Hon Chairperson, hon members, MEC Vadi from Gauteng and other MECs present, whom I'll recognise as I proceed, it is my pleasure to open this debate on the topic "Moving South Africa safely on time." As you are all aware, October is Transport Month. It is Transport Month not just because today is the birthday of one of our esteemed leaders, Oliver Reginald Tambo. It is not just because of that - it is also because of that.
This year Transport Month's theme is "Year of job creation and service delivery in the transport sector: Moving South Africa to a better tomorrow". Since the launch of the 2011 October Transport Month Campaign, on 22 September at the University of Zululand, when we also celebrated International Maritime Day, almost every day we have been crisscrossing the length and breadth of our country to showcase to our citizens what Transport has been doing to move South Africa safely and on time.
Given the deep-seated historical legacy of the apartheid-inspired geographical marginalisation of the majority of South Africans and decades of underinvestment in public transport, government is going all-out to ensure a safe, efficient, reliable and affordable public transport service. Government's public transport plans are not a promise for the next millennium.
Over the next two years transport infrastructure is guaranteed to radically change the way South Africans travel, due to a multibillion-rand boost by this ANC government, amounting to R66 billion this year - that is 2011-12 - and rising to R80 billion by 2013-14. The improvements are set to create numerous jobs and tourism opportunities. The improvements are spread across the country, with both urban and rural areas set to benefit.
This comes as current transport infrastructure developments have been recognised as being of world-class standard. The second infrastructure report card released on 5 April 2011 by the SA Institution of Civil Engineering states that the country's best performing infrastructure was its aviation infrastructure, which was awarded the report's only "A" rating. According to the report, South Africa's national road network was "good to excellent" and the SA National Roads Agency Limited, Sanral, the Airports Company SA, Acsa, and ports have performed exceptionally well.
Earlier this year, at the World Airport Awards 2010-11 held in Denmark, the O R Tambo International Airport was named the best airport in Africa. It was also in the top three most-improved airports worldwide. [Applause.] Meanwhile, Johannesburg's bus rapid transit, BRT, system has been described as far better than that of New York by Walter Hook, head of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy in New York City, during a tour of Rea Vaya BRT facilities at the beginning of the year. Rea Vaya has also scooped various international awards.
In order to deliver on our mandate, the Department of Transport's three key areas are road safety, public transport and the maintenance and construction of roads. I will start with the latter.
Members will recall that when I was appointed Minister of Transport by President Zuma, he said that KwaZulu-Natal's Zibambele and Vukuzakhe programmes must be extended to the rest of the country. To this end, we launched the S'hamba Sonke, Re Sepela Ka Moka, Ons Loop Saam [Moving Together] programme. S'hamba Sonke is the result of our plea to President Zuma for dedicated funding for road maintenance. We have all spoken about this; we have been talking about potholes. Now we are gradually changing the debate to not be about potholes but about the jobs that are being created fixing the potholes. It started for the first time in this financial year, on 1 April 2011, with an amount of R6,4 billion. Next year it will be R7,5 billion and in 2014 there will be R8,2 billion. This is a total of over R22 billion by 2014. This amount is a conditional grant dedicated to road maintenance and road maintenance only.
In turn the Department of Transport has to report on a quarterly basis to the National Treasury on the performance of this grant. As we provide all the necessary information on these projects, members of this Council must also evaluate and monitor the implementation of these projects. We have committed ourselves to creating 70 000 jobs by 2012 through S'hamba Sonke. S'hamba Sonke is expected to create 400 000 jobs by 2014, and the amounts, as we know, are as follows: KwaZulu-Natal R1,2 billion; Eastern Cape R1 billion; Mpumalanga R1 billion; Limpopo R934 million; Gauteng R566 million; Free State R447 million; Western Cape R411 million; Northern Cape R308 million; and North West R501 million.
With regard to all new toll roads, I have instructed Sanral to halt all processes related to any new tolling of national roads. Cabinet has recently appointed a task team, which includes the Minister of Finance and me, to look into the issue of toll roads. On 10 August 2011, Cabinet approved e-toll tariffs for the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project, GFIP, and we have figures on this.
The user pays principle to upgrade and expand Gauteng freeways was proposed by the Gauteng provincial government in the late 1990s. Based on various engagements and consultations between national government, the Gauteng provincial government, relevant local government and other stakeholders, the GFIP was finally declared a toll road network in 2008, with funding from a R20 billion interest-accruing loan with agreed terms and conditions.
In line with enabling our road network to meet the demands of a leading economy in SADC and Africa, Sanral will be intensifying its focus to assist provinces and municipalities with management support on contracts and to provide necessary skills and expertise as well as assistance with our rural roads programme. In this regard, we will be finalising a detailed plan within the next two weeks and will consult with provinces and municipalities. Over and above S'hamba Sonke funding, for which I have given the breakdown of the figures, Sanral is providing - and I am happy to announce that we are providing - a further R1 billion. This is brand new and has not been allocated yet. So, we will be waiting for provinces and municipalities to make further proposals for any urgent road that needs to be constructed so that this money can be fairly distributed.
We will shortly also be hosting a two-day roads funding summit where this plan will be debated by all relevant stakeholders, including organised labour, business, civil society and academics. The summit will, among others, result in a clear direction with regard to the process of funding and construction of roads, as well as an agreement on key national road projects and the funding options available, including the user pays principle, which is tolling, or the taxpayer pays principle.
With regard to road safety, I have been chosen as the SADC Regional Road Safety Champion. My nomination as the "regional champion" for road safety was approved by a meeting of the committee of Ministers responsible for transport and meteorology from SADC, which was held on 7 October. [Applause.] The SADC Ministers also launched the SADC Decade of Action for Road Safety in support of the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011 to 2020.
On Monday, 25 October, together with Santaco, we launched the transport training academy in the Free State to improve the skills and capacity of taxi operators, drivers and general staff within the taxi industry, thereby providing an excellent service to customers. Through the implementation of the TR3 2020 Strategy, Santaco launched Operation Hlokomela to support and create proper dialogue with commuters and drivers.
On 10 October 2011, we launched Friends of the Decade of Action to encourage the private sector to prioritise road safety during 2011 to 2020 and become a trendsetter in road safety towards stabilising and reversing road crashes. We will be happy to have members here signing up as Friends of the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011 to 2020.
The Decade of Action for Road Safety is our chance to save lives. Each one of us has a role to play in preventing deaths and injuries on the roads. Let us all work together to make sure that the world's roads are safe. To address these challenges in South Africa, various measures are being implemented, including the formation of community road safety councils in every municipality in the country. It is very important that there should be a road safety council in every ward. These are the people who assist communities who are stressed and traumatised by road accidents and crashes, guiding and supporting them.
In conjunction with the Department of Basic Education, road safety education is being introduced in schools as part of the life-skills curriculum so that, from next year on, Grade 11 learners, 17-year-olds, may acquire their learner's licence. We will be going to schools to do this. It's a touch-screen thing that is quite easy. They will not be in a hurry to get licences, so they won't have to bribe anybody. The 18-year-olds must emerge with their driving licence. This is very important for people who are not rushing to get their licences properly and it is part of fighting the corruption that exists.
From October 2010 to September 2011, 19 780 drunk drivers were arrested across the country. In the Western Cape alone, almost 50 drivers have been sentenced to jail for drunk-driving in the past year. I want to thank the MEC of this province, Mr Robin Carlisle, for his enthusiasm and energy. Since 1 October 2010, 664 drivers have been sentenced in the Western Cape for drunk-driving offences, 47 of whom were sent directly to jail without the option of a fine. One was jailed for four years, six for three years and the remaining 40 for between six months and two-and-a-half years. A further 12 had their licences cancelled. We are very happy with the Department of Justice's approach of also not being tolerant when they see a drunk driver before them. As part of the new National Rolling Enforcement Plan, we announced on 10 September 2010 that from October 2010 to September 2011, 14 017 000 vehicles and drivers were checked, 5,97 million fines were issued for various traffic offences and 53 341 unroadworthy vehicles, the majority of which were buses and taxis, were discontinued from use. Since 31 August 2011, more than 1 760 unroadworthy buses and taxis have been taken off South Africa's roads, following our instruction that every bus and taxi must be stopped and checked. All road users must report bad driving to the National Traffic Call Centre on 0861 400 800.
Hon Minister, you may conclude.
With regard to public transport, our strategy aims to accelerate the improvement of public transport by establishing integrated rapid public transport networks. We are engaging in a comprehensive rail upgrade that looks at placing rail at the centre of freight and commuter movement.
Regarding the Moloto Corridor between Gauteng and Mpumalanga, this is important because we have witnessed several horrific road crashes on this stretch of road. Clearly a long-term solution is required for the Moloto Corridor, and we believe that an extension of the rail system from Pretoria, at Hatfield, to the former KwaNdebele through the Moloto road is an absolute necessity. At the moment, we are subsidising commuters travelling on this route to the value of R470 million per annum but due to the long travelling hours road crashes continue to be the trend. So, within the next three weeks a steering committee that will include the national Department of Transport, Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces will be meeting the affected municipalities and other sister departments to deliberate on a financial feasibility study for the rail project for Moloto.
