Chairperson, all protocol observed, earlier this year the University of Johannesburg released a study that showed that transport is the third highest overall priority in South African society. This is no surprise, whichever way you look at it.
For many South Africans to access any other service they need some form of reliable transportation to take them to work, health care centres, schools, social gatherings, shops, etc. Hence, in the survey, transport is only surpassed by education and health.
It seems that it is more of a concern for people in rural areas than their urban counterparts. I would argue that it is more than just a concern for these folks, but a source of constant anxiety and stress, for obvious reasons.
Public transport in this country is a cause of constant headache. Up to now, the interventions in this sector have done very little to alleviate issues associated with public transport. This is an area in which the department needs to disperse considerable effort, as it impacts on many other aspects of enjoyable and healthy livelihood.
We have seen horrible road accidents associated with public transport service providers. The desperation caused by the lack of an efficient public transport system has reduced commuters from being customers in the system to being beggars.
The quality of our roads certainly contributes to the carnage we have year after year and many of our roads remain in a despicable condition, with some provinces worse off than others. The roads in the North West and Eastern Cape, for instance, are plain horrible and dangerous and there's no excuse that the department can give for the state they are in. They are a sign of complete failure by the department, particularly in those provinces.
Many of the current interventions aimed at having much more effective public transport are structurally and systematically serving the affluent. For example, the Gautrain in Johannesburg is mainly for the use of the affluent, as well as the MyCiti bus rapid transit, BRT, in Cape Town. That is such a sad state of affairs as the affluent urbanised population does not need a transport service as much as the rural folk.
Rre Modulasetilo, bana ba rona kwa magaeng ba tlhoka dipalangwa tse di ba isang kwa dikolong. Re kopa gore o tsiboge rrarona, gonne fa dipula di nele, ga re kgone go tshela le go ja monate o o jewang ke batho ba kwa ditoropong. Re direle bontle mo dipalangweng, gonne kwa Gauteng, Kapa le mafelo a mangwe, batho ga ba tlhoke dipalangwa jaaka rona batho ba kwa magaeng. Gantsi o kare re a lebaliwa, ga re itsiwe. Fa e le nako ya ditlhopho, go tliwa mo go rona batho ba kwa magaeng, mme fa go diriwa bontle jwa dipalangwa, re a lebaliwa. (Translation of Setswana paragraph follows.)
[Chairperson, our children in the rural areas need transport to schools. We humbly ask for your help because when it is raining we do not live in comfort, like our city counterparts. Could you please provide us with good transport because in Gauteng, Cape Town and other places, people do not need transport like we do in the rural areas. It seems like we are always forgotten and we are not known. During elections, people come to us in the rural areas, but when good transport is being set up we are forgotten.]
For that matter, the UCDP supports this Budget Vote, No 37. Thank you. [Applause.]