Chairperson, members of the NCOP, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. I must start by expressing my sincere sympathy and condolences to the family and relatives of the 19 people who were killed last Saturday in a head-on collision between a minibus taxi and a bakkie at Franklin near Kokstad in KwaZulu-Natal and to the family of the 15-year-old Mpho Nyembe from Alexandra in Johannesburg, who was killed in a senseless schoolboy prank on Friday, 22 October. We wish all those injured a speedy recovery.
A few weeks ago we stopped 750 vehicles at a roadblock on the main road entering East London in the Eastern Cape. Out of those 750, in 438 vehicles some of the drivers were found to be drunk! I was there and it was between 09:00 and 11:00 in the morning! The drivers of 438 vehicles were found to be drunk, not wearing seatbelts, or driving stolen or unlicensed vehicles, or taxis without the relevant permits. If this is the picture in just one province and one municipality, we have a serious problem indeed. It is why we are experiencing so many accidents and deaths on our roads.
The roadblocks we are manning are meant to make our roads safer. To date, since 1 October 2010, more than 914 000 vehicles have been stopped through the new National Rolling Enforcement Plan, NREP. By the end of this week we will have exceeded our target of one million cars per month, and we are not going to stop. We are going to intensify the new NREP by stopping one million cars per month until South Africans start to behave.
Our agency, the Road Traffic Management Corporation, RTMC, has a multimedia project which we are rolling out in some schools in South Africa. It is a multimedia project which we intend expanding. We intend having more road safety lessons in it, targeting Grade 11 and 12 learners in preparation for their learner driving licence. We have already signed a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Basic Education in regard to this matter. We have already started the process of resuscitating the Junior Traffic Training Centres, as well as allowing children to have practical exposure to road safety.
As indicated above, road safety lessons will be taught under Life Skills in all our schools. We are in the process of developing learning materials and working with some private sector industries in putting together different types of modules. This will assist our efforts to reduce road traffic crashes.
In our Budget Vote this year we articulated the importance of the implementation of effective and sustainable road and rail infrastructure networks and services. So, with our students, we want to have a situation in which, when they get their matric certificates, there is a matric certificate in the one hand and a driving licence in the other. The days should be gone when we classify ourselves as a fast-developing country, yet we have 25-year-olds who can't ride a bicycle, can't ride a horse, can't swim, and can't drive a car. What sort of a developed country is that?
While the role of transport in our economy is well documented, our people are also aware of the importance of transport from their everyday experiences. They go to work, to school, to hospitals and to visit friends and relatives. The presence or absence of an efficient public transport system can be a matter of life and death to a terminally ill person in the rural parts of our country. Transport affects all spheres of our development and human endeavours.
As government, we must show we care about the huge impact that transport has on the lives of our people, as well as on our economic growth and development. Our ability to spearhead growth and development will therefore be partly measured by our success in providing or our failure to provide a transport system consistent with the demands of our economy.
For this reason, I want to make a brief reference to the National Household Travel Survey 2003. According to the survey, 38 million citizens live in households with no access to a car; 14 million learners walk to school; 13,7 million citizens use public transport at least once a week; and 7 million workers and learners use public transport.
Furthermore, there are 10 million vehicles in South Africa, but only 7 million licensed drivers. If we have 7 million licensed drivers, the logical question we must ask is: Who drives the other 3 million vehicles? It is quite clear, however, that despite the growth in motor vehicle use, public transport and walking are still the predominant lifeline forms of mobility for the vast majority of South Africans.
Hon members, it is against this backdrop that in March 2007 Cabinet approved the Public Transport Strategy and Action Plan 2007-20. This was in order to create a lasting legacy of public transportation in South Africa.
The strategy consists of upgraded model fleet facilities, stops and stations; extended hours of operation to between 16 and 24 hours; peak frequencies of 5 to 10 minutes; off-peak frequencies of 10 to 30 minutes; and an hourly night service. Its targets are that 85% of all residents in urban areas will be within one kilometre of the rapid public transport network by 2020; that there will be safe and secure operation monitoring by intelligent transport system control centres; that there will be electronic fare integration and single ticketing when making transfers; that there will be an integrated feeder service, including walking, cycling and taxi networks; and that there will be a car-competitive public transport option which enables strict peak period car use management.
These plans, ladies and gentlemen, require efficient planning, skilled manpower, and funding mechanisms. This approach comprises the Metrorail Rail Priority Corridors and the Gauteng Rapid Rail Link, as well as bus rapid transit corridors. It also includes the recapitalisation and regulation of taxi services. The three spheres of government are already working closely together to ensure the speedy implementation of this plan.
The bus rapid transit, BRT, buses are already operating in the City of Johannesburg and in Cape Town. The department has advanced with BRT plans in metropolitan cities and related provinces, and BRT plans are advanced in the Mangaung, Polokwane, Rustenburg, Mbombela and Buffalo City municipalities.
In line with our public transport strategy and plan, we also have to interrogate the machinery of our road-based public transport in order to develop a national passenger road plan. The plan is now servicing our framework for the integration of the road-based public transport system. Most importantly, it serves as a guide in transforming the subsidised commuter bus regime into an integrated road-based public transport system.
Chairperson, apartheid's spatial distance must become a thing of the past in a democratic South Africa. In this regard, our public transport strategy also stresses greater emphasis on the improvement of passenger rail services, which are both short- and long-distance services. Our plan is centred on reducing the kilometre distance to time or travelling distance. The journey from Johannesburg to Durban should not be measured in terms of kilometres any more. It takes one hour by air, six hours by car and 12 hours by train to travel from Johannesburg to Durban. It takes 2 hours by air, almost 13 hours by car and almost 20 hours by train from Johannesburg to Cape Town. Yet if one uses the EuroStar, it takes about 2 hours from London to Paris or Brussels. The distance of over 2000 km from Beijing to Shanghai, which is scheduled for completion in 2012, will take about three hours by high-speed train.
There was a time when it was said with some pride that there was no hurry in Africa. There was a time when we lived in splendid isolation from the rest of the world. If we persist with the prevailing notion that there is no hurry in Africa, then the world is going to pass us by. If doing business and moving people and goods in South Africa takes forever, the world is going to pass us by. Throughout the world today people and goods move with speed. The slow strive to become faster, and the faster strive to be faster still, yet our long-distance rail in South Africa has stood still.
Our National Transport Master Plan 2005-50 should therefore move from being a plan to an operation. Our emphasis on passenger rail services is premised on the fact that this is a prime mass mover of our people, particularly workers who commute daily between areas of work and their residences. It makes sense therefore that an efficient rail system would massively assist in the resolution of our public transport problems.
Cabinet has also approved the National Passenger Rail Plan, which is our initiative to secure the future of commuter rail by applying the priority corridor strategy to the rail network throughout the country. The intention is to extend rail services to areas previously not covered and to improve the efficiency of the existing passenger rail lines. Here we have funding challenges for refurbishment of rolling stock and purchasing of new coaches. Committed funding of R16 billion to improve our passenger rail system in the next three years could ease the situation but additional funds are required.