As of 1 April 2011, government will be spending R30,2 billion over the next three years on rail upgrades across the country, with R19,5 billion earmarked for capital spending to upgrade the existing infrastructure.
The Department of Transport, through the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa, Prasa, is investing in new rail rolling stock at an estimated R97 billion. Through this programme, Prasa will be able to procure new rolling stock and locomotives for the Metrorail service and long-distance rail services. This will create opportunities for business and stimulate the rail engineering industry. We have been to Koedoespoort, and there is one here in Cape Town and others in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. These will create opportunities for business, stimulate the rail engineering industry and related suppliers in the value chain, as well as contribute to our industrial policy objectives.
We say, working together we can do more. [Applause.]
I allowed the Minister to conclude because I realised there was a lot of information that he still wanted to share with us.
Before I call hon Sibande, I am reminded of a matter that I should have pronounced on earlier, just for the record, because we shouldn't allow a situation where the House is left in limbo.
Hon Bloem, I suggest that in future the final list, or the speakers' list that is indicated as being the final one, should be the one that is regarded as such by all political parties. What you referred to was the draft list, which really confused the Council and created instability here. So, the final list is what we should bring into the Council or what should be in front of us at our seats in order to avoid this kind of confusion. I can imagine you sitting with the draft list and us sitting with the final draft here and then a speaker is called while they are not in the Council because they thought they were speaker number 17, only to find that they are speaker number 11 in terms of the final list.
So, I just wanted to bring that to the attention of the Council. [Interjections.] I don't know what you are responding to because I didn't ask a question. I was clarifying the process and that what we needed to bring into the House is the final speakers' list and not the draft list. Can we proceed with the business of the Council?
Hon Chairperson, Minister, MECs, members, comrades and distinguished guests, on behalf of the Council I wish to extend our sincere sympathies and condolences to the families and relatives of Moroese Mokoatsi, Reneilwe Lesenyeho, Given Mills, Isaac Tlale and Nomvula Dumako, who were run down and killed by a car last Saturday while they were running in preparation for next month's Soweto Marathon. Khanyiswa Sthengile, who was part of the team, was fortunate to escape with her life and is recuperating in hospital. We wish her a speedy recovery.
Sihlalo ngivumele ngindlulise nasi isicelo esiphuthumayo, kuNgqongqoshe kaManzankosi, imigwaqo yonke esetshenziswa orisho eThekwini ingcono kakhulu kuneminye imigwaqo elandelayo. Umgwaqo waseMpumalanga Kapa ongena endaweni ebizwa ngokuthi kusesiDwadweni, KwaZulu-Natali eTugela Valley, umgwaqo owela umfula iTugela kanye nebhuloho lakhona elincane kakhulu, babo! Umculi uVusi Ximba wayibona le ndaba wathi "yindlu yenja." [Uhleko.]
Izakhamizi zalezi zindawo zicela uNgqongqoshe alungise lezi zimo. Sishayela uNgqongqoshe izandla ngalokhu akhulume ngakho nalokhu engizokhuluma ngakho. Ngoba okungangokuba njengoba kusondele amaholide kaKhisimusi sekuqalile ukuhelwa komama baseMoloto kanye namaphethelo. (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)
[Chairperson, allow me to say this to hon Minister Manzankosi: All the roads that are used by the rickshaws in Durban are far better than the following ones: the road that leads to a place known as Esidwadweni in the Eastern Cape and the road through which the Tugela river is crossed with its very small bridge in the Tugela Valley, KwaZulu-Natal. Geese! The singer Vusi Ximba foresaw this matter and called it "a kennel". [Applause.]
The citizens of these areas are requesting that the hon Minister correct these conditions. We applaud the hon Minister for what he has spoken about and I am going to speak about the same issue. Because the Christmas holidays are so close, women of Moloto and the surrounding areas are beginning to feel the labour pains.]
Transport plays an important dual role in the economy, both as a direct provider of services and as a catalyst for economic integration, distribution and development. In terms of the national land road strategic framework, land transport service delivery has been undergoing a huge change from the historically distorted, supply-driven system to the demand or needs-driven system that caters for the basic needs of its users.
Safety and, in particular, effective law enforcement are promoted as vital factors in land transport management and regulatory systems. The South African road network is a major asset but it is deteriorating rapidly as a result of the protracted period of underfunding. Thirty-one per cent of Gauteng roads are in a poor or very poor condition, according to the provincial MEC of transport lo baba [who is seated here].
The Department of Transport's assessment for 2010 shows that 4 248km of the total provincial road network is paved. This statistic is disturbing as a country's road network, in terms of the international benchmark, should not have more than 10% in a poor and very poor condition. In Gauteng the figure now stands at 31%. Two years ago only 15% of the province's roads were in a poor and very poor condition. The MEC said that the asset value of the current condition of the network is approximately R39 billion. If the road network had been maintained at the level of "very good", its asset value would have been R51 billion. This means a net asset loss of 23,5% in less than five years.
The high occurrence of potholes, particularly on provincial and metropolitan roads, has led to widespread concern among road users. The actual cost of potholes in South Africa in terms of damage to vehicles and accidents caused directly by the presence of potholes and other road-user effects has not been quantified. Through the wise use of preventive and proactive maintenance the incidence of potholes can be reduced significantly.
The ANC government considers transport to be the heartbeat of our economy, hence, the contribution of the public transport sector towards the economic growth of the country and meeting the various needs of our people cannot be overemphasised. The ANC's 2009 manifesto policy framework has therefore indicated that the ANC government will accelerate and expand its investment in public infrastructure. This will include, among others, the expansion and improvement of the rail networks, public transport and port operations and, in the process, will meet the basic needs of society. It further stated that while an effective public transport system is required to address the legacy of apartheid planning, which forced our people to travel long distances to their places of work and spend a large share of their income on transport, government will continue to pursue the roll-out of a public transport strategy that addresses the needs of working people.
In this regard the ANC's 2007 national conference also resolved that the developmental state should maintain its strategic role in shaping the key sectors of the economy, including the national transport and logistics system. It is therefore laudable that the Treasury and Department of Transport will create a robust and responsive single transport economic regulator within the next 24 months to oversee the pricing of all transport infrastructure, including roads, aviation, maritime and rail.
As government, our mandate is to ensure safe, efficient and affordable public transport. In this regard I regret to mention that from an analysis of the Railway Safety Regulator's state of safety report it would appear that urgent intervention is required to improve safety in the critical occurrence categories of derailments, collisions, security-related occurrences, level-crossing accidents and people struck by trains. Collisions and derailments continue to be the highest combined incident costs for Transnet Freight Rail and the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa, Prasa. An improvement in the safety performance is a critical element for ensuring that the government realises its objective of building a viable and sustainable rail transportation system in order to effectively drive both the country's economic growth and social development. I am glad to note, however, that progress has been made in the 2010-11 period in the strengthening of the railway safety regulatory regime through the development of appropriate regulations and safety standards.
According to the Road Management Corporation's 2009 road traffic report, the number of fatal crashes increased to 10 860 in 2009. In 2008 the conservative cost to the country of these accidents was approximately R13,3 billion. Why are there still so many deaths on South Africa's roads? The report reveals that there were more than 293 000 unlicensed vehicles on the country's roads at the end of December 2009. To make matters worse, the number of vehicles that were not roadworthy increased by 13,7% to almost 429 000 vehicles at the end of December 2009.
Another problem that causes serious road accidents is fatigue experienced by long-distance drivers. Few people seem to realise the danger associated with driver fatigue. In fact, drivers who become drowsy or fall asleep at the wheel contribute to thousands of crashes each year. A driver who falls asleep is much more likely to cause death and serious injuries.
Fatigue-related accidents are three times more likely to result in serious injury and death compared to other types of road accidents. I will therefore propose that it be made compulsory for taxi drivers who transport commuters over long distances to have relief drivers, as is the case with buses. Ngiyabonga. [Thank you.] [Applause.]
Hon Deputy Chairperson, hon Minister of Transport, hon members of the NCOP and hon guests, especially our hon members of the legislature from the North West province sitting in front of me, we welcome you. "Moving South Africa safely on time", "Keeping South Africa's economy on the right track with Transnet" and "Transport is the economy" - all these slogans and many more mean nothing to South Africa if there is no political will to achieve these goals.
A few years ago, South Africa had one of the best developed rail tracks in the whole of Africa - 18 000 km. But with a lack of interest and investment from the government in the past 30 years, the whole system is busy breaking down to nothing.
What a pity that a country like South Africa, which has taken the lead on many occasions and had so much to be proud of, allowed its rail infrastructure to be destroyed and vandalised. South Africa needs opportunities for its people and desperately needs more housing. But what happened to the old railway stations? They are falling apart and become hiding places where beggars and criminals can stay.
