Hon Deputy Speaker, His
fellow South Africans.
Let me take this opportunity to join this august House, and the people of South Africa and congratulate his Excellency the President of the Republic of South Africa on what was a well delivered comprehensive and balanced State of the Nation Address. As the province of the rising sun, we welcome the President's address as umhlahlandlela, which gives us the vision, hope, renewal and indeed a new dawn for our nation.
We join the many voices who have correctly stated that this state of the nation address was able to capture the imagination of our people and reignite their energies, towards the building
a better South Africa for all.
This state of nation address, state of the nation address challenged all of us to reimagine and rethink anew in response to our current mission to eliminate the legacy of colonial apartheid, hence I'm not surprised today hon member when I hear you requesting the President to stop issuing our learners with
tablets. So, we are not surprised hearing you making such comments.
The President was unambiguous when he said "we must improve the affordability, safety and integration of commuter transport for low income households".
The National Development Plan, NDP, demands that both public and private investment should go towards extending bus services, refurbishing commuter trains, linking high-volume corridors and integrating all these into an effective transport system.
Deputy Speaker, this is exactly what the ANC led government has
been doing since the dawn of our democracy.
True to our commitment to invest in public transport
infrastructure, as outlined in the ruling party's manifesto. We have successfully launched the national and regional road infrastructure networks like Maputo Corridor, Moloto Corridor and the Trans-Kalahari Corridor.
We have improved and extended the N1 and N2 road infrastructure linking towns, cities, provinces and neighbouring states.
This is because we acknowledged the strategic role that, the road infrastructure network can play in unlocking and stimulating local and regional economic activity and in the creation of job opportunities.
The President's pro-poor and unifying vision must be viewed as a
prototype to deliver a just, dignified, and inclusive future for our generation.
It is a cosmopolitan vision that will undo centuries of racial
inequality premised upon apartheid social planning which turned
the majority of our people into pariahs in the land of their birth.
Social and economic exclusion caused by policies of the past is
still evident in the long distances many people, especially the poor, travel from where they live to their places of employment. Providing our communities with suitable, safe, efficient and
cost-effective transport is crucial in broadening social and economic access.
Deputy Speaker, the ANC-led government has successfully introduced the Rapid Bus Transit in a number of our cities in this country.
This system has reduced costs of travelling in urban areas, making it easier for our young people who are students and job seekers to commute between townships and cities.
However, too many of our people who live in rural areas are still unable to benefit from such a system.
The NDP is very explicit in advocating for reliable, economical and smooth- flowing corridors linking our various modes of transport such as road, rail, air, sea ports and pipelines. This is the vision that the President has eloquently espoused in his state of the nation address.
Mr President, we inherited an ageing transport system whose
development did not have the disabled and vulnerable in mind.
It had no consideration of the safety of the underpaid female security guards, domestic and factory workers, who must wake up every morning at 5 am at an informal settlement, having to travel about five kilometres in a dangerous open veld at dawn to an unguarded railway station in order to report for duty in town by 7 am.
It is this system that displayed a lack of sympathy or concern
for a frail grandmother returning from hospital at dusk in an overloaded and speeding mini-bus taxi to KaNyamazane. This transport system thrived because of the racially segregated town
planning designed to keep our people on the outskirts of the centres of economic activity.
These are hard realities that the ANC government has had to deal
with since taking over government in 1994.
Over the period of 25 years, we have been working hard building
bridges, laying roads into previously isolated villages, and providing affordable and safe public transport to connect communities and advance social development.
State entities like South African National Road Agency, SANRAL, and Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa, PRASA, have been leading in the implementation of our integrated transport [pic]
We created, 328 876 job opportunities for women, 292 803 for youth, whilst 8 872 were apportioned to people with
disabilities. For economic empowerment, we awarded 30% of all contracts to women and 15% to youth.
Deputy Speaker, the Department of Transport has developed a rail
policy framework that seeks to revitalise South Africa's rail network.
You will recall that in October 2018, the President launched
South Africa's very first passenger train manufacturing plant in Nigel. This state of the art facility is positioning South Africa as a manufacturer of new generation passenger trains. To
date, Deputy Speaker, this facility has already produced new trains locally.
We will continue to engage our colleagues in the taxi industry
to also do their part and ensure the dignity and safety of our people by sanctioning the utilisation of road worthy minibus taxis into their operations.
We also reaffirm government's commitment to continue to engage with the taxi industry on matters such as the issuing of subsidies to the sector, vehicle financing, and taxi violence.
South Africa's new dawn Deputy Speaker, must also herald the end of the carnage on our roads. We shall not treat drunk and reckless drivers with kid gloves.
The new, advanced breathalyser kit that was launched by former Transport Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande in April 2019, will assist our efforts to remove intoxicated drivers from our roads into
jail cells. We will continue to take strong action against those traffic officers who allow drunken driving by accepting bribes. In the same breath, we condemn the reckless speeding and lawlessness on our roads. And the new phenomenon of burning trucks in our roads
restraint and take comfort in knowing that their government is
expediting efforts to resolve the matter.
Deputy Speaker, you will recall that as recently as June 16, we lost 24 young people in one collision. This was in addition to the 45 people who passed away in the same weekend in Limpopo [pic]