In the past four years, as a department we have had a series of challenges with regard to rail security. Scenes of vandalism, cable theft and vandalism of property have featured prominently at our rail platforms. Special attention has been given to improving security measures within the railway environment. This strategy includes a co-operative agreement with the South African Police Service to invest in security-related infrastructure. To date, the construction of police stations at the Cape Town, Durban, Retreat, Bellville and Philippi stations has been completed.
With the reintroduction of the railway police, we have seen a significant drop in crime on our trains, as well as at our train stations. Crime has been cut down by more than 38% to date.
The move to rail does not mean we must abandon our road network. We are merely seeking to implement the appropriate balance of people and goods on both road and rail. In this regard, the Road Infrastructure Strategic Framework for South Africa identified six critical areas for intervention if our roads are to serve as catalysts for required development.
There is one Minister of Transport, and there are nine provincial MECs, and the municipal mayors, who each have responsibility for sections of the 750 000 km of our country's road network. Yet an ordinary South African does not care whether a road in a rural area is owned and maintained by the local authority or by the national authority. All they want is for the road to be usable, whether it is raining or not. We have the capacity in the developed authorities, coupled with limited or no capacity at the developing authority level. The other area which is as critical is the development and maintenance of information and decisions in support systems. Information about the state of a road is very important in determining what maintenance work is required and when this should be done. To give a quick illustration, we know that about 80% of our road network is now older than the 20-year design life. This is based on information from 64% of the roads, primarily national, provincial and in some cities. Only 4% of municipal road information was obtainable in this exercise.
The biggest challenge with our roads is that by the time a problem is visible on the surface it means we are somewhat late with remedial action. On the other hand, when the road is deteriorating without showing the stress on the surface, we often do not see the need to make the necessary interventions. For this reason, we have now agreed as Cabinet and Treasury that there will be dedicated funding for road maintenance right across the board from national and provincial to local levels.
In a context such as ours, where there are competing demands on the fiscus, this competition leads to inadequate allocations and delays, which ultimately means we intervene when it is too expensive to do so. This is often prompted by the outcry about potholes, as we have recently witnessed. I encourage all participants to learn from these lessons.
Most industries in South Africa face globalisation and transformation challenges but the South African transport and logistics industry faces its own peculiarities that impact on the country as a whole. This industry comprises tens of thousands of individual truck and bakkie owners, as well as some of South Africa's largest conglomerates. These all experience reliability and cost-efficiency challenges. They are faced with assets that struggle across inadequate road, rail and port infrastructure. Rail and port services are integral to all freight transport and logistics companies, whether bulk or parcel.
The road versus rail debate has raged since the early 1990s. The spiral, however, started long before that, when maintenance budgets were cut and investment decisions deferred. The downward spiral started when customers started moving off rail. Fewer customers meant less revenue on some routes. This, in turn, made it difficult to justify continued investment in and maintenance of infrastructure. Poor infrastructure resulted in poor service and drove even more customers away. The cycle continues.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is only through huge investment in skills, infrastructure and our knowledge base that our transport system can drive our economy upwards. Lastly, to our matric learners, we hope that as they sit for their examinations the road will rise to meet them. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Thank you very much, hon Minister. May I just bring to the attention of the House the fact that the Minister has disinvested in his response time.
Chairperson, hon Chief Whip and hon Minister of Transport - all protocol observed - our theme today is: "Building a reliable and safe public transport network". This theme should be adopted as our Bible in the Department of Transport, and should be religiously adhered to, because it is our guide. The theme explains the gist of what we should be doing, which needs the co-operation of all road users.
Reliability means that our transport should be consistent in executing its job, meaning consistently and without failure ferrying passengers on time from point A to point B. Our trains and buses should be timekeepers for the ordinary man on the street. Our passengers should have confidence in the services, knowing quite well that they will arrive on time wherever they are being ferried.
Safety means passengers board our buses and trains knowing that their lives are safe. Drivers at all levels should obey the rules of the road and take the interests of their passengers to heart. They must be sensitive, respectful and courteous in their operations. Passengers can take a nap in our modes of transport knowing that they will arrive at work or at home safe. This is the kind of transport system we envisage in our country, but also, the success of our transport system depends on the good infrastructure that we should have.
This debate comes at a time when research is showing that the carnage on our roads is increasing. The most recent carnage occurred at Kokstad over the weekend. Our roads have become death traps. The lives of our people have become cheap. Road hogs have lost respect for the sanctity of life. It is now the norm for a human being to become a statistic of road accidents. Those passengers were family members en route to their workplace, but their lives were cut short by irresponsible road users. We cannot go on like this. We need to do something drastic. We need to give those transgressors little place to hide. One life lost is one life too many.
A recent survey shows that most of the road accidents were caused by drivers with alcohol in their bloodstream. Six out of ten drivers who die in accidents have a high level of alcohol in their blood. An investigation into substance abuse has indicated that 50% of truck drivers and 30% of taxi drivers had been drinking or smoking marijuana when the accidents occurred. Our people are dying, but we are paralysed and simply ball watching.
During this Transport Month we must encourage all drivers to obey the rules and laws of the road in order to reduce road accidents. We need to encourage taxi drivers and their associations to act responsibly to save the lives of their clients. They need to inculcate confidence in their industry. We cannot create lawlessness in this country by condoning the actions of irresponsible drivers. We need to be decisive, strict and on the offensive with regard to the road hogs and transgressors.
We also have to look at ourselves. Some of our traffic officers are corrupt and demand bribes for issuing driving licences and not issuing fines for traffic offences. It has become difficult for an ordinary person to make reservations for learner's licence and driving licence tests because those officers demand exorbitant amounts for the jobs they are supposed to be doing for free. We need to encourage whistle-blowers and have the assistance of the Hawks, if we do not want to have a corrupt country.
Hhayi-ke Ngqongqoshe wethu, mawusebenze umthetho, futhi mababoshwe. [Very well, our Minister, let the law take its course, and they must be arrested.]
We are prepared to amend laws to give stiff penalties. Let us make road offences treasonable offences.
We applaud the national and Gauteng governments for having introduced the Gautrain, which has become a reliable rail network system. We urge the government to extend this facility to Soweto, Mamelodi, Sebokeng, Matlosana and KwaThema. That is where the majority of our people are. This facility should also be extended to places like Khayelitsha, KwaMashu, Mangaung and KwaZakhele because these are the places where our people need it most. Let us not forget that those are the people who put us into power.
We also applaud the Rea Vaya bus system which was introduced during the Fifa World Cup. We urge that the challenges which bedevilled this industry should be addressed as a matter of urgency, because it should be a reputable transport system. This facility must also be extended to other provinces. We also cannot allow the MyCiTi bus transport system in Cape Town to be a white elephant, because these buses are ferrying "ghosts" to and from the airport - they run almost empty. Let us redirect that service to where it is needed. I thank you. [Applause]
(Mr R J Tau): Hon members, would you please not consult your speakers' lists, because the one that I have here will not necessarily be the same as the one that you have.