On an oversight visit to the Dundee area in KwaZulu-Natal it was shocking to see the poor condition of roads. Many of the roads in the mountainous areas were very narrow, with no railings on the side to protect vehicles from going over the edge.
The roads in most of the rural areas in South Africa are in a poor condition. Although budgets are in place, corruption and fraud play a big role in tender processes. The acting head of the North West's roads and transport, Sandile Mbanjwa, was suspended. She was investigated for illegally awarding a construction tender of millions of rands. A trend that seems to be common practice in the North West's provincial departments of public works, roads and transport was again on display a week ago. Minutes before the director of property could be served with a letter of suspension and a list of charges brought against her, she resigned with immediate effect. Last year, the very same modus operandi was followed by the head of the transport department, Mr Nick van Staden.
Growing public transport is a jobcreation priority. In the latest publication of Mobility, it is made very clear that when commuters are attracted to public transport, jobs can be created:
If 200 000 more people caught taxis, this would mean an increase of 1,8% on current passenger numbers. This would require an additional 4500 more taxi workers.
If 500 000 more people caught buses to work and education, this would mean an increase of 14% on current passenger numbers. This in turn would translate into the need for an additional 3 500 buses and 7 000 more workers in bus operations.
If 800 000 more people caught Metrorail trains, this would mean a 28% increase in the current 2,8 million people who catch trains. An additional 113 train sets would be required over and above the current 403 train sets in service ... The current Metrorail staff of 8 500 would have to increase by 2,380.
In sum, if 10% of car commuters (1,5 million people) could be attracted to public transport, and those numbers were distributed between taxis, buses and trains in such a way that progressively favours the mass modes, then 13 880 direct transport operational jobs would be created.
As the host country of COP 17 South Africa has a unique opportunity to trigger movement in the climate policy arena. The South African Minister of Transport should be able to use the momentum created by the meeting to promote sustainable transport policies as mitigation and adaptation to climate change and leverage funds for low-carbon projects.
With regard to cycling out of climate change, if the current cycling population could be increased by just 10% it would mean 40 000 additional bicycles on South Africa's roads. This, too, would create additional employment. The building of cycling lanes for all communities as part of road infrastructure is therefore a significant job creator. Cape Town has already implemented it and can be used as an example for the rest of South Africa.
The S'hamba Sonke programme is a massive job creation drive to fix, upgrade and maintain South Africa's entire secondary road network. The programme will create new opportunities for jobs and emerging contractors throughout the country. In partnership with all these provinces, it will repair potholes and improve access to schools, clinics and other social and economic opportunities. The programme sets out to create 70 000 jobs this year and a total of 400 000 jobs by 2014. The government has set aside R22,3 billion for this project.
The DA supports the Moving Together programme of government, because there will be job creation; the rehabilitation of key arterial routes in support of the rural economy through labour-intensive projects; the elimination of potholes on the roads; the creation of road access to schools, clinics, and public and social infrastructure; and the establishment of the Road Asset Management System, Rams.
As stakeholders we should all pull together to make our public transport systems safe, efficient and affordable. Let us also believe that the political will be there to achieve these goals. [Interjections.] [Applause.]
Hon members, you must behave yourselves, please. I will now call upon hon Themba.
Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon members, hon MECs and hon special delegates, this debate takes place at an opportune time, when millions of our people are preparing to travel the length and breadth of our country to visit relatives and friends. During this period many of our roads will be a blood bath, where people's lives will be cut short or people will lose their limbs. Allow me to join the Minister of Transport in wishing our people a safe festive season and sounding a clarion call to transport users to be vigilant and obey the rules of our roads. We want to express our utmost support to all the transport officials who are gearing themselves up to ensure that not a single soul is lost this festive season.
We also want to send a very clear message to all those who show an utter disregard for the safety of our people and families that we will stand with our hands in the fire to ensure that they are removed completely from our roads and that those who continue to place the lives of our people at risk will face the full might of the law.
The theme of our debate today, which is "Moving South Africa safely on time", finds resonance and expression in the White Paper on National Transport Policy, which was put forward by our government to usher in a new era for our transport network after the demise of the apartheid regime in 1994. It is this message that was later crystallised by the Department of Transport into a transport vision, which was known as Vision 2020, or the Moving South Africa programme.
The commitments that we made in the Transport Vision 2020 and Moving South Africa programme encapsulate our commitment to work tirelessly to ensure the safety of all road users and develop a new culture for our public transportation system by providing safe, reliable, efficient, effective and fully integrated transport operations and infrastructure which will best meet the needs of freight and passenger customers, improving levels of service and cost in a fashion that supports government strategies for economic and social development while being environmentally and economically sustainable.
We also expressly committed ourselves to develop a strategy to ensure that the transportation system of South Africa meets the needs of South Africa in the 21st century and therefore contributes to the country's growth and economic development.
We take pride that the ANC government has been at work to advance this transport vision and build a better road infrastructure to connect our people. Our roads infrastructure has been transformed. On a daily basis we bear witness to the various programmes of our government to continue in our quest to ensure that building an efficient transport system remains the main pillar of transforming our nation.
Since 1994 our government has invested billions of rand in building a new road infrastructure and systems. Today it is estimated that there are over 6 million licensed drivers and almost 10 million registered vehicles in South Africa. We have over 4 million motorcars, 241 000 minibuses and 27 000 buses on our roads.
The expansion of our roads infrastructure and the growing population of road users have created their own challenges. The biggest challenge is the high road accident and death figure witnessed on a daily basis. Our roads remain our largest source of carnage, death and disability.
It is estimated that our nation spends almost R40 billion on crashes and road fatalities. We have seen an increase in fatalities on our roads. In the period December 2005 to December 2006, the number of registered vehicles increased by 7%. We have also seen the number of fatal crashes increase from 2006 by 6,12% and the number of road-traffic-related fatalities increase by 9%.
These figures and statistics bear testimony to the sad reality that our roads have turned into a blood bath of carnage. We have seen a rise in the culture of irresponsible driving habits and intolerance by road users. Some public transport operators such as taxi and bus drivers have developed a strong culture of irresponsible driving and intolerance that leads to the death of innocent commuters. On a daily basis many of us witness how public transporters such as taxi drivers and metro buses skip red traffic lights and cut in front of other vehicles, showing a truly repulsive disregard for other road users and traffic laws.
The primary contributory factors in fatal crashes, or the ones that impact on the seriousness of injuries, continue to be excessive speed, drinking and driving, and the nonwearing of seatbelts. In many instances the utter disregard for traffic laws and excessive speed has led to the death of innocent people such as children and pedestrians.
The fatalities on our roads are exacerbated by poor monitoring and poor enforcement of road traffic rules. Bribes and corruption are some of the ill practices that undermine the enforcement of laws on our roads. It results in the certification of vehicles with defects as being roadworthy. We have seen the proliferation of the procurement of driving licences and fake licences.
We are aware that government has acknowledged the existence of corruption and the threat that this poses to road safety. Allow me to congratulate the Minister of Transport for his tireless efforts in fighting corruption and irresponsible driving on our roads.
The Road to Safety strategy puts a high priority on co-ordinated action in all the key areas of road safety: compliance with the law, driver fitness and training, vehicle condition, fleet regulation, overload control, pedestrian education and direct community road safety participation. We have seen how buses and taxis that are not roadworthy lead to carnage and the death of our children and the poor, who are the main users of public transport.
Moving South Africa safely and on time is our collective national responsibility. Let us work together to ensure a safe, reliable, effective, efficient and fully integrated transport system. [Applause.]
Chairperson, our national Minister of Transport, members of the NCOP, MECs, delegates from Salga and all protocol observed, it is an honour for me to represent the people of our beautiful province of Mpumalanga in this majestic Council and debate transport and moving South Africans safely and on time to their various destinations.
As some of you may be aware, Mpumalanga is not only the place of the rising sun but also the place of the pioneering spirit. While our province boasts scenic beauty and many tourist attractions, it is also the place where it is not unusual for animals from the Kruger National Park to hang out with people. Although it is a remote province and is affected by a high rate of unemployment, it is indeed a developing region, with coal mines that contribute greatly to the gross domestic product. People travel to our province to see, among others, wild animals, ancient rock formations and other tourist attractions such as God's Window, while enjoying peace of mind far away from the noisy and ever-busy cities of our country. Despite the fact that we are surrounded by four other provinces, we are also friends to our neighbours, Mozambique and Swaziland. Besides the movement of people from other provinces, overseas countries and these two neighbouring countries, we are also a province at work, with thousands and thousands of coal-hauling trucks rushing to deliver coal to power stations, thereby making Mpumalanga the powerhouse of the country.
This rush contributes to the transport industry's road accident rate and often results in fatalities, because some drivers neglect to observe the regulations of our roads. The long stretches and, sometimes, winding roads are a concern because they cause drivers to suffer from fatigue and cause accidents, increasing the statistics of the carnage on our roads. Accidents also cause road closures, leading to delays and inconvenience for the public at large.
