by 2025, almost 60% of the world’s population will be living in urban areas.
In November last year, the city of Ekurhuleni launched its Aerotropolis Master Plan in order to position itself as a globally competitive city. However it is important that this is not just about the development of built-environment but also provides a commercial value proposition where OR Tambo International Airport’s global connectivity with other strong aviation hubs in the world is enhanced. True to the theme of this conference, this calls for much closer cooperation and collaboration between the City, Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA), Gauteng Province and the National Department of Transport.
In South Africa, the review of the transport sector policy leading to the 1996 White Paper on Transport Policy identified the fragmentation of transport functions and responsibilities between local government and other spheres of government as one of the major problems inhibiting effective and efficient transport service delivery.
While there is evidence in certain European Countries including the United Kingdom that Transport Authorities (TAs) play a role in addressing fragmentation in transport service delivery and improvement of the service quality, in South Africa, TA’s were provided for in Part 5 of the now repealed National Land Transport Transition Act, No. 22 of 2000 (the NLTTA).
In terms of that Act (the NLTTA), TA’s could be established through the signing of a Founding Agreement between the National Minister, the Municipal Council/Councils of the Municipality/Municipalities seeking to establish a TA as well as the MEC responsible for transport in a Province where those municipality(ies) belong.
This provision was piloted in Ethekwini, hence the establishment of the Ethekwini Transport Authority (ETA), was the first and the only TA established in terms of that piece of legislation.
It should also be noted that the National Land Transport Strategy that was approved in 2007, to facilitate the development of the final National Land Transport Act found a number of concerns with regard to the appropriate institutional arrangements and Transport Authorities in particular. The following are some of the concerns regarding the transport functions identified by the National Land Transport Strategy:
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Lack of a sustainable funding provisions in the NLTTA ;
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The legal status of Transport Authorities in terms of Municipal Systems Act;
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Conflict with other Municipal Legislation;
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Limitations of Transport Authorities functions in the NLTTA;
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Unfunded mandates; and
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The autonomy of the Transport Authorities.
To address these challenges, the National Land Transport Strategy proposed the consolidation of functions to the municipal sphere of government. The following functions were identified to be placed at a municipal sphere of government for effective delivery, namely:
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Planning and co-ordination;
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Service delivery;
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Regulation and Market entry; and
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Implementation and Monitoring
Based on the above, the National Land Transport Act, No. 5 of 2009 (the NLTA) does, therefore, makes NO provision for the establishment of Transport Authorities anywhere in the country. This was done to create more space and autonomy for transport planning and provision of transport services local/municipal level as enshrined in the Constitution as well as the Municipal Systems Act.
Provisions in the NLTA that speaks to cooperation amongst a Province and adjacent Municipalities in relation to transport matters are to be found in Sections 12 and 19.
Section 12 provides that:
Intergovernmental relations
12. (1) A province may enter into an agreement with one or more municipalities in the province to provide for the joint exercise or performance of their respective powers and functions contemplated in this Act and may establish a provincial entity or similar body in this regard, subject to the Constitution and this section.
(2) One or more adjacent municipalities may agree on the joint exercise or performance of their respective powers and functions contemplated in this Act or may establish municipal entities in terms of the Systems Act for this purpose.
(3) If the spheres of government cannot agree, subject to this Act, on the division of land transport functions between them, they must act in a manner and spirit consistent with the principles of co-operative government prescribed by section 41 of the 35 Constitution and apply the provisions of the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act, 2005 (Act No.13 of 2005).
On the other hand Section 19 provides that:
Adjacent municipalities
19. (1)Where there are significant transport movements between two or more adjacent municipalities, they may establish an inter-municipality forum in terms of section 28 of the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act, 2005 (Act No.13 of 2005) to co-ordinate their functions in terms of this Act and to ensure that their integrated transport plans take account of such movements.
(2) As an alternative to such an inter-municipality forum, such municipalities may establish a multi-jurisdictional service utility for the purpose in terms of Part 4 of Chapter 8A of the Systems Act.
Coming back to the issues I raised above in relation to the Gauteng-City Region concept we have also realized through the National Household Survey work that the majority of the daily trips in Gauteng generally, and in Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni in particular don’t necessarily begin and end in the same municipal/metro area. This could call for a greater cooperation in transport planning as well as the provision of transport services.