(Western Cape): Thank you, Chair, and also thank you to the Whippery for allowing me to move my position; otherwise I would be in some trouble in the Other Place. It's an important privilege to be allowed to address you on this subject and also to be here with my hon national Minister. I do want to go to the heart of these kinds of problems. This is Transport Month. Hon Jacobs was speaking, and I am going to be just a little naughty with something he said. He said, "If you travel on the train, you can take a nap." I want to tell you it is impossible to take a nap if you catch a train from Khayelitsha to Cape Town or from Mabopane to Pretoria, because you are standing up, you are squeezed, you are late and you are travelling in circumstances that are an offence to your human dignity.
That is really where I want to focus the discussion, because this is an issue that transcends party-political divides. It's got nothing to do with party-political divides. It's about hard decisions that we as a nation have to make.
Let me say this. When we think of public transport, we should think first of those people who have no alternative but public transport. There are many other people that we think of in addition to these, in regard to public transport. How can we get Mr Smith out of his car and into the train or the bus? Yes, that's important! But what is really important are the people who live in the southeast of Cape Town, who have no alternative but the train or the taxi or the bus. They must be our first responsibility and our public transport system must first be a people's public transport system. That has to be the key priority. That is the argument, and I want to use this opportunity, which is a very special one for me, to speak to all nine provinces. I really want to try to convince you that our first responsibility - and it's not an easy responsibility, as I will spell out in a moment - must be a people's public transport service. It doesn't have to be very fancy, but it has to have those things that are important.
Tomorrow I will be travelling in to work from Kuyasa, and I do this frequently. I talk to the people on the train, when you can get near them. You know, those trains are so overcrowded. The hon Minister has made reference to this. In fact, he said in this very place some months ago:
Unless we invest heavily in those trains, in Metrorail, there will be no train service in any city in South Africa in the next 10 years.
We must take heed of those words, and I'm going to come to them.
When you ask people, they say, first of all, the two things that they need most from trains are safety and predictability. That is, not just safety on the trains or on the buses, but safety getting to the transport interchange and going from their destination to their work, and then going back home again afterwards. So, it is not just safety on public transport, but also getting to it. Secondly, transport should be predictable, so that we should not have a situation as we have in Cape Town, as we have in Tshwane, and as we have elsewhere, where the vast majority of people coming to work by public transport are late each day and it's not their fault. So, it must be predictable, it must be on time and it must be safe.
We need also to remember that because we have upside-down cities created by apartheid, where the poor and those most in need of transport most often live furthest from the city centre or from the places of work, we have a particular problem in this regard. This is really where I seek to gain support for a hard decision from the National Council of Provinces.
The hon Minister has spoken, as have many others, about the success of the Gautrain, and the intention to replicate the Gautrain, perhaps from Johannesburg to Durban, or whatever the case may be.
The hon Minister has spoken about his deep concerns about the roads and the necessity to create a road fund on which we can draw. The hon Minister has also spoken of his deep concerns about Metrorail. At the same time periphery roads are being built, particularly in Gauteng, at a cost of over R65 billion. These roads will be tolled but at the end of the day someone has to pay for them.
Then there is long-distance rail. We would like to see a lot of money going into that. Also, the bus rapid transit, BRT, system, this one here - which has not been without its difficulties - will cost us R5 billion by the time it is finished.
The hard decision that we have to face as a nation is that while all of this is happening tax revenues are dropping like that, and social network requirements are rising. The simple fact of the matter is that we cannot afford all those good things. We can only afford some of those good things. The hard decision we have to make as a nation is: Which good things can we afford, and which can we not afford at this time? Maybe sometime in the future, when we have a growth rate of 15%, like China, or 8%, like India, we can afford them then, but there are some things we cannot afford now.
What I am terrified of is that we will invest in luxuries and neglect the people's public transport. Taking this opportunity of speaking, as I say, across the nation, which is one I have very seldom, I want to ask you this, also looking at your own constituencies, wherever they may be. What decision do we, as the decision-makers of South Africa, have to come to? What is the order in which we put these things? I want to suggest to you that there are two things that come above all others.
I want to suggest this to you by way of a true story from the Tyhume Valley. In the Tyhume Valley there were once three great educational institutions, where many of the great struggle leaders were educated, and where there was prosperous farming. Now there is only one left. A friend of mine, who is anxious to get farming going again in the Tyhume Valley, and who is looking at the possibility of fragrances, in speaking to the local people there said, "We can do this. We can find funds for this." And they said to him, "You can find as much funding as you like, but in the Tyhume Valley a bakkie won't last longer than six months, and you cannot farm without a bakkie."
I tell you this little story because, unless we can keep our roads usable, what is true of the Tyhume Valley and of Alice is true of the whole country. We must be able to maintain our roads. We need the money to maintain our roads, and the will to maintain our roads must be very high.
The second thing is that we have to reinvest in Metrorail. In my province, you cannot operate the people's public transport without Metrorail. You can build BRTs till they come out of your ears, but you cannot operate this city of 3,5 million people without Metrorail. The same, to a great extent, is true in Johannesburg and Tshwane.
We have to rebuild Metrorail. Its coaches are so old that they are worse than the "amaphela" [sedan cars that operate as taxis in the townships]. Believe me, they are worse than the "amaphela". There has been no significant investment in Metrorail for nearly 40 years.
So, in closing, Mr Chairman, my appeal to the provinces is this. Let us look hard at how the nation spends its money. Let us ensure, before it spends it on anything else in the transport field, that it spends it first on the people's public transport and on the people's roads. [Applause.]
Mr T M KAUNDA (KwaZulu-Natal): Chairperson, hon Minister and hon members, KwaZulu-Natal, KZN, would like to extend a special word of gratitude to the national Department of Transport led by hon Mr Sibusiso Ndebele for deciding to launch the national Transport Month on 27 September 2010 in our province.
The Minister and his provincial counterpart, KZN MEC for Transport, hon Willies Mchunu, led a tour of the Inanda, Ntuzuma and KwaMashu, INK, programme's underground railway station to mark the launch of Transport Month at Bridge City in KwaMashu. The Minister has rightly emphasised the importance of rail as a key part of our transport plans into the future. We are in agreement that rail remains a pillar of our strategy towards safer roads and the reduction of crashes on our roads. The Minister has also announced that a railway-public transport link is on the cards. This project will link Durban and Johannesburg as one of the busiest corridors in South Africa. This will indeed improve the quality of our public transport.
We are also in agreement that rail is a key part of our strategy to reduce transport-related emissions into the environment, as well as to reduce our country's carbon footprint. Rail is a key part of preparing our country for this inevitable reduction and an end to fossil fuels, for which the world is also preparing.
During the national launch of Transport Month we as a province pledged ourselves to support all the programmes brought to us by the national Department of Transport. We also appreciated the fact that the Minister officiated at the opening of Transport Month three days before the start of the actual Transport Month, which gave us an opportunity to subsequently have our own provincial launch in Durban on 30 September 2010. We have since had a strong focus on all areas pertaining to transportation, namely the user, the operator and the infrastructure, with a strong emphasis on road safety.
The province of KwaZulu-Natal has experienced an increase in the number of fatalities on our roads during the past few months up until this past weekend, which saw 19 people dying in one incident. With the festive season around the corner, some drastic measures have had to be taken. To this end, we have developed a framework which has provided an opportunity to show renewed direction on ways to achieve increased road safety outcomes and advocate a shared responsibility for road safety among all stakeholders, including government, business and society at large.