When we advocate the safe movement of South Africans, and in order for the public to arrive at their various destinations on time, road safety education campaigns such as encouraging motorists to stop their vehicles and rest after two hours of driving and others need to be intensified.
As a province, we have had enough of the carnage on our roads, which has claimed the lives of many breadwinners and potential future leaders of our country. Maybe it is time that we consider transporting most of our goods by rail, which is underutilised in our country.
Over 80 000 people do the daily commute by public transport from the former KwaNdebele region of Nkangala to Pretoria. From time to time, when accidents occur, they claim many lives. In the previous financial year alone our province recorded 10 955 casualties. More than 2 320 people were killed in these accidents. Another 8 271 were severely injured. What is bad about these accidents is that most of the victims are passengers, followed by the drivers and, lastly, pedestrians. Therefore, as a province, we support the Minister of Transport when he suggests a reduction in the speed limit to 100 km per hour.
We are concerned about bribery, especially at testing centres. Some officials accept R100 notes at the expense of innocent families who then lose their breadwinners in accidents. In this regard, as a province, we have introduced a traffic intervention unit, which focuses on popular killer roads.
As I'm speaking I have just received a message from one of my officials that the unit has done something else in the province and that some of the opposition parties are calling for the disbandment of that unit. I can safely say it is not going to happen. This is a special unit which focuses on driver behaviour and other moving traffic violations. During the past weekend alone, this unit arrested 156 drunk drivers in only two operations.
We also support road safety initiatives within the public transport industry that could lead to citizens opting for public transport. This could result in a decrease in accidents and people arriving at their destinations safely and on time. These road safety initiatives should be complemented by law enforcement operations through the use of speed detection cameras, roadblocks and the consistent hunting down of drunk drivers.
By fusing education, road and transport engineering and law enforcement, the country will maintain a safe road environment, thereby eradicating road fatalities and inconvenience.
In closing, as the MEC responsible for safety and security in the province, I want to say that one day I listened attentively to a television programme on which a taxi driver openly said to the nation of the Republic of South Africa that they were not breaking the laws but just bending them. Now that is undermining the state. I want to invite those particular taxi drivers to Mpumalanga to come and practise their bending of the law. They will face the might of the law to the fullest. [Applause.]
Chairperson, transport is the lifeblood of our country, our people and our economy. If and when we fail to transport either goods, services or people, our world as we know it will come to a complete standstill. It is not only imperative to be able to move but such movement needs to happen timeously and with the highest focus on place and safety.
The majority of our people make use of the minibus-taxi industry to get from point A to point B. An estimated 60% of South African commuters are served by the taxi industry, which accounts for more than 14 million people per day. Notwithstanding this fact, we still saw an 4,1% increase in taxi fatalities, at 1 016 for the last 12 months ending March 2011, compared to the previous 12 months. One would have been forgiven for thinking that safety would be a top priority for such an important role-player in society. This is simply not good enough.
In the Department of Transport's annual report for 2010-11, the department underspent its budget by an incredible R214 million. This was attributed to fewer taxis being scrapped than the department budgeted for. Is this a question of capacity or simply because the department overestimated the number of taxis that needed to be scrapped? And has the taxi industry now cleaned up its image?
The problem starts here at home, with the department being unable to fill critical posts. How can we have a viable and safe transport industry when the entity that is supposed to implement it does not have the capacity to function properly?
Outcome 2 of the Department of Transport, from its 2010-11 annual report, reads: "A transport sector that is safe and secure". We are still waiting for the Department of Transport's disaster management plan. The department blamed this on limited funding available for the projects yet the department reported gross underspending for the same financial year.
Cope supports calls for the total scrapping of the allowable alcohol limit when driving. We are still seeing many accidents that are a result of individuals being under the influence.
We need more rigorous testing and driver qualification criteria imposed on individuals operating within the bus and taxi industries. These individuals are transporting the nation and we must ensure that they have the necessary skills and experience and are fit to operate their vehicles effectively.
Minister, in your comments in the ANC Today of 7 October, you compare us in South Africa with Australia, but Australia has 1 600 fatalities per annum, whereas South Africa has 2 000 per month.
Chair, I was a Member of Parliament since April 1994 until November last year, but this my first opportunity to speak in this distinguished Council. So, thank you very much for the opportunity. [Applause.]
Let me begin by taking my cue from the seminal writings of Prof John D Kasarda. He is an expert on the aerotropolis, this new concept of airport cities. In his book, Aerotropolis: The Way We'll Live Next, he states that the shapes and fates of cities have always been defined by transport.
Similarly, Joel Garreau, in his book entitled Edge City, states that cities are always created around whatever the state-of-the-art transportation device is at the time. So, Minister, when the transport mode is shoe leather and donkeys, the result is the hilly parts of Jerusalem. When it is men on horseback and sailing ships, it is the port of Lisbon and the canals of Venice. The central point is that the mode of transport of an age determines the nature and pattern of socioeconomic development. Logic therefore has it that if we want to create a globally competitive city, region or province, as we want to do in Gauteng, we must ask the question: What kind of transport system is needed in Gauteng to transform it into a globally competitive city region in the year 2055? That is the year when we will be celebrating the centenary of the Freedom Charter. The ANC will be doing that, not the DA. [Laughter.] [Applause.]
The theme of today's debate, "Moving South Africa safely on time", allows us the opportunity to outline what we are doing in Gauteng and link it with this vision that we have of a global city region. In our premier's state of the province address earlier this year, the hon Mokonyane spoke of the Gauteng Vision 2055. This vision seeks to create a globally competitive province that is liveable, equitable, accessible, sustainable and prosperous for all its residents. The Gauteng department of roads and transport can contribute meaningfully to this vision. It can do so by creating a reliable, affordable, safe and accessible public transport system and a well-developed road and rail network for the efficient, effective and seamless movement of people and goods.
The broad contours of this new system of transport and therefore of the Gauteng city region are already clear and visible. It will be planes and aero-cities, as well as high-quality speedrail as the backbone of mass transport, with an intricate network of bus rapid transit and minibus-taxi feeder services. Translating this vision into reality requires careful planning and therefore we have prioritised the design of a 25-year integrated transport master plan for our province, ITMP25.
A high-level committee of experts has been appointed to develop the ITMP25, and its mandate is to provide our province with two plans. Firstly, a short- term plan, which should be submitted to my office by January next year, will spell out what we should be doing in the next five years. Secondly, a 25-year plan, which should be submitted a year later by March 2013, must spell out what we should be doing in the next 25 years. I am optimistic that a quality, integrated transport master plan will serve as a road map to be followed, rather than merely an archival point of reference.
If road maintenance and construction is one of the focal points of our department, the other is public transport - as has been said by many speakers today. There is an accepted view among transport planners internationally and even in this country that we cannot build ourselves out of traffic gridlocks on our roads and freeways. Therefore we must develop an integrated public transport system composed of rail, bus, taxis and other nonmotorised modes of transport, to a point where both the working class and the middle-class would consider public transport rather than private transport as their mode of choice.
Working-class people have no choice in this country: They have to rely on public transport. If it is a weak, ailing system, there is no choice in the matter. They have to accept it. We will say that we have reached our goal when middle-class people and people from this Council have confidence in the public transport system and come to Parliament every day using public transport. [Applause.] That is what is meant by a socially inclusive public transport system.
The central question for us in the province - and I suppose for the country - is whether we have the vision and plans for this. Have we got the financial and fiscal resources to undertake large-scale transport infrastructure development? I am very pleased that the Minister has lobbied really hard to get a substantial sum of money to develop our public transport system, particularly Metrorail. Do we have all the stakeholders who share this common vision of developing a public transport system in this country? Lastly, do we have the political will and the capacity to implement and roll out the plans?
What is clear is that in Gauteng significant strides have been made to promote public transport. People might not believe it, so I will spell it out for you. As the Minister indicated, both the Rea Vaya bus rapid transit in Johannesburg and the Gautrain are initiatives that have received international and national acclaim. The Gautrain stands out as the flagship public transport project of the provincial government. It has developed a reputation for offering passengers a safe, convenient and affordable travel experience. On the airport link between Sandton and O R Tambo International Airport, over 3,3 million passengers had used this particular line by August this year. The recently opened Hatfield-to-Rosebank line already has a ridership of 28 000 passengers per day. Our target is to increase that, once we have the whole line open to Park Station, and to get 100 000 passengers a day on the Gautrain, from Pretoria to Johannesburg. That means we want to move a million people every 10 days on that line. [Applause.]
In addition, by April 2011, the Gautrain had created 110 000 direct, indirect and induced jobs through the Gautrain construction project. Minister, a public survey conducted in February this year shows that people are very positive about the Gautrain. The opinion poll shows that the Gautrain is seen as improving and transforming public transport in the province; its leadership is seen as having the ability to compete at an international level; 80% of respondents indicated that they were likely to use the Gautrain at some point in time; and that it had a positive, distinctive and recognisable brand perception.
