Shareholders committee - sorry, did I say "stakeholders"? Anyway, it is a worrying trend. The RTMC, Minister, needs to go back to basics and, if it is to successfully contribute to the national road safety initiatives as clearly set out in their founding document, we need to do so.
Various additional Acts were proclaimed, like the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act, which includes the Road Traffic Infringement Agency, both of which have become difficult to implement now because of the status of the RTMC.
A national roll-out of the demerit system, which we have been talking about for many years and which the DA supports, is impossible until such time as we see the reports of the two pilot projects, which have not been presented to this Parliament. So, we need to be able to establish, first of all, whether they were successful or not, and then take the problems that they had and fix them up. My own impression, as I see it at the moment, is that the department, the RTMC, the RTIA, and the National Traffic Information System, eNatis, are in a position where they are not even able to roll out the demerit system, and that is not an acceptable situation.
We also see that the relevant director in your department is failing to ensure the timeous reappointment of boards of directors. Surely, we have a diary? We put it in the diary that these boards of directors and these agencies are due to be replaced on such and such a date. We advertise. We put it into the diary. We bring it to Parliament where it should be coming - and it is not coming, I might add - and then we appoint the relevant board of directors. I say this because, de facto, those boards of directors in all those agencies where there is not a current board are operating illegally and outside of the Act. I think we need to look at that. We have the RTMC board, Airports Company South Africa, board, and the Road Accident Fund Board and it is important to be able to deal with that. I am sure the Auditor-General will be picking up on some of those issues where unmandated decisions of this nature have been taken.
We have the National Land Transport Act, NLTA, with particular reference to tourism needs, which needs serious intervention. This matter has been dragged out unnecessarily and adds to the frustration, as we say, of getting things done, and adds to the big problem of whether transport is going to drive this economy or not, as tourism plays a very big part in that. So, here is a situation we need to sort out.
Finally, let me talk about another concern relating to the gazetting of regulations. Minister, section 75 of the National Road Traffic Act says that before the Minister makes any regulation, the Minister must develop a draft of the proposed regulations that are, firstly, to be referred to Parliament ... and, secondly, to be published in the Gazette (with a minimum of four weeks' notice)
This is not happening, I might add, and the disgusting way in which the 17th amendment was dealt with, I am afraid, holds no water with me. It must have been a total embarrassment to you, Minister, when you had to take that whole regulation amendment back into the public domain to decide whether it was practical or not. Why couldn't we have done that before? Secondly, if we had brought it to this committee, I can assure you that my chairman would not have let that go without the public's scrutinising it first, and she would have ensured that that happened.
The rules of the game, Minister, are that you get your department and agencies working first, and only then will your political life fall into place, I promise you. You have much at stake, Minister, and therefore I appeal to you to get transport moving and back on the right track. Thank you very much. [Applause.]