We realised that changing the road use culture might take time, and some changes are not possible without the active co-operation of multiple sectors. Hence, we have committed ourselves to creating a safe road environment by reducing road fatalities by 5% a year between 2010 and 2015. We have planned interventions in accordance with the five E's, that is Education, Enforcement, Engineering, Encouragement and Evaluation.
Each of the three spheres of government has responsibilities in respect of the five E's on their own road networks in KZN. Each one also has functions that impact on the road networks of other spheres of government. Because of this, close co-operation is required between all spheres of government to achieve the goals set for the reduction of accidents through improved engineering that is informed by effective consultation between the province and local governments. The sharing of road development planning and engineering expertise can only be meaningful if there is proper consultation and collaboration.
The KZN department of transport will develop and implement programmes for improving the driving skills of new and existing drivers. Role models are emerging among truck and taxi drivers, thanks to the national driver contests which are spearheaded by the national Department of Transport and the Road Traffic Management Corporation, RTMC, as well as the provinces. We are scheduled to introduce a pilot project which will be run at selected testing stations, whereby persons who have just obtained their driving licences will be subjected to a mandatory road safety session focusing on basic road safety rules.
In support of the 1 Million Vehicle campaign initiated by the national Department of Transport, KwaZulu-Natal has a target of 170 000 vehicles and drivers to be stopped. Between 1 and 21 October the province's statistics were as follows: the number of vehicles stopped was 110 155; the number of drivers tested for alcohol was 88 698; the number of drivers without driving licences was 1 364; the statistic for inconsiderate driving was 27; the number of vehicles without a licence was 790; there were 15 307 written charges; there were 20 drunk drivers; the number of vehicles that were suspended was 504; and there were 9 speed arrests.
Other than the road safety campaigns, during the month of October the KZN department of transport engaged in numerous activities in various communities in the province. These activities confirm the commitment by our government to see future economic growth through efficiency in the transport sector.
We have always assured our people - even before the 2010 Fifa World Cup - that whilst our focus was more on 2010 and beyond and despite being adversely affected by the recession, we would not cut costs to the detriment of the people of our province. We have continued to provide transport infrastructure, particularly to our rural communities, against all odds. Some roads and bridges that have been completed are being handed over to the communities during this Transport Month. From 1 October to date we have officially handed over five road infrastructure projects to the value of R314 million.
We are happy that, in line with our policy, the construction costs of these projects always remain an economic benefit to the local communities, where contractors source all materials from the area and employ all available artisans, as well as labour, from the nearby communities, using labour- intensive methods in the interests of job creation. On completion, local roads are maintained by our Zibambele road maintenance programme, which is an exemplary part of the national Expanded Public Works Programme, as it is renowned for creating work opportunities for the poorest of the poor, that is households where there is no food to put on the table, and no money for school fees - ikati lilele eziko [poverty-stricken].
Allow me to conclude by thanking you for this opportunity to share with you our province's challenges and achievements. The KwaZulu-Natal department of transport, with its minimal funding - we must note, Chairperson, that we require more funds to deal with the backlog that is there still - is committed to creating a safe and reliable transport system throughout the province. I thank you. [Applause.]
Chairperson, hon Minister, hon members, comrades and friends, today's debate comes at an opportune time, when we are approaching the much dreaded period associated with carnage on our roads. It is regrettable that the festive season, which should be a time of joy, family reunion and much needed end of the year relaxation, should turn into a period of sadness for the majority of the people in our country as a result of road accidents.
The ANC government has supported the use of safe modes of transport and the use of safe railways for our people. For example, the formation of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa, Prasa, was the culmination of the programme set up before 1994. In Gauteng, 600 000 people a day use the railways as a means of transport to commute to work. In Cape Town also, people use rail to commute to work.
The challenge of late trains impacts negatively on the commuters because late trains cause them to arrive at work late, where some employers understand the reasons for their coming late, but mostly employers do not understand, which results in people being dismissed from work.
The people badly affected by a lack of railway networks are the people commuting between the far Eastern Cape and East London, where they are wholly dependent on buses and taxis. The people commuting between North West and Gauteng, and parts of Mpumalanga and Gauteng, also use buses and taxis. These are examples that indicate a dire need for rail transport.
Our commitment as the ANC to making rail transport a mode of choice for freight and passengers is due to the high number of road accidents between Polokwane and Gauteng, and Mpumalanga and Gauteng, especially during peak holiday periods like the Easter Weekend and other festive seasons, which has triggered a lot of discussion documents within the ANC. Now is the time for action to adopt rail as the mode of transport in order to stop the road carnage between the above-mentioned areas. There are other initiatives, like the rail superhighway between Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, which is a strategic move that should be implemented as a matter of urgency.
It is also regrettable that the taxis and buses which are responsible for transporting the majority of our population are competing with cars as culprits in causing road accidents. The only way we can reduce the high fatality rate of accidents is by making rail transport the number one choice for our people. As we are building a reliable and safe road infrastructure, as one of the main contributors to building a modern economy and achieving economic growth, we should equally be emphasising road safety.
The damage of railway infrastructure due to cable theft costs the country R9 billion a year. In Gauteng, it is said, there is a businessman who makes R2 million a week from railway overhead cable theft. The demand for copper makes it lucrative for criminals to steal copper cables. The infrastructure damage results in trains being delayed and cancelled, especially in Gauteng. The cable theft challenge needs legislation to make it much harder for criminals to steal, because currently they don't take it as a serious crime to steal cables. Trains will not be punctual until the cable theft problem is resolved.
The magnitude of and the human cost associated with road accidents on a yearly basis are detrimental to the achievement of our developmental goals. If we believe that the development of road infrastructure is part of the strategies in regard to job creation, poverty eradication and ending economic marginalisation, we have to recognise the centrality of safety as one of its critical elements.
Let us not fail our people. Let us continue to implement the railway solution as the mode of transport of choice for our people. In saying this, I would like to congratulate the Gauteng government on the success of the Gautrain in reaching the 1 million mark in regard to passengers. The lesson learnt from the Gautrain is that our people are hungry for a reliable, fast and predictable mode of railway transport.
We must use the opportunity of Transport Month to focus the attention of our people on the importance of safety on the roads and also on safety at railway crossings. The latter are challenges, because people living next to the railway lines cross at any time. They use them as streets! This results in neglect of the rules for crossing railway lines. On the Transnet railway network about 150 people die on the railway lines due to this neglect, and sometimes due to deliberate action to commit suicide. The government should assist companies like Transnet by putting in police and employing local communities, who will look after the railway infrastructure.
We support the Minister's view that road safety is not what you do to a community. The task of ensuring safety on the roads is also not just that of taxis, government and business. The duty to ensure safety on our roads is everybody's business.
We recognise the work done by the Ministry of Transport and government as a whole in implementing programmes to address road safety, such as the restructuring of the Road Accident Fund and transforming mode-based vehicle recapitalisation into integrated mass rapid public transport networks. Thank you. [Applause.]
Chairperson, hon Minister, hon members of the NCOP, South Africa's economy relies on the fast, safe movement of goods and people.