I want to say that the Gautrain is not the answer for Gauteng. We will have to develop and upgrade Metrorail. I think Metrorail has not marketed its work, but I want to talk about one of the things they have done. I think they have done a lot of good work and we are on our way in Gauteng to spend the money that the Minister is talking about.
The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa, Prasa, in Gauteng has also begun the process of upgrading its Metrorail system. It has constructed new stations at Rhodesfield, Nasrec and Doornfontein. It has renovated the Orlando, Ellis Park, Langlaagte and New Canada stations. Furthermore it has already undertaken operational improvements at 25 stations in the province, focusing on better lighting, platform corrections, setting up shelters and benches, strengthening foot bridges, installing closed-circuit television, CCTV, cameras and completing the painting of the whole structure. [Applause.]
Metrorail has achieved integration with the Gautrain at four stations, so if you get off at a Metrorail station, you can walk over onto a Gautrain station. Most importantly, Metrorail has started with the process of upgrading or completely revamping its signalling system, from the old copper cable system to a fibre-optic system. Within the next three to five years we think the entire network will be rolled out. [Applause.] Over the next 18 months, Prasa will focus on renovating the stations at Vereeniging, Germiston and Krugersdorp as part of the provincial government's urban regeneration of these towns.
Over the next three years, and in conjunction with the Gautrain and the Metrorail system, we will see a massive roll-out of the bus rapid transit system in the metropolitan cities of Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni. Johannesburg is progressing well with its second phase of the Rea Vaya, which will now be extended to the Alexandra township. It was not in the plans but the mayoral committee has just taken a decision to introduce a new phase that will go to Alexandra township.
By December next year we are expecting that the BRT system will be operational in the central city of Pretoria, and that it will be extended to Mamelodi and Shoshanguve two years after that. Ekurhuleni is planning a five-phase BRT system aimed at connecting nine disparate townships and towns in the city. [Interjections.] House Chair, that member's mind is so small that he can see through that keyhole with both his eyes at the same time. [Laughter.]
The UN Decade of Action for Road Safety was launched worldwide on 11 May 2011 by the Minister. [Interjections.] House Chair, that member should behave himself. [Laughter.]
Hon Gunda, behave yourself!
What about a train to Kimberley?
Chair, that member's political career is so short that even if he had to kick a duck on the backside, he would have to stand on a brick. [Laughter.]
The UN Decade of Action was launched worldwide on 11 May this year by the Minister and we are very proud that our Minister was made the champion for that campaign. The singular purpose of this campaign ... [Time expired.] [Applause.]
UMntwana M M M ZULU: Sihlalo, mhlonishwa Ngqongqoshe namalungu ahloniphekile ale Ndlu, sithi ayikho neyodwa imfihlo yokuthi ngonyaka odlule eNingizimu Afrika sibone izinguquko eziningi embonini yezokuthutha ngesikhathi sendebe yomhlaba. Lapho kwakwakhiwa khona izikhumulo zezindiza kwavuselelwa nemigwaqo yethu ngokunjalo kube yimigwaqo ehlelekile umasihamba ngesivinini esingaphezulu kwe-120 esisemthethweni.
Kukhona okuye kungithinte emoyeni wami ngendlela abantu bakithi abaphatheka ngayo kwezokuthutha zomphakathi ikakhulukazi embonini yamatekisi. Ngiyazi Manzankosi ukuthi izinkabi lezi ezazibulalana wazama ukuthi uzinqobe ngamajele zonke ziwuyeke lowo mqondo. Kodwa indlela nje abantu bakithi abaphathwa ngayo kuleziya zinqola zomphakathi ngicela ukuthi uhulumeni abuye afake amehlo okubheka ukuthi leya ndlela isetshenzwa kanjani.
Ngiyazi ukuthi kusenhliziyweni yakho lezi zingozi ezisanda kwenzeka kungakafiki amaholide kaKhisimuzi waze wasikaza khona ukuthi izimoto esihamba ngazo kufuneka sehlise ijubane. Ngiyasho mhlonishwa Ngqongqoshe ukuthi lezi zingozi zibangelwa ngamaloli kanye nezimoto ezithwala umphakathi ngendlela ezigijima ngayo zijahe imali. Izindlela noma imithetho angazi ukuthi ingaqiniswa kanjani noma uma amaphoyisa engasatshalaliswa imigwaqo yonke yethu ukuze azobhekana nalezi zigelekeqe ezibulala abantu.
Ngiyazi ukuthi wawuphethe umklamo othi sibambene. Kwakungumklamo namanje engicabanga ukuthi usebenza kahle kakhulu ukusiza abantu abangenayo imisebenzi ikakhulukazi ezindaweni zasemakhaya. Siyaye sibabone begundagunda utshani wumsebenzi uhulumeni esingasho ukuthi uyakha ngendlela izinto ezihlela ngakhona - ngingasasho yena uSenzangakhona. Noma kanjani ngeke sakwazi ukuhlala singakusekeli futhi singasekeli uhulumeni wethu ukuba abe nomthetho ebambekayo nengakwazi ukuthi inqande ukufa kwabantu.
Njengoba kunguKhisimuzi umuntu uyaye ahambe engazi ukuthi uyofika yini ekhaya ngoba uhlale enethemba ukuthi uzofika endaweni ethile angasafinyeleli ngenxa yabantu abashayela kabi emgwaqweni. Nathi uqobo uma sesidakiwe sibanga izinkinga njengabantu abaphilayo. Isidalwa esingumuntu kufuneka sivalelwe ejele. Ngibongela iNtshonalanga Kapa nezinye izifundazwe njengoba uzakwethu osephumile eshilo ukuthi bayabopha, alufakwa ngendlela okwenzeka ngayo. Lezi zibalo obukade uzikhipha lapha yizibalo ezemukelekile kakhulu emphakathini ozimisele ngokunciphisa izingozi. Ngiyabonga. [Ihlombe.] (Translation of isiZulu speech follows.)
[Prince M M M ZULU: Chairperson, hon Minister and hon members of this House, we cannot deny the fact that last year we saw a lot of changes in the transport industry during the hosting of the World Cup. Airports were built and roads were reconstructed to make them suitable for driving at an official speed limit of 120 km per hour.
There is something that always disturbs me with regard to the way our people are being treated in the public transport sector, especially in the taxi industry. I know, Manzankosi, that you tried to eliminate the hitmen by incarcerating them and stopping this habit. But the way our people are being treated when they make use of the taxis should be closely looked at to see if they are operating in a proper manner.
I know that you have been disturbed by recent accidents as we head towards the Christmas holidays and you even thought of reducing our vehicles' speed limit. Accidents are caused by trucks and taxis that drive at high speed as they rush in order to make more money. I am not sure how the laws and measures could be enforced; or how officers could be deployed to many posts on the road to deal with these criminals who kill our people.
I know that your approach was that we must work together. This is still a useful approach, I think, as it assists the unemployed people in the rural areas. We often see these people cutting grass. This is a project which we might say is of benefit in the way it is organised - not that I am referring to Senzangakhona. Indeed we cannot just fold our arms and not support you and our government in your effort to have concrete laws which will stop the carnage.
As it is now the Christmas period one drives being uncertain of whether one will reach home because of the reckless drivers on the roads. Even we ourselves always cause problems when we are drunk. Anyone caught driving while intoxicated should be kept in prison. I congratulate the Western Cape and the other provinces, as my colleague who spoke before me mentioned that they don't think twice about arresting law breakers. The statistics that you presented here are acceptable to a society that is aiming at reducing accidents. Thank you. [Applause.]]
Hon House Chairperson, hon Minister of Transport, Ntate Sbu Ndebele, hon MECs present here today, hon chair of the select committee, Ntate Sibande, hon members of the NCOP and hon special delegates, it is Salga's belief that in order to move South Africa safely and on time we have to attend to but are not limited to the following: the promotion and use of safe, efficient and affordable public transport; getting freight off the roads; funding of road infrastructure and maintenance; and traffic management.
Efficient public transport is the future in densely built-up areas the world over. The sustained increase in the demand for vehicle travel puts pressure on the existing road and parking capacity, leading to the need for further expansion of roads infrastructure. Building more roads and parking spaces decreases traffic congestion only temporarily. Instead of adding more road lanes and upgrading roads and bridges, there is a need to prioritise the improvement of alternative transport mechanisms that will meet the needs of communities and businesses.
Salga appreciates the strides taken so far in respect of supporting the implementation and roll-out of the rapid transit systems in four cities. However, some of the cities have indicated a concern that the rapid transit system has been reduced to only a bus rapid transit system. Where a city prefers a rapid transit system that is not anchored on using buses but, for example, rail, this does not appear to find favour with officials of the Department of Transport, hon Minister.
We are proposing that in the medium-term we focus on supporting the major cities by assigning them the appropriate powers, functions and financial resources and supporting them to build the requisite capacity to take full responsibility for planning and managing multimodal urban public transport.
