Hon Chairperson, hon Ministers and Deputy Ministers present here, and guests in the gallery, I greet you. Hon Bhengu, your speech was excellent, but you messed it up at the end by talking about irrelevant things! We don't need permission from the ANC to participate in this debate. The other issue is that the person who participated in this committee is sick, and that is why he is not here.
I have to raise an issue and say that it does not make sense for you to boast about how you railroad the DA into decisions - you never listen to anybody. This does not work. All the same, you will never dictate to us. As Cope, we will never accept a dictatorship of the Polokwane pirates.
Chairperson, transport is the lifeblood of our economy. Just think of any product or service that you are using or would like to acquire, and see how many times transport is involved, either in its creation, or in its finding its way to your doorstep. It is truly remarkable how far the world of transport has evolved. South Africa has not been left behind and we are seeing the development of advanced infrastructure over the length and breadth of our great country. Indeed, much has been done, but in the same breath let me say that so much more needs to be done.
Unfortunately, at the end of last week it was reported that the Gauteng toll road figure had jumped from R6,22 billion to a whopping R14 billion. This amount excludes the cost of feasibility studies, the design of the toll system and the supply of e-tags. The cost of upgrading roads is estimated at over R17 billion. There also seems to be some irregularities regarding the tender and the tender process that awarded the bid to the Electronic Toll Collection Consortium.
Chairperson, how can it be that a company can do the initial feasibility studies and the costing, engineer the project, be involved in the tender process to operate the toll roads, and be involved in the management and operation of the gantries? The case in point is Tolplan. Where is the feasibility study done by Tolplan? Why was there no public participation? It must be said that this process was flawed, and in a deep way. Cope agrees with commentators that all information needs to be made public, and a forensic investigation needs to be commissioned.
Hon Minister, what is going on at the South African National Roads Agency Limited, Sanral? Chairperson, the provincial and local road infrastructure is collapsing through lack of maintenance. The department has acknowledged this. The department has made available R22 billion over the medium term to address this issue. Yet, according to the Director-General, DG, of the department, the road funding shortfall is R75 billion.
The department's self-proclaimed flagship programme, S'hamba Sonke, will be used to address the issue of provincial and local road infrastructure, a national roll-out of massive pothole patching. For the 2011-12 financial year, a massive R6,4 billion has been allocated to this programme, supposedly creating 70 000 jobs. We need to know how the money will be spent and how government intends generating the 70 000 jobs. Where does this figure come from?
Chairperson, the dedicated Road Maintenance Fund has been an issue of debate for some time now. The department needs to report on the so-called engagements with the National Treasury. Has a solution to the problem been found?
Chairperson, it seems that every time someone speaks on a Budget Vote, he or she raises the issue of vacant posts. In the 2009-10 year it was reported that the department had an almost 8% vacancy rate. The reason given was budget constraints. Yet, we continuously see an increase in the compensation to employees of more than inflation. How can this be justified? To address this issue we still need details of the initiatives proposed by the department. Where are we with the retention strategy of the department?
The Administration Programme of the department receives R274 million for 2011-12. This translates into a real increase of 6,7%. The subprogramme, Office Accommodation, increases by more than 200% in real terms. I'm asking myself how it is possible for the annual rental costs to increase by so much.
A recent independent study found that 10% of daily commuters are forced to cancel meetings because of traffic delays. On a daily basis 40% of employees are late for work due to traffic jams. Yet, we are still awaiting the national quality audit to determine the exact extent of road maintenance backlogs in the country.
Chairperson, various programmes and subprogrammes are reported to be spending large amounts of their budgets on the use of consultants. Surely the department must have the capacity to perform some of these functions internally. Let me elaborate. Does the department not have the personnel for the development of maritime industry policies? If not, what tasks do the personnel perform; and, if so, why the need for consultants?
The public transport programme sees an increase from R8,2 billion in 2010- 11, to R9,6 billion in 2011-12. This translates into an 11,13% increase in real terms. Yet, we see a 65,25% decrease in real terms in the land transport regulation programme. Why do we have this?
Chairperson, in conclusion, public entities operating under the auspices of the department need to give an account of how they will spend money allocated to them. The department, as well as entities under their control, need to give a better account of how they will address the issue of job creation, and what their contribution will be.
Chairperson, there are some people who were making a noise about Cope, and asking, "Which Cope?" Let me answer you. [Laughter.] There is only one Cope. We acknowledge that there are problems, but we are solving them. We are not like the ANC. When you have problems, you burn tyres and disrupt the lives of the people. When you have problems, ... [Inaudible.] ... your problems become the problems of the country. Thank you. [Time expired.]