The absence of an integrated transport policy and the lack of co-ordination amongst the different transport authorities have brought about a crisis in the South African transport sector. These factors, coupled with insufficient state funding for the maintenance of infrastructure, have resulted in a deterioration of the transport infrastructure, to the extent that it now jeopardises both the safety of the public and South Africa's economic growth prospects.
The backlogs in maintenance are as follows: there is R120 billion in the road system; R90 billion in railways; and R22 billion in the minibus-taxi fleets. As far as road safety is concerned, there are more than 10 000 fatal accidents per year, which cost the country more than R40 billion every year. More than 12 000 South Africans are killed each year on our roads. There is also a shortage of 10 000 traffic officers.
With regard to affordability of public transport, about 2,8 million urban dwellers, which is 13% of the urban population, cannot afford public transport. Therefore, they are forced to walk or cycle to where they need to be.
In addition, the absence of law and order in the South African transport system is contributing significantly to the reshaping of cities and the decline of central business districts.
The role of the state in the development and management of the transport system must as far as possible be limited to policy formulation, strategic planning, regulation - including of the environment - and management of allocation of subsidies for uneconomical social services, such as mass transportation on buses, trains and taxis.
The extent to which people are able to use the opportunities available to them depends on how easily they are able to move around their cities and the country. When they cannot move around freely and easily, their life chances are reduced and South Africa as a whole suffers from these lost opportunities.
South Africa has a well-developed road network, but it is deteriorating, particularly in the rural areas. Our rail network is also extensive, but poor management of this sector means there are fewer and fewer trains. Taxis are cheap, but they are not safe and are uncontrolled. Thus individuals' life chances and national goals are both constrained. The department must work to address these constraints and create a seamless, well-managed and affordable transport network.
South Africa's road network infrastructure is deteriorating because of inadequate funding and rising costs of construction and maintenance. The state has increasingly relied on private concessions in dealing with this backlog, thus pricing road usage beyond what many can afford.
The department must establish a dedicated road maintenance fund, sourced primarily from the fuel levy, which will enable South Africa to eliminate the R12 billion maintenance backlog over four years. It must also ensure that all toll road concessions are considered, and that a percentage of their profits must go towards community development or a pool for subsidising rural transport. Overloading by heavy-duty vehicles is destroying our roads. There must be mobile weighbridges and measures to catch and severely punish offenders.
South Africa's unacceptably high accident rate costs the economy dearly. A culture of safe driving must be entrenched through education, zero tolerance of dangerous driving, and higher driver testing and enforcement standards.
The department must in the first place recruit, train and accredit at least 2 000 traffic officers at all levels of government, to international norms and standards; introduce a massive safety drive levelled at motorists and scholars; and reintroduce compulsory basic balance of third party insurance.
Our cities and towns are increasingly congested, as a direct result of the lack of efficient and safe public transport. Taxis, which transport 60% of commuters in the country, are seen to be unsafe, and passengers often become the victims of rivalry and internal feuding. Buses, on the other hand, exist only in the larger cities and are often unreliable and in short supply. Railway services experience delays, crime, and safety problems.
The department must investigate the introduction and expansion of the bus rapid transit system, monorail, commuter light rail, and speed trains wherever feasible and sustainable.
I would have liked to debate airports and ports as well, but unfortunately time will not allow me to in this sitting.
In conclusion, South Africans - individuals and businesses - have had to suffer irritations, inconvenience and the costs of a wholly inadequate transport system for far too long. They deserve better.
The DA wants to see investments and processes put in place to deliver a transport system that is safe ... [Time expired.]
Chairperson, hon Minister, hon members, ladies and gentlemen, on building a reliable and safe public transport network, let me say that roadsafety.co.za this morning carried the following headlines: "Man hit by train in Kempton Park"; "Truck side-swiped on the highway"; "Minibus taxi overturns on the N2 highway"; "Motor vehicle collision on Viking Way"; "One dies after a bakkie overturned on the N1"; and "N2 pile- up leaves one man injured".
Chairperson, these headlines reflect the harsh reality of life on our roads. Our problems lie with the apartheid era spatial planning. Most of our people live away from cities, either in townships that are far away or in suburbs on the outskirts of the cities.
Our cities do not have continuous pedestrian plazas. We have not made biking mainstream. Trams have long been gone from our cities. We certainly need a reliable, safe and affordable transport network. That a start has been made is very welcome.
Cope is asking: Where do we go from here? In the next 20 years, 65% of the people will be living in a city. Our transport planning must begin with the remodelling of our cities. If the majority of people can travel the distance by walking or cycling, the transport network will be easier to construct and cheaper to operate. If the majority of people, however, have to be ferried into the city and ferried away each evening, the logistics will be daunting.
In Cape Town, the MyCiTi project is expected to lose millions because there are no incentives for people to take buses, or no disincentives for people using cars to work.
Mr Minister, when was it decided that the poor of this country - I refer to the rural poor - did not matter any more? Ministers want to promote multimillion and sometimes billion dollar projects for high-speed rail and train services but somehow they are not able to find money to fix potholes! These are the potholes that minibus taxis are faced with, as thousands of South Africans commute from the townships to their workplaces, day in and day out.
At this juncture, Cope finds it necessary to ask government about what is happening with regard to the bicycle project. Has this project been abandoned? Is there any pilot project in any city to gauge the viability and desirability of using bicycles on a large scale? In Europe the use of bicycles remains as popular as ever. Will the bicycle be part of the means of public transport in South Africa?
A change of mind-set is absolutely essential for public transport to take off. Modal integration will not be possible as long as those with vested interests do their utmost to stall the process. Public transport contracts need to be improved and revisited. Universal access to services needs to be researched to a greater extent. The marketing of services needs more attention. Lastly, a sustainable source of funding needs to be available. I thank you.
Chairperson of the NCOP, hon Minister, hon members of the NCOP, and hon special guests, indeed, I would like to share with you the legacy that I found in KwaZulu-Natal, particularly in Durban, which the Minister had left behind when I visited KZN last week.
There were no traffic jams during peak hours and there were the initiatives that the Minister took in putting food on the table for rural people. These were some of the initiatives that he took under the Expanded Public Works Programme, EPWP.
I also found the promotion of public transport, instead of the use of private cars by the city of eThekwini under their public transport campaign, The Smart Way To Go; non-motorised transport promotion with the issuing of bicycles; road safety campaigns at public transport facilities; the launch of the Dial-a-Ride accessible transport for the disabled; a career expo on transport; and the issuing of free Durban People Mover passes per day.
I would like to thank all the municipalities in the country where, under the auspices of the South African Local Government Association, Salga, we promoted this as part of their budgets annually.
But what we find in South Africa at the moment is that sometimes in the remoteness of the Northern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and Limpopo, as well as Mpumalanga, unplanned settlements are intertwined with highways, and highways are cutting through unplanned settlements - they bisect them. Sir, 4x4s in our cities are never dirtied, but there are rusted bicycles, and also decades-old vehicles on our roads that need to provide the service. We in Salga have told ourselves that we are encouraging municipalities to do something about it.
The transport fraternity defines public transport as the provision of passenger transport services to the public for a fee. It includes buses, minibus taxis and rail for distances that are less than 200 km. I would like to appeal to the media not to call just any minibus which is in an accident a minibus taxi - please, do your research. It excludes air transport, metered taxis, tourist or charter services, and intercity long- distance buses and taxis.