With regard to getting freight off the roads, as Salga we appreciate the focus of government in respect of building the necessary infrastructure capacity so that we may eventually get freight off the roads and into rail transport. There is a need to consider the use of such instruments as vehicle licensing for trucks to stimulate a modal shift of freight from roads to rail while at the same time getting the licensing fee for trucks to reflect the road maintenance cost associated with the use of roads by heavy trucks.
Regarding the funding of roads infrastructure maintenance, Salga appreciates the steps that the Minister has taken in launching the S'hamba Sonke programme. However, we understand the focus of this programme on secondary roads to mean that it is only about those roads that are the responsibility of provinces. It does not include municipal roads, but focuses mostly on access roads. With the exception of toll roads, road infrastructure is generally funded from tax. In the case of local government, this tax is property rates tax and in rural areas there is no payment of property rates tax. The national fiscus contributes - in the form of a MIG - on behalf of poor households a limited amount for the provision of basic services infrastructure, including basic levels of road infrastructure. This means that those rural households that are not reflected as poor by Statistics SA, as well as rural business, do not contribute to the cause of providing road infrastructure in their areas.
Therefore urban ratepayers and poor rural households who are paid for by the national fiscus have to carry this unfair subsidy burden to the rural, middle and high-income households and businesses. Unfortunately a municipality cannot overtax those urban ratepayers, leading to situations where there is no financial provision for investment and maintenance of the rural roads infrastructure, except for the small contribution made by the national fiscus on behalf of poor households.
Ironically, middle and high-income households and businesses are the most vocal in their demand for good roads because of the impact it has on their vehicles. Consequently, road expenditure statistics indicate that from 2003- 04 up to the 2009-10 financial year, municipalities spent on average R156 000 per kilometre of road for maintenance and upgrading, compared to the R258 000 and R3 million spent by provincial and national governments respectively. Actually, if you compared that with what Sanral is spending, in other words, if they should spend R3 million on the maintenance of a road, the quality becomes far better than that of a municipal road. Smaller rural municipalities spend much less. Even taking into account that the three spheres of government are responsible for different classes of roads, the differences are just too big. This is not a consequence of choice by municipalities, hon Minister, but is the result of a financial resource constraint.
Complicating this matter more is the fact that about 221 000 km of road remains unallocated among the provinces, districts and local municipalities. This means that the monitoring of the conditions and maintenance of this vast portfolio of roads infrastructure falls between the cracks. Since all roads are in a municipal area, municipalities are forced to take some care of these unallocated and therefore unfunded roads. Since the establishment of municipalities in the year 2000, local government has been calling for the resolution of this matter. This underfunding leads to the evident deterioration of rural roads, which in turn leads to the accelerated deterioration of user vehicles and increased road accidents. We would like to request the Minister of Transport to work closely with Salga and National Treasury to find a solution to this challenge.
With regard to road traffic law enforcement, the country has been hoping that the implementation of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences, Aarto, will be a significant step up in traffic law enforcement. However, it appears that the level of centralisation associated with the implementation of Aarto is working against it. A review of the need for this level of centralisation needs to be considered.
In conclusion, Salga believes that attention to these four interrelated matters, namely the promotion of the use of safe, efficient and affordable public transport; getting freight off the roads; funding of roads infrastructure maintenance, and traffic management, will go a long way towards moving South Africa and South Africans safely and on time. [Applause.]
Deputy Chairperson, I just want to ask on a point of order: Is it parliamentary for a member to migrate to another province when he becomes unpopular in his own province? [Laughter.] The hon Mokgoro went to Limpopo. [Interjections.] The hon Bloem ... [Laughter.]
Hon Sinclair, you are out of order. [Laughter.] You may continue, hon member.
Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon MECs present here, hon members of the National Council of Provinces, NCOP, hon members who are special delegates and distinguished guests, receive my warm greetings from the North West province. It is an honour for me to take part for the first time in the proceedings of this august Council today. During the old days when the mode of transportation was rudimentary, people lived longer and died happier. There were no traffic lights, no complex road infrastructure, no traffic signs, no need for speed limits and no air pollution. When you wanted to travel somewhere, you had to walk long distances or use bikes or donkey carts. Life was enjoyable.
Then came modernity, or the so-called industrial age. We invented cars, steam engines and steel. Trains became our mode of transport. Planes soon followed, and we had to create roads to accommodate new modes of transportation. The consequences were not inconsequential. What we found, to our surprise, was that modernity was no panacea. Speed or convenience was not always good for us. We now had to contend with planning how fast our cars should travel and what safety features cars should have. Should they have only airbags or should they also have safety belts?
Policy-makers changed to accommodate technology, but while we were still trying to figure out how to deal with that we already had a new phenomenon to deal with, namely that the cars that we were driving and the kind of development that we were pursuing were not good for the atmosphere. Gases emitted into the atmosphere were affecting the ozone layer, which was supposed to protect the earth against the sun's radiation. So, the heat coming from the sun was no longer buffeted by anything, or the layer was significantly eroded, hence we have global warming or what is scientifically called the "greenhouse effect".
So, transport is inextricably intertwined with our developmental process. Our future transportation system will have a direct impact on our ability to reduce our carbon footprint. Integrated mass public transportation is no longer a matter of "if" but of "when".
We need to dream big and be bold, because our development is going to come from new ideas being built on existing good ideas. The foundation is there; all we need to do is build on it. It cannot be that for us to come to Cape Town, we first have to catch a plane in Johannesburg or even travel only by plane to Cape Town. We should, if we want to, have a plane that can travel from North West via Gauteng and stop in Cape Town. Travel by land is sometimes more enriching than travelling by plane. You see a lot of things, learn the geography of your country and get to know its landscape.
As we celebrate October, let us do so mindful of the fact that our road fatalities are the worst in the world and that we have to do better by, among other things, going back to the basics. We should enforce laws that are on our Statute Book already, for example, putting on a safety belt. However, people nowadays tend to put safety belts behind their backs to avoid the constant noise the car makes when the seat belt is not put on. Today's cars are so sophisticated that they actually alert you when you do not have it on, so you no longer have an excuse for not wearing a seat belt.
As drivers we can actually reduce car accident fatalities by adhering to road traffic rules and not attempting to show off our cars by speeding past other drivers because we think that their jalopies are not meant for the road. We also have to take a "no prisoners" policy approach when it comes to vehicles that are not roadworthy. The national traffic police have done a wonderful job in recent months by impounding buses that were on the road without having undergone a proper inspection. It is precisely these buses that have caused unnecessary or even sometimes avoidable deaths on our roads, killing our future leaders. In North West, nine teachers recently died in one accident. We had that tragedy in our province.
We know how it feels to lose institutional memory because someone failed to assess their vehicle before the journey or, in exceptional cases, a taxi driver did not sleep the previous night and then has to take people to a meeting, only to be fatigued, lose concentration and end up in a crash. We need to do soul-searching and ask whether we are doing the right thing by not introducing reliable and competitive mass transit into the public domain. When will our wake-up call come?
I think the country is ready for a countrywide speed train. I think the country is more than ready to know that we can no longer have just Gauteng and Cape Town leading the way in the 21st century and leaving behind other provinces. We also want to be part of those lawmakers that reverse the train drain, a phenomenon caused by overcrowding. We want our province to also have a brain gain, and the country as a whole should proportionally share in the human capital of its people. Our constituencies sometimes ask us whether we are not one country. "Why does Gauteng or Cape Town have that and we do not have it in our province?" "Are we living in another country?" These are some of the questions we are unable to answer in our constituencies. When we go back I want to assure them - as you have said today, hon Minister - that we will be the same as Gauteng and Cape Town. [Applause.]
Transportation, then, is going to be a key ingredient in our cooking mix of development. We should be on time and safe when travelling, as we cannot afford to have inefficient and ineffective public mass transport.
As we all know, the time of the year is approaching when our people will be visiting families and friends and going on holiday. The next two months will be crucial. Safety will therefore be a non-negotiable for government, in the case of both pedestrians and drivers. The two have to be judicious when they use the road. A sense of courtesy has to prevail, especially from driver to driver and pedestrian to driver.
The theme "Moving South Africa safely on time" encapsulates the ideal situation that ought to prevail on our roads and the fact that we have October as Transport Month is not window-dressing. The timing could not be more right. The awareness has to begin now, because in Setswana we say: Ditlamelwana tsa pula di baakangwa go sale gale ... [Make hay while the sun shines].
This means that it is better to prepare now than later.
From a provincial standpoint, we would like to see an integrated transport system that reduces the amount of time we spend on the roads. We would like to have a bullet train that makes Gauteng and Cape Town no longer just another province but cities that you can be employed in and commute to and from daily without necessarily having to relocate to them.
Our railway system, therefore, has to be refurbished. It has to provide competition to other public modes of transportation and be user-friendly. In our province, we no longer have a train that people can use as a means of transport. The advantage of a train is that, even though it is slow, it can ferry many people at once across the breadth and length of the province. We call on the national government to ensure that we have a single train that can go from east to west and from south to north in our country. This will help spur economic opportunities across the country.