I am also pleased to announce that Cabinet has approved the National Land Transport Amendment Bill, which is envisaged to be introduced in Parliament soon. The Bill is a Section 76 Bill, meaning it will be debated in both Parliament and Provincial Legislatures during the course of this year. This present and opportunity for stakeholders with Parliament before the amendments are passed into law. It may therefore be necessary for stakeholders interested in the re-introduction of TA’s into national legislation, to take advantage of the parliamentary process and engage on the matter.
Programme Director
In proactive anticipation of the aforementioned bourgeoning urbanization, the National Transport Master Plan (NATMAP) Vision 2050 is being finalized with the aim to deliver a dynamic, long-term, and sustainable transportation systems framework in South Africa.
The primary goal of NATMAP 2050 is the development of an integrated, dynamic, sustainable framework for transport infrastructure implementation and services provision in South Africa.
It reflects the shifting of transport ideology in support of the government’s current radical economic transformation process, which aims to develop the country, not in the typical demand responsive way, where we provide transport infrastructure in response to sufficient demand, but rather using a developmental and transformative approach. This means transport projects have to be used as a catalyst to unlock development and support transformation in our country even though there is not always sufficient demand.
Many of us would realise that Master Plans of the NATMAP’s denomination are becoming a development benchmark across all government domains in Africa. Further, Master Plans are becoming increasingly predicated on national, regional and continental policy alignment.
For instance, due to unflagging internal and external pressure on African governments to accelerate the development of critical infrastructure in transport, ICT and energy, individual African infrastructure strategies are being aligned through the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA).
From a regional perspective, policy alignment finds no greater expression than in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Regional Infrastructure Development Plan and the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Inter-regional Infrastructure Master Plan.
Being no exception to the rule of thumb, the Gauteng Provincial Government, through the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport (GDRT) has developed a 25-Year Integrated Transport Master Plan (ITMP25) for the Gauteng Province and it is duly aligned with NATMAP 2050.
The need for a transport authority for a Global City-Region arises from the need to manage the multitude of challenges that are posed by rapid urbanization in the region. The transition towards a wider Transport Authority would actualize a supervisory structure that would plan for the kinds of growth trajectories, and policies that promote spatial, mobility and energy efficiencies in the region.
Therefore, the forward-looking idea of a transport authority is lateral in its thinking and it is imperative that we use this important conference to harness all of our expertise, energies and conceptions in order to accurately delineate its role, responsibilities, powers and functions.
The establishment of a Transport Authority will only serve to promote the implementation of the Gauteng Integrated Transport Master Plan and to enhance the region’s global reputation.
I must add that the Gauteng Province as the leader and economic hub of the country must be commended for their excellence; and for not coasting on previous accomplishments like the Gautrain, because as renowned American Professor and Physicist, William Pollard, once said, I quote:
“Learning and innovation go hand in hand. The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow.” Close quote.
Ladies and gentlemen;
The National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) reveals that barriers to mobility in the country have been reduced in the last ten years, yet several challenges remain. Rural households have better access to public transport and have reduced travel times. There has been a general increase in the percentage of households who used taxis (from 59% to 68,8%), buses (from 16,6% to 20,1%) and trains (from 5,7% to 9,9%). This reflects a general increase of the percentage of travelers in the country during 2003 and 2013. Indeed the ANC led Government is the government at work.
A lot of improvements have been made in the Public Transport sector. However, we must continue to make more viable alternatives to private transport and encourage eco-mobility. All public transport modes must be integrated and must remain accessible, reliable and affordable to the elderly, people living with disabilities and the most vulnerable in our society.
The reputable Legatum Index recently placed South Africa second on the continent and 75th in the world in the 2015 global prosperity index rankings. South Africa's best performance is in the Entrepreneurship & Opportunity sub-index, where it ranks 37th globally. This means that South Africa is fresh with opportunities and is one of the most prosperous nations in the world and this can only be possible through a fully effective public transport system. Needless to say that our country is on a steady upward trajectory as we have moved six places up from the 2014 rankings.
Programme Director;
In closing, I would like to make the following few remarks. The provenance of South Africa’s democratic Republic is intrinsically associated with consultative processes. 25 years ago, the African National Congress led all progressive forces at the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA), which culminated in a peaceful transition from apartheid to a democratic and free South Africa. This enormous feat was achieved through deliberative consultation and it is my sincere persuasion that our discussions, here today, will be similarly successful and beneficial.
It is said that “exploration is the engine that drives innovation. Innovation drives economic growth” so I urge you all to use this consultative platform to explore the most optimal mechanisms to make the Gauteng a truly sustainable Global City on the move!
I thank you!!