For any public transport to be effective, it needs to service every resident within a kilometre of their place of residence. It also needs to operate for at least 12 to 15 hours a day. It must be affordable and regular. The current public transport system does not take care of the people who most need it; and it forces those who can afford it to use private vehicles.
The poor public transport system undermines people's basic human rights, because the majority of South Africans do not have access to reliable, affordable, pleasant and clean transport that runs on time, particularly in the rural areas. For them, it is difficult to access public services such as health services, schools, police stations, welfare services, and other life opportunities such as employment and business opportunities.
Statistics from the Department of Transport's National Household Survey of 2003 indicated that more than 75% had no access to a train station and nearly 40% did not have access to a bus service. Most of these people did not have a car and were virtually stranded.
Chairperson, another factor is that of crime and safety. Numerous people raised the issue of exposure to high levels of crime in their local areas and were worried about their own and their children's personal safety whilst both waiting for and using public transport. Safety concerns were raised about the largely unregulated minibus taxis that most people are forced to rely on, in the absence of regulated public transport services. Vehicles were identified as unsafe, both because of their poor physical condition and also because of driver behaviour. This is an opportunity where we can have a joint programme between municipalities and the other spheres to address this challenge.
Government is trying to address the lack of a proper transport network through legislation and the establishment of integrated public transport networks. However, the focus seems to be on infrastructure development, not the operation of public transport. Operation of public transport involves routes, schedules, times of operation, marketing, and communication with the public.
The relatively low-density spatial design patterns of South African settlements, combined with the general attitude of the public towards the use of public transport, means that the flagship public transport intervention, the bus rapid transit, BRT, system, will for some time be running at a low capacity, which means the cost per passenger will remain high. The services should therefore not be expected to be financially self- sustaining in the short to medium term. Municipalities should also not be expected to be the only government institutions that carry the burden of subsidising such services.
What we need is for the National Land Transport Act to be operationalised. As a country, we continue to invest in infrastructure that is aimed at supporting private vehicle use, for example, the expansion of the road network to accommodate more vehicles. Government needs to commit in word and practice to a policy direction where the key focus is on public transport. Funding should be focused on supporting this policy direction.
Any new transport initiative - whether community-based or mainstream services such as the BRT system - should not be monitored only in regard to passenger counts and the additional vehicle kilometres, but also in regard to social welfare criteria, such as those laid out in the principles for Batho Pele and the South African Millennium Development Goals.
Lastly, we should support community-level services that are urgently needed to supplement the main radial bus rapid transit route and new rail corridors that are being put in place. These should be routed to provide people in low-income communities with the maximum ready access to work, schools, colleges, medical centres, crches, shopping centres and places of worship. In order to achieve this, the capacity of the state at local and regional levels to regulate the taxi industry and integrate it into a multimodal system of public transport needs to be improved.
There also appears to be a case for offering fare subsidies to low-income groups who are currently spending a disproportionately large amount of their low income on transport costs - and we know that the apartheid racial divide on spatial settlements is the cause of this. This should form part of a wider package of subsidies that welfare recipients receive from government. I thank you. [Applause.]
Thank you very much, Cllr Johnson. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your consistency in the activities of the NCOP.
UMntwana M M M ZULU: Sihlalo waleNdlu ohloniphekile, Ngqongqoshe Manzankosi, abahlonishwa abangamalungu aleNdlu, izwe lakithi iNingizimu Afrika yizwe okufuneka siziqhenye ngalo ngoba lapha e-Afrika yilona lizwe engingathi linezinto zokuthutha cishe ezihlelekile.
Kukodwa noma kubili umuntu angakuphawula, njengoba ungumfana wasemakhaya owelusa, kufanele ukubhekelele ukuthi kulezi zifundazwe eziyisishiyagalolunye labo obambisene nabo abangamehlo akho bakwazi kahle kamhlophe ukuthi bavale imigojana esemigwaqweni. Kuyangikhalisa Ngqongqoshe ukuthi umgwaqo ohlanganisa iGoli nesiFundazwe saseNyakatho neNtshonalanga siyakhokha kuwo kodwa ube nemigojana lena ebengikhulume ngayo; kungikhalisa kakhulu lokhu.
Laphaya eMpumalanga kukhona indawo okuthiwa yiCarolina - uma uhamba ubheke kuleli likaMswati leNkosi, uMhlaba weNkosi- uye uthole ukuthi nakhona kunemigodi emgwaqweni. Yizinto okufanele zibhekisiwe ngokubambisana ngoba phela ngiyazi ukuthi ngeke ube namehlo amaningi kangaka okubheka kulo lonke leli.
Uma ngibuya ngiza ekhaya, angisho kuleNdlu ukuthi ezimpini zezigebengu, izigelekeqe lezi zamatekisi, wenza okukhulu okwenza ukuthi zehle izigigaba zokufa kwabantu bebulalelelana nje umhawu noma umhobholo wokuba bacoshe izimali zomphakathi. Yileso sizathu esenza ukuthi abantu bazesabe kakhulu ezokuthutha umphakathi ngoba basuke becabanga ukuthi, hhawu umuntu useziyisa ethuneni! Ngiyawuncoma futhi uMnyango wakho ngoba ukwazile ukuba uqashe amaphoyisa amaningi ogwaqo azobheka ukuthi sigijima kangakanani emigwaqweni yethu. Yilezo zinto okufuneka thina njengezwe laseNingizimu Afrika sizibheke ukuthi ziyenzeka.
Bese ngiyabuya-ke njengomfana owelusa izinkomo, waqhathwa ngibheke ukuthi labo masipala basemakhaya, Manzankosi, ukwazi njengoba nami ngikwazi ukuthi laphaya nje eNtambanana noma kwaNongoma noma eMahlabathini, oNdini noma eNkandla ngeke kukwazi ukuthi sibe nogandaganda abangalungisa imigwaqo leyo esuke iphuma emigwaqweni omkhulu. Siyacela ke ukuthi uma umnyango wakho usubheka onyakeni wezimali ozayo, ubhekisise ukuthi kunganezezeleka kanjani ukuthi babe namandla okuphumelelisa iphupho labantu bakithi lokukhululeka. Phela inkululeko ayisho khona ukuvota kuphela kodwa isho nakho ukuhamba ngokukhululeka emigwaqweni yezwe lakithi. Ngiyabonga. (Translation of isiZulu speech follows.)
[Prince M M M ZULU: Hon Chairperson of this House, hon Minister Manzankosi, hon members of this House, we need to be proud of our country South Africa because it is the country in Africa that has the most organised transport system.
There are one or two issues one can mention about this. As a village boy who was a herd boy, you must ensure that the people with whom you are working, who are your eyes and ears in all the nine provinces, know exactly that they must fix the potholes in the roads. It concerns me, hon Minister, that we pay toll fees on the road that connects Gauteng and the North West province and yet it is full of the potholes that I was talking about. It concerns me a lot.
In Mpumalanga, there is a place called Carolina and on your way in that direction - King Mswati's land, around the Chief's place - you find that there are also potholes in those roads. We need co-operation in respect of all these things as one does not have eyes to see everywhere in the country.