Hon Minister, we learnt that you were saying, "Batho sonke, sihamba sonke" and that the North West province has been allocated R501 million. Please, we humbly request you to go and recheck, as this is not the case. We do not have that amount in our province. [Applause.]
This is a reminder to all members of Rule 32, which states that during a debate in the Council no member may converse aloud.
Chairperson, I think I must start by saying that my surname is spelled incorrectly. It ends on an "o", not a "u".
Minister of Transport, Dr Sbu Ndebele, all members of the executive council, MECs who are present, NCOP members and delegates, moving South Africa safely and on time requires all of us to focus our attention on efficiency and universal access to quality public transport that is effective, efficient and reliable with the express purpose to move our people from their places of living to their places of work, universities, colleges, hospitals, clinics and any destination of choice. Public transport in the form of trains, taxis and buses should become the carrier of choice for the majority of our people.
We need to reintroduce proper schedules with regard to all our public transport - departures on time, arrivals on time, safely, with fewer delays and disruptions. Simply put, moving South Africa safely and on time requires a radical transformation of the public transport system in our country.
Operations like Operation Hlokomela by the SA National Taxi Council, Santaco, need to be welcomed as a step in the right direction, promoting stability and good service for commuters. Today, with rail, ports and pipelines at the heart of a parastatal like Transnet, it should become a more manageable entity and as such it should be in a position to focus on improving productivity. Having ports and rails in one organisation must be used for improved co-ordination and the timeous movement of freight.
Eighty per cent of the world's precious minerals like diamonds, iron ore and other mineral deposits, are located in the Northern Cape province, especially in John Taolo Gaetsewe in Kuruman. Most of these minerals are transported by road as opposed to rail. There is a compelling case for the revitalisation of rail in the province. To show our seriousness as the Northern Cape, we have what we call a steering rail infrastructure committee. It is made up of all stakeholders like Transnet, the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa, Prasa, and so forth in order to leverage the transport opportunities in the province.
The theme of this debate, "Moving South Africa Safely on time", is apt as it both speaks to the progress we have made with regard to building infrastructure in our province, which facilitates the movement of goods and people, and reflects on the challenges that apartheid neglected in terms of investing in infrastructure development.
Hon Minister, our province was hard hit when Spoornet disengaged from the province in the past. De Aar, which was one of the strategic rail hubs of the entire Southern Africa, was particularly badly affected. That potential has gone to waste. There is a need for reinvestment in rail in the province, particularly in De Aar, because to a great extent the economy of the province revolves around rail. Once they pulled that back, everything collapsed, leading to poverty. For the record, the Deputy President has been in that area on numerous occasions and the community has been raising the issue of the disengagement of Transnet.
We need to engage in a very serious manner with road fatalities in our province. Two months ago we witnessed the death of an employee at Spoornet, by the name of Yolande Vries, who was crushed to death by a train during working hours. There was this, plus many road accidents. Minister, we say that these accidents, which often involve our children who get to and from school using scholar transport, point to the need for us to intensify the road safety campaign throughout the year. The campaign should focus on law enforcement, especially on overload control, the condition of vehicles and driver fitness. While our traffic officers need to be tough with law enforcement, we also need to continue with our road safety awareness campaign. The message of road safety awareness that "Road safety is my and your responsibility" is still very relevant. I deeply encourage this Council to take this process forward.
Minister, South Africa will be competing with Australia to host the biggest telescope in the southern hemisphere, the MeerKat. That technology would be located in Sutherland in our province, the Northern Cape. It has huge potential for the entire Southern Africa in terms of technology, but rail and road challenges need to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
Our government continues to invest millions of rand to improve our road networks and ensure the movement of goods and people, especially in rural areas. However, the key challenge is the maintenance of our municipal roads, especially given the poor revenue base of the majority of municipalities in the province. We appreciate the figures quoted by the Minister for our province regarding the fixing of potholes, which will go a long way in addressing the fundamental challenges confronting our province.
Moving South Africa safely and on time is also about infrastructure development that contributes to economic development and creates jobs. In the province we have mega projects that we would like the Minister to buy into, namely the revitalisation of the De Aar rail line and the expansion of the Sishen-Saldanha iron ore rail network, which is of critical importance to the province.
We were also deeply encouraged by the visit paid by the Minister of Public Enterprises and the chief executive officers, CEOs, of state-owned enterprises like Transnet and Eskom to ensure that they aligned their developmental plans in the province with the key infrastructure development plans of the province. We appreciate that kind of intervention.
Another major project that we are embarking on in the province and which we want the Minister to support is the development of Upington Airport into a cargo hub. The airport has one of the biggest runways in Southern Africa. We saw its huge potential during the 2010 World Cup, when O R Tambo was overrun by planes. Upington Airport was utilised to park some of the planes. There is a business case for us to ensure that this airport, which is an international airport, is turned into a cargo hub. This is part of the key infrastructure plans for moving the province of the Northern Cape to a high level. Working together with the national sphere of government and all other relevant stakeholders, the province aims to ensure that we benefit strongly in terms of infrastructure.
Much to the dismay of many people, the Northern Cape is not only a desert but has a coastal town as well. Many people don't know it's a gateway to Africa. We are near Namibia and Botswana. We have some of the deepest seas at Port Nolloth, Alexander Bay and Hondeklip Bay. A feasibility study is to be undertaken between the provincial government and Port Nolloth regarding the use of that harbour as an alternative. There are massive opportunities in the province and we can safely say that with co-operation between ourselves and Prasa we can move transport to a higher level.
We must highlight that the closure of the passenger rail line between Mafikeng and Kimberley has disadvantaged a number of communities in two provinces. The discontinuation of the passenger rail line between Bloemfontein and Kimberley has had an adverse effect on commuters. These are the key challenges that need to be addressed
Lastly, we want to thank the Minister of Transport for his vision, commitment and dedication in taking transport to a higher level. We also want to thank the NCOP for affording us this opportunity to participate in this debate. Re a leboha. [We thank you.] [Applause.]
Hon House Chair, Minister of Transport, Chief Whip of the House, the representative from the SA Local Government Association, Salga, members of the NCOP and my colleagues from the provinces, it is an honour for me to debate the theme "Moving South Africa safely on time" in this Council, especially during Transport Month. The 2010-11 financial year marked an era of accelerated service delivery to the masses of our people in the Eastern Cape, with particular focus on the poor and previously disadvantaged. It was a period of enhanced, multi- agency collaboration towards the improvement of the infrastructure of our province. Through this, we have been able to make visible and decisive advances to present future generations with a place to live, work and invest in. Our approach as the province was in line with the objectives of the provincial growth and development plan, the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa and the Expanded Public Works Programme.
This debate therefore highlights our key achievements during the period under review with regard to the improvement of our internal capacity in order to respond promptly to the transportation needs of Eastern Cape communities; the promotion of cost-effective, sustainable road upgrading and maintenance technologies; and the strengthening of traffic and road safety through a community-based approach. As an integrated, community- based transportation solution, the programme supported all other programmes in promoting a labour-intensive and community-based approach, as outlined in our policy framework in facilitating community-based transportation solutions. Central to our efforts was the strengthened co-ordination of our work with various spheres of government and resource mobilisation for the maintenance of our infrastructure.
The final draft assessment of the rural transport plan, which pays attention to rural development and, in particular, rural areas of our province, has been tabled with the Portfolio Committee on Transport. This is indeed a very important plan with regard to the process of developing the integrated transport plan as required by the National Land Transport Act, Act 5 of 2009, which has not been completed due to capacity constraints. These are now being addressed.
During this period, the following numbers of passengers were transported by bus operators that receive subsidies from the department: we have Algoa Bus Company, which operates along Nelson Mandela Bay, transporting about 15,8 million passengers; Africa's Best 350 Ltd, popularly known as AB350, which operates in the former Transkei area, carrying about 5 million passengers; and Mayibuye Transport Corporation, which operates in the former Border area and transports up to 1,8 million passengers.
Algoa Bus Company operated a peak-time fleet of 295 buses, while AB350 operated 296 buses. All the buses planned for phase 1 and phase 2 of AB350 have now been implemented. AB350 is now operating from depots in the Alfred Nzo District in the areas of Mbizana, Mt Frere and Matatiele, the O R Tambo District in the areas of Mthatha and Lusikisiki, the Chris Hani District in the area of Queenstown and the Amathole District in the area of Butterworth.
On the issue of Kei Rail, we will mention that due to inadequate funding the Kei Rail commuter train between Mthatha and Amabhele temporarily suspended its operations in November 2010. A report on the unhealthy financial and operational performance of the Kei Rail service was delivered to the management meeting held in August 2010. The report indicated that the Kei Rail operations would not be sustainable up to the end of the financial year, based on the inadequacy of the budget. However, it is operating now because the Kei Rail service was sustained through the budgets of other programmes, particularly that of roads, which was transferred to the department of public works effective from April 2011 with clear terms of reference.
