The Gautrain has arrived in Cape Town. I will call the hon Kaunda.
Mr T M KAUNDA (KwaZulu-Natal): Chairperson, let me apologise for arriving late. I think there was a miscommunication about my flight. I was misled about the exact time, but this is no longer a problem because I'm here. Hon Chairperson, Minister and Deputy Minister of Transport, Members of Parliament and officials of the department, allow me to join all South Africans who have paid tribute and expressed their words of condolence to Mama Sisulu's family. Indeed, this is a great loss to the entire nation.
Ma Sisulu was a great revolutionary, a fearless fighter, and a selfless and dedicated leader of our people. We are indeed commemorating and also celebrating her life. We acknowledge the contributions and sacrifices she made for a good cause, which has brought about our democracy. May her soul rest in peace!
His Excellency, the President of the Republic Jacob Zuma, in his state of the nation address, put more emphasis on job creation as a government priority in this financial year moving forward. It is for this reason that I commend the Department of Transport on deciding to choose one of the government's 12 outcomes as the key focus of work between 2009 and 2014: An efficient, competitive and responsive economic infrastructure network.
The introduction of the S'hamba Sonke road project is a direct response to the call made by our President, as alluded to above. We appreciate the fact that this programme has already been launched in our province. It is going to form part of our annual oversight plan as the portfolio committee. We will discharge our responsibility of oversight as we have a keen interest in its objectives. Ours is to support and monitor that the intended good objectives of this programme yield the envisaged results.
We also see this programme as reinforcement of the programme which is currently in place in the province: Operation KuShunquthuli, which also targets, in the main, our rural communities in order to develop road networks, which enable rural communities to access public facilities and ensure close proximity to economic nodes.
The elements of labour-intensive skills transferral and procurement of material from local suppliers will make a significant contribution to the local economy. The usage of co-operatives composed of the youth, women and people with disabilities in this programme will go a long way towards real economic emancipation of these sectors. If the Department of Transport minimised the participation of well-established companies and invited them to mentor the local co-operatives for a particular period, this would require the other departments involved also to allocate adequate resources for the development and assistance of these co-operatives to be able to execute their responsibilities in an effective and efficient manner.
This gesture will also bring to an end an element of fronting, which is currently characterising the pattern of beneficiation in our projects. A clear policy to guide this development should be developed. If it already exists, it should be closely monitored to enable this noble objective to yield positive results.
We fully support the introduction of the rural road grant to assist rural road asset management systems and collect road and traffic data in line with the Road Infrastructure Strategic Framework. Most of our district municipalities, particularly those that cover the former homeland areas, lack technical skills and have low revenue collection. Provincial transport departments should provide more technical support to these municipalities to accelerate the development and implementation of integrated transport plans in order to turn around our transport systems to better the lives of our people.
The revitalisation of rail transport is undoubtedly a clear vision by our government to ensure economic growth. Rail transport plays a pivotal role in both goods and public transportation. The government's new economic growth path also alludes to the significant role that rail transport will play in our economy, and the creation of linkages with other economic corridors on our continent as well as other international corridors.
The Department of Transport should accelerate the development of the Durban- KwaZulu-Natal and Johannesburg-Gauteng rail corridor, which will build important economic linkages between the two provinces which are more strategic and central to our country's economic growth. Hon Minister, we appeal that this development kick-starts from KwaZulu-Natal to Gauteng.
We are fully cognisant of Strategic Goal No 2 of the department, which states that it seeks to build a "transport sector that is safe and secure". The department intends to reduce the number of fatalities on the road by 50%, and the incidents and occurrences in the rail environment by 25% by 2014, measured against the 2010-11 baseline.
Our province has just experienced more than three accidents which involved Durban University of Technology students, and the Ngwelezane community, and there was the recent Phongolo accidents. As we converge here in the province, a memorial service for seven people is being organised by the Department of Transport today. This road carnage robs us of breadwinners and young people who are the future of our nation. This also has a negative impact on our economy. Perhaps the Department of Transport should persuade the Justice and Constitutional Development department to consider imposing harsher sentences for offenders involved in the deaths on our roads.
Mhlawumbe Sihlalo, kubalulekile ukuthi sike sibuyekeze leli gama elithi ingozi ngoba umuntu unquma ukukha nje utshwala bese engena emgwaqweni athathe imonto, ekubeni kwaleyo monto ayikho esimweni sokuba emgwaqweni, ajike futhi angayilandela imithetho yomgwaqo. Lokhu kweza ukuthi singaboni ukuthi ingozi, sibone sengathi isehlo nje ebesivele sihlelwe umuntu ovese wazikhuhlela utshwala wangena emgwaqweni walimaza abantu noma wabulala abantu. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[Chairperson, maybe it is important that we revisit this term "accident". When a person decides to drink alcohol and then gets into a car that is not roadworthy and hits the road, and moreover the person does not adhere to the traffic rules we should not regard this as an accident but as something intentional done by a person who indulged in alcohol and took to the road and hurt or killed people.]
Our province has just hosted a successful road safety summit, where many resolutions were made. Our portfolio committee also commits itself to giving more support and ensuring that all resolutions taken by stakeholders are implemented in an effective and efficient manner.
A comprehensive driver education support programme will also impact positively on the reduction of road fatalities. The envisaged increased throughput of drivers to 1 million by 2014 is attainable. We will execute our oversight role in terms of this programme to ensure smooth and speedy implementation.
Our province still has a huge number of learners who travel long distances to access schools. Hence, scholar transport has become a necessity to address this challenge. Hon Minister, we hope that the policy which entails guidelines for the implementation of this programme has been finalised, or is about to reach its final stage. We cannot keep our rural communities waiting in this regard. This programme will also bring about changes in people's lives, and the matric results will also improve.
On issues of financing, a noble programme should be unlocked. This also requires provinces to finalise the location of this programme and put an end to some ongoing debates between the Departments of Basic Education and Transport in this regard.
Chairperson, we fully support the budget for this department. I thank you. [Applause.]