Coming closer to home, I would like to say to this House that in criminal wars, the taxi warlords have done a great job, which resulted in the reduction of the killing of people just because they are jealous of each other or because people are greedy for the communities' money. That is why people are so scared of using public transport, namely because they associate it with death! I also commend your department for employing so many traffic officers who will also monitor the speed at which we travel. These are things that we need to ensure are done in this country.
And when coming back, as someone who was a cattle herd boy and was engaged in stick fighting, I need to look at these local municipalities, hon Manzankosi, since you and I know that in areas like Ntambanana, KwaNongoma, Mahlabathini, oNdini and Nkandla, caterpillars are not used to build roads that connect these areas with the highways. I therefore request that when your department is preparing a budget in the new financial year, you should look at how you can increase their budgets so that they can be empowered to fulfil our people's dream of freedom. By the way, freedom does not mean voting only, it also means travelling safely on our country's roads. Thank you.]
Chairperson, Minister Ndebele, hon members, ladies and gentlemen, as we approach its end, it is fitting to wrap up the activities of the Transport Month campaign with a debate in this House. This debate comes at a critical time, when we are engaged in a process of introspection and trying to chart a way forward to speed up the transformation of our economy. A reliable and safe road infrastructure is one of the main ingredients for building a modern economy and achieving economic growth.
In a developing country like ours it is imperative that the development of road infrastructure is linked to strategies for job creation, poverty eradication and ending the economic marginalisation of the majority of our population. The development and maintenance of road infrastructure is more amenable to labour intensity than most other economic activities. Therefore, it is a crucial element of our economic programme of creating more jobs, decent work and sustainable livelihoods.
A focus on reliability and safety in road infrastructure is particularly important as we approach the festive season - a period in our national calendar when we experience a massive increase in road transport accidents, leading to injuries and deaths on our roads. Therefore, we must use this opportunity to call on all members of our communities throughout the country to take responsibility for safety on the roads and help stop the carnage at this time of the year. We must all obey the law and "arrive alive" at our destinations.
As members of the ANC, we welcome this opportune debate in the NCOP and wish to register our support for the Transport Month campaign led by the Ministry. We recognise the work that is being done by the department and the government as a whole in implementing the National Land Transport Strategic Framework and the Public Transport Strategy.
Since 1994 the government has placed a priority on infrastructure development through policy changes, increases in funding and programme implementation. These were aimed at addressing the terrible legacy of apartheid spatial planning based on race. Apartheid and road infrastructure development ensured that black people were confined to geographic spaces that were inaccessible by road and where the infrastructure was limited to ensuring a supply of cheap labour to industries and white designated areas.
Apartheid spatial planning created what was often referred to as two economies in one country. This is particularly evident and more pronounced when one looks at infrastructure development such as road transport. In the majority of provinces which incorporated the former apartheid-created homelands, such as North West, Limpopo and Free State, the road infrastructure condition became dire. Across all provinces the condition of road infrastructure continued to deteriorate as a result of the legacy of underdevelopment, poor planning, massive backlogs, inadequate investment and poor maintenance levels. It is this legacy that the nation has had to deal with since the dawn of democracy in 1994.
The Transport Month campaign gives us an opportunity to take stock of improvement in our road infrastructure as a result of the numerous interventions undertaken so far and the challenges that still remain.
There are a few matters that need to be mentioned - those that detrimentally affect service to our people. These relate to the perceived unco-ordinated manner in which rail transport matters are handled. I will start with the state of the rail network and rail transport. Serious economic consequences have resulted from the country's stagnating, poorly resourced and desperately inefficient rail system. In the last 15 years its share of the freight market has plunged to just 10%.
Neglect of the rail network, inefficiency and unreliability have impacted greatly on the way businesses view rail transport and resulted in the dependence they have built up on road transporters to move their cargo. However, our roads were not constructed to carry anything like 32 million tons of freight a year. The consistent repair they need is testimony to the destruction wreaked by the overloaded mammoth trucks and tankers.
Nationally, only half of the nation's 20 000 km of railway lines is fully utilised. On some 35% of the nation's lines there is very low or no activity. The railways have failed to make the investment in rolling stock and infrastructure demanded by the growing economy. The Spoornet rail monopoly must now dig deep into its pockets to get rail to the stage where it can out-compete the road transport system, which today has a 90% stranglehold on the country's land cargoes. Aging locomotives and wagons must be replaced. The average age of locomotives is 22 years and that of the wagon fleet is 32 years.
Important railway centres like De Aar and Noupoort in the Northern Cape have become virtual ghost towns due to the scaling down of rail activity, leading to unemployment and the concomitant poverty of the local population. The question remains to be answered: Why has the rail infrastructure been allowed to deteriorate to such an extent that a virtually new system has to be built up from scratch?
Kukhona ekumele ngikudlulise masinyane. Kwi-Cope,kwembulwa kuyembeswa selidumela emasumpeni, kodwa-ke likhona ikhambi elingayisiza. Kufanele sibahlabele isibhuklabhukla esimhlophe sikalamthuthu sibuye sibaphalazise ngentelezi ebizwa ngokuthi iBuyel'ekhaya, sibaphunge ngeDel'amambuka emva kwalokho-ke sibashunqisela nge-Freedom Charter bese benikezwa inkululeko yomgwaqo omkhulu okuthiwa uMshini wami.
I-DA, ngizwe kuthiwa uMnumzane Carlisle uthi ngeke umuntu alale esitimeleni, kuyiqiniso Mnumzane Jacobs, ungalala esitimeleni. Kungenxa yokuthi ngeshwa nje angikholwa ukuthi uNgqongqoshe wake wasigibela noma yisiphi nje isitimela esiya elokishini, ngalokho-ke ngithi kubo i-DA ingochwepheshe bokwakha umgwaqo omkhulu oya kwaLasha. Lokho kubonakale ngobunyoninco bokwakha izindlu zangasese esidlangalaleni endaweni ebizwa ngokuthi kuseMakhaza, eKhayelitsha. Babuye futhi bakha izindlu zangasese ezimbili emphakathini olinganiselwa ezinkulungwaneni eziyisihlanu endaweni ebizwa ngokuthi kuseQolweni, e-Plettenberg Bay, eNtshonalanga Kapa. (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)
[There is something that I must quickly say. Cope is at death's door. However, there is a remedy that can help them. We must slaughter them a fat white battery chicken and perform a cleansing ritual with an emetic called Go Back Home, and swat them with Del'amambuka after reminding them of the Freedom Charter and granting them the freedom of the ruling party.
With regard to the DA - I heard that Mr Carlisle said a person cannot sleep on the train, but the fact is you can sleep on the train. Unfortunately I don't believe that the Minister has ever travelled by train to the townships; therefore I say to the DA they are the experts on contributing to the deaths. That is seen through their expertise of building toilets in an open veld at Makhaza in Khayelitsha. They again built two toilets in a community of approximately 5 000 people in a place called Qolweni, in Plettenberg Bay, in the Western Cape.]