As the Eastern Cape, we have afforded 29 taxi drivers the opportunity to upgrade their licences from Code 8 to Code 14. The programme will be completed during the last quarter of this financial year. A total of 15 taxi associations attended a workshop on grievance and disciplinary procedures.
Regarding traffic management, the department of transport received 48 new vehicles to improve traffic law enforcement performance. For a long time, provincial traffic officers have been experiencing challenges due to the shortage of vehicles for traffic law enforcement. There are 719 provincial traffic officers with 110 vehicles.
The Participatory Education Techniques programme is a national project that was successfully piloted in our province in 2009. On 1 December 2010, the Road Safety Directorate took a team of 10 learners and one educator to compete at the national level. The department was placed first with learners from Focused High School in Matatiele.
The National Driver of the Year Competition normally forms part of the October Transport Month activities. Eight provinces competed in Gauteng. Of the 13 Eastern Cape delegates, 6 were triumphant, winning awards and holding the Eastern Cape's name high.
During this period, the department improved on law enforcement and yielded the following results: 233 vehicles were seized for not being roadworthy, 158 drivers were arrested for drunken driving, 3 150 hours were spent doing speed checks and 9 488 invalid or fraudulent driving licences were suspended. Audits were conducted with the assistance of the Special Investigating Unit.
In conclusion, in March 2011 the province took two strategic decisions. Firstly, the scholar transport function was transferred from the department of education to the department of transport, effective on 1 April 2011. Secondly, the services of Fleet Africa for the management of the provincial fleet were terminated and the province is to manage its own fleet with effect from 1 February 2012. The envisaged model is that a new trading entity will be established, where departments will source the use of motor vehicles. The department of transport is working with all relevant stakeholders in this regard with the aim of meeting the deadline of February 2012. We will not mention any achievements in taking these two decisions because we are still observing what is going to take place. [Applause.]
Hon Chair, hon Minister, hon MECs and all protocol observed, let me start by responding to what hon Groenewald has said. He said the ANC- led government has no political will to transform the transport system. Maybe he was fast asleep when the Minister was reading his speech. I will request the Minister to leave the document with him so that he can read what strides the ANC-led government has made and still anticipates making.
Secondly, he said the ANC-led government has allowed the railway system to collapse. But where did the rot start? It started with the previous government, where he had the right to vote. The ANC government is trying to pick up the pieces.
In his example, he cited Cape Town. Who built Cape Town? It was built with the sweat, blood and hard labour of our people, who were exploited. [Applause.] Even today those people still do not enjoy the fruits of their labour. These people are born and bred in Cape Town yet they have never gone to either Robben Island or Table Mountain. So, they still do not enjoy the fruits of their labour. This debate comes at an opportune time against the backdrop of the high number of road accidents that we experience on our roads. Our roads have become death traps. Our roads have become gallows where people are arbitrarily guillotined. Are we a nation that has lost its conscience, soul and respect for human life?
This debate comes at an appropriate time for discussion. It calls upon us to come up with remedial programmes and preventive measures that should be put in place to resolve this problem. The discussion should also include the guilty parties involved in fatal accidents that cause people to lose their lives.
Order, hon Groenewald! Please behave yourself or else ...
Chairperson, I just want to know whether the hon member has a little bit of time to answer or take a question?
Chair, if I have time, I will take his question.
Chairperson, on a point of order: I very strongly object to these Northern Cape people making a noise when the Free State delegate is talking! [Laughter.]
These road hogs should not be allowed to drive on our roads. The theme "Moving South Africa safely on time" hinges on three pillars for it to succeed. These pillars are good infrastructure, the quality of the mode of transport, and professional and skilful personnel. We can't talk about good infrastructure without linking it with economic development. My area of focus will be good infrastructure with economic development, especially rural development.
South Africa should never be at peace with itself unless it responds to rural development, especially infrastructure. We can build big industries and employ many people, but if we don't have good roads that transport goods from the place of manufacture to the marketplace, we are bound to fail. Roads in rural areas are deplorable, to say the least. Most of the villages do not have access roads that connect them with the civilised world. The situation is even more disastrous during rainy seasons. We had a nasty experience four weeks ago in Msinga in KwaZulu-Natal. We could not reach our destination because it had rained the previous day. How many of our people are experiencing this daily? Surely, for these people democracy has not yet dawned on them or on their shores, yet we are 18 years into our democracy. Where in the world have you seen a bakkie being used as a mode of transport to ferry people because the roads are so bad that the only mode of transport they can use are bakkies?
Agricultural produce in rural areas can't reach the markets because the roads are very bad. Even if they want to preserve their produce, they do not have storage facilities. I am provoking and challenging those of us who live and enjoy urban life because we have forgotten that we left our umbilical cord in the remote areas, where our ancestors, and we, once lived. We forget that the people in those areas also need a good life.
I am urging the Minister to have special programmes that will address rural infrastructure, especially roads. The 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup has shown us the way - why can't we build on the experience and expertise gained from the World Cup? With a concerted effort from all of us to target a province or two at a time, with a timeframe of not more than two years, we can address once and for all the backlog that exists. Others would follow and in no time we would have responded to the backlog. We can do this in collaboration with the Department of Defence and Military Veterans, which can assist with the building of bridges. Then we can proudly talk about having made South African roads safe, especially in the rural areas, and every person and community will be on time and enjoy the good life.
Ngqongqoshe, ngonyaka odlule sibe nenkulumompikiswano kuleNdlu, sacela ukuthi usekele izithuthi zabafundi. [Minister, last year we had a debate in this House, where we requested that you sponsor learner transport.]
Madam Chair, I would like to know whether the hon member has the time now for that quick question.
Hhayi, ngisakhuluma. Sacela izithuthi zabafundi namanje sisalindile. Siyacela-ke ukuthi ulubheke lolu daba ngoba kuyihlazo ukuthi abantwana bethu bahambe amakhilomitha alinganiselwa e-10, e-15, noma ema- 20, lungekho usizo oluphuma eMnyangweni wakho. Ngiyabonga. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[Mr M P JACOBS: No, I am still talking. We requested transport for the learners, and we have been waiting for it since then. Please attend to this concern because it is a disgrace that our children have to walk between 10 and 15 kilometres, or even 20 kilometres, with no help from your department.]
Madam Chair, if you have a moment, can I ask the hon member a question? It seems he still has some time left.
Hon Faber, you must come and chair if you want to chair. The hon Jacobs has no time left to speak.
His time is over? Sorry, Madam Chair!
Thank you very much to members who participated in the debate by addressing this House and by listening. We thank you very much for the inputs. Thank you to my colleagues from the transport family, MEC Vadi and MEC Shongwe. Thank you for coming and thank you for Salga's very valuable input. We need to respond to the fact that almost all matters of transport are national, provincial and local. We do need to work in conjunction with each other much more than we have been doing up to now, while we were setting ourselves up. Thank you very much for that.
Let me start by saying that the key issue we have is that altogether R22 billion has to be spent before 2014. This is going to be important. It must be unimaginable for any of us to go back to Treasury saying we were not able spend the R6,4 billion this year, the R7,4 billion next year and the R8,4 billion the following year. That will require the identification of roads because the vision and the programme are important but money is the answer to all those things. Once the money is there, let us use it and ensure that it is actually being directed to where it should be.
When I was speaking earlier I said that other than that R6,4 billion or R22 billion all in all, we have an extra R1 billion that has been made available by the SA National Roads Agency Ltd, Sanral, specifically for access roads, rural roads and provincial roads. Therefore, where the province and municipality can't reach, it can appeal for that money to be made available. That money will be made available. So let us identify that very clearly and use it to move forward.
We need to expand the programme that we have embarked on, particularly the one with my colleague, Mr Vadi, the MEC for transport in Gauteng. In particular we really need to deal with the issue of the corruption that is pervading our licensing department. When MEC Vadi took me to centres in Langlaagte, he was given fresh information that his people had just arrested someone with 2 000 blank driving licences.
You need to know that they were caught because it means that action is being taken to deal with the problem. All of us must be in a real partnership with regard to this and with what we do in Gauteng, Mpumalanga and elsewhere. All colleagues really need to deal with this and also to communicate it, because once thieves and fraudsters know they are being caught in Gauteng, they run to KwaZulu-Natal. Once they know they are being caught in KwaZulu-Natal, they run to Limpopo. They must know they will be caught everywhere and that there is no place to hide. They must know that they will actually get arrested and this becomes a very important example.
I think the idea of all of us signing up for the Decade of Action for Road Safety is actually quite important. Let us be activists for road safety for this decade in order to reduce this carnage. We really can't have 1 000 people dying per month, 250 people dying per week, 14 000 or 12 000 people dying per year. There are widows, widowers and orphans and, as a nation, we just cannot afford that.
It is not because we have cars, because people in countries that have more cars than us are driving much more safely. Let us introduce this culture of safer roads. As we create a democratic South Africa, let us also work for democratic roads. Democratic roads are where you know that roads are a shared space. It is not your road, it's a road for all of us, just as this is not your country but our country. Let us share that. That culture must begin on the road and must be enforced. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.