ANC policy positions are a guide to government. The struggle for national democratic order in our country can be achieved through an integration of communities by doing away with racial apartheid spatial policies which were expressed in road infrastructure development. For the ANC, development and maintenance of road infrastructure are not only important for economic development, but are also a necessary basic need.
This was aptly described in the ANC foundational governance policy document of 1994, the Reconstruction and Development Programme. It is stated there that the future transport policy had to, inter alia, promote co-ordinated, safe, affordable public transport as a social service; take into account the transport needs of disabled people; ensure comprehensive land- use/transport planning; promote road safety; and review subsidies, both operating and capital.
Bese ngiyabuya futhi ngithi Mhlonishwa, siyakucela, lapho engisuka khona eMpumalanga kunogwaqo omkhulu okuthiwa i-Moloto Road. Abantu bangale eMpumalanga bacela ukuthi kufakwe ulayini wesitimela ozohlanganisa i-Pitoli kanye neKwaMhlanga ngoba iyaziwa ngezingozi i-KwaMhlanga Road; minyaka yonke siyazi ukuthi izibalo zithi bangaki abantu abafayo kuloya mgwaqo. Sekukaningi sikucela lokhu kodwa impendulo singayitholi. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[Where I come from in Mpumalanga, there is a main road called Moloto Road. The people of Mpumalanga request, through you, hon Minister, that a railway line should be built which will connect Pretoria and KwaMhlanga because the KwaMhlanga Road is well known for accidents. We know the yearly statistics of the people who die on that road. We have requested this several times but we have not received any response.]
In addressing the legacy of road infrastructure underdevelopment, the RDP further states that:
... critical "bottlenecks" in the road infrastructure should be improved so that the full capacity of the existing road network can be realised. However the provision of primary road infrastructure must be directed towards and take cognisance of public transport needs.
The planning of transport for metropolitan and major urban areas must be in accordance with an urban/metropolitan growth management plan. A hierarchy of modes should guide the financing of infrastructure improvements and payment of operating subsidies for public transport. Travel modes should not compete. In rural areas, provincial governments and district councils must present public transport plans, including for extensive road building and improvement.
The principles enshrined in the RDP have found their expression in subsequent policies and programmes, in particular the National Land Transport Strategic Framework, and the 2007 Cabinet-approved Public Transport Strategy, which is currently being implemented by government.
Eish, isikhathi sami! [Eish, my time!]
In terms of the National Land Transport Strategic Framework, public transport services, facilities and infrastructure should be designed, provided and developed to promote intermodalism ... [Interjections.]
Hon member, thank you. You should be aware that your time is up.
Okokugcina nje, ngiyabonga kakhulu, Sihlalo. [Kwaphela isikhathi.] [Lastly, thank you very much, Chairperson. [Time expired.]]
Chairperson and hon members, thank you very much for the very constructive contributions that have been made. We really want to express our appreciation for that.
I would like to deal with a few issues. On Friday, 22 October, I think it was, we had a meeting with my counterpart, the Minister of Public Enterprises, Ms Barbara Hogan, from the Department of Public Enterprises, together with our two entities - the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa, Prasa, led by its CEO, Lucky Montana, and Transnet, led by its CEO, Chris Wells.
We had a constructive meeting in which we, as political principals, wanted to bring peace where there had been ructions and disagreements. The meeting ended very well with a full commitment from both Transnet and Prasa to work as the Ministers are doing - in co-operation and in a manner that makes the passengers and the public number one, to be serviced, and not taking into consideration whatever differences there might be. Indeed, we found that those differences were not deep-seated. I am happy to say that that matter was resolved.
Secondly, we are really happy in Transport. Last year we were discussing the issue of the taxi violence. We asked: What about the taxi violence? What has happened is a measure of the success of all of us who raised our voices, saying that this was not acceptable. It is not acceptable in the Western Cape, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal or anywhere. All of us raised our voices.
As we speak, the main concern and pre-occupation of the taxi industry is now more investment, more development of themselves as businesses, and more service to our people. I think quite a lot of progress has been registered in that area. The unanimity of the voices, whether provincial, local, national or across all parties, has been very helpful in ensuring that we put pressure on that industry. Indeed, the focus is now on their developing themselves as proper businesses, and that they can do by giving proper and admirable service to our people. There has been progress in that regard. There is stability now.
Thirdly, as far as the issue of road infrastructure is concerned, the voices that were raised here have been responded to, particularly with regard to the budget. I am sure the Minister of Finance will be raising the question of the dedicated road maintenance fund tomorrow. There can never be enough money, but we need to make sure that nationally we have funds dedicated to maintenance. Provinces and municipalities have dedicated funds for road maintenance.
This is a measure of ourselves and where we stand in the scale of development. You judge the development of a country by four things - does it have clean water, roads, electricity and proper communication? It doesn't matter which part of the world you are in; you should have those four basic things. It should be taken for granted that they will be there.
We in Transport are saying that all of us, from municipalities, local governments and provinces to the national arena, should make sure that we give ourselves a very tough test. That test is: Is there a school that cannot be reached by road? Is there a clinic that cannot be reached by road, whether it is raining or not? Is there a sports facility or social development facility that cannot be reached by road? It is for us to make sure that it is not just roads in general - we can talk about 16 000 km of blacktop national roads, and that is fine, but it doesn't answer the question of the person who must have a road in order to go to the clinic or to school or just to entertain himself.
We have called for the creation of road safety councils as community-based structures. We need to have them in all provinces and wards. This is so that when an accident happens, or even before it does, the councils will have ensured that youngsters have been educated on how to cross the roads and so forth. They should ensure that there is no drinking and driving, and that there are no shebeens that just let everybody drink.
If four people are drinking, one of them should be the dedicated driver to take them home. It should just be accepted, the norm, just like when you accept that you can't simply go into a supermarket and steal a packet of biscuits and put it in your pocket. Similarly, nobody should boast that they drive their cars at 180 km or 200 km per hour, and think that that is socially acceptable. It should just be seen as criminal behaviour, not a social expression of some sort.
So, on the question of road safety councils, this is one of the instruments that society as a whole must have in their hands. It is these that will also access the Road Accident Fund. When we visit a family, as we visited the Nyembe family in Alexandra, we should be able to say what we as the progressive democratic government of South Africa can do in regard to a funeral. We know that every South African who is on the road is insured through the Road Accident Fund. We have up to R10 000 to assist with any funeral of a road accident victim if they don't have any other assistance. We are able to do that immediately. Then the Road Accident Fund people are there to take the details and move on with it.
In the last financial year we spent R11 billion on the Road Accident Fund, and approximately R5,5 billion of that money was spent on lawyers, which we would like to ensure doesn't continue to happen. That is just not on. The money should be going to the victims.
The issue of Shova Kalula is still very much there. Sir, 26 100 bikes are to be distributed, and 13 500 had been distributed by March of this year. The 15 000 milestone will be reached by the end of this financial year. So, Shova Kalula is still going on. It has also created micro businesses in six provinces for repairing those bikes. That programme is going very well.
Chairperson and members, thank you very much for the very constructive debate that we have had. It has been a very fitting closure to Transport Month. Those 1 million cars are going to be checked every month, wayawaya [always]. I thank you. [Laughter.] [Applause.]
Debate concluded.