Chairperson, hon Minister, hon members, comrades and friends, today's debate comes at an opportune time, when we are approaching the much dreaded period associated with carnage on our roads. It is regrettable that the festive season, which should be a time of joy, family reunion and much needed end of the year relaxation, should turn into a period of sadness for the majority of the people in our country as a result of road accidents.
The ANC government has supported the use of safe modes of transport and the use of safe railways for our people. For example, the formation of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa, Prasa, was the culmination of the programme set up before 1994. In Gauteng, 600 000 people a day use the railways as a means of transport to commute to work. In Cape Town also, people use rail to commute to work.
The challenge of late trains impacts negatively on the commuters because late trains cause them to arrive at work late, where some employers understand the reasons for their coming late, but mostly employers do not understand, which results in people being dismissed from work.
The people badly affected by a lack of railway networks are the people commuting between the far Eastern Cape and East London, where they are wholly dependent on buses and taxis. The people commuting between North West and Gauteng, and parts of Mpumalanga and Gauteng, also use buses and taxis. These are examples that indicate a dire need for rail transport.
Our commitment as the ANC to making rail transport a mode of choice for freight and passengers is due to the high number of road accidents between Polokwane and Gauteng, and Mpumalanga and Gauteng, especially during peak holiday periods like the Easter Weekend and other festive seasons, which has triggered a lot of discussion documents within the ANC. Now is the time for action to adopt rail as the mode of transport in order to stop the road carnage between the above-mentioned areas. There are other initiatives, like the rail superhighway between Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, which is a strategic move that should be implemented as a matter of urgency.
It is also regrettable that the taxis and buses which are responsible for transporting the majority of our population are competing with cars as culprits in causing road accidents. The only way we can reduce the high fatality rate of accidents is by making rail transport the number one choice for our people. As we are building a reliable and safe road infrastructure, as one of the main contributors to building a modern economy and achieving economic growth, we should equally be emphasising road safety.
The damage of railway infrastructure due to cable theft costs the country R9 billion a year. In Gauteng, it is said, there is a businessman who makes R2 million a week from railway overhead cable theft. The demand for copper makes it lucrative for criminals to steal copper cables. The infrastructure damage results in trains being delayed and cancelled, especially in Gauteng. The cable theft challenge needs legislation to make it much harder for criminals to steal, because currently they don't take it as a serious crime to steal cables. Trains will not be punctual until the cable theft problem is resolved.
The magnitude of and the human cost associated with road accidents on a yearly basis are detrimental to the achievement of our developmental goals. If we believe that the development of road infrastructure is part of the strategies in regard to job creation, poverty eradication and ending economic marginalisation, we have to recognise the centrality of safety as one of its critical elements.
Let us not fail our people. Let us continue to implement the railway solution as the mode of transport of choice for our people. In saying this, I would like to congratulate the Gauteng government on the success of the Gautrain in reaching the 1 million mark in regard to passengers. The lesson learnt from the Gautrain is that our people are hungry for a reliable, fast and predictable mode of railway transport.
We must use the opportunity of Transport Month to focus the attention of our people on the importance of safety on the roads and also on safety at railway crossings. The latter are challenges, because people living next to the railway lines cross at any time. They use them as streets! This results in neglect of the rules for crossing railway lines. On the Transnet railway network about 150 people die on the railway lines due to this neglect, and sometimes due to deliberate action to commit suicide. The government should assist companies like Transnet by putting in police and employing local communities, who will look after the railway infrastructure.
We support the Minister's view that road safety is not what you do to a community. The task of ensuring safety on the roads is also not just that of taxis, government and business. The duty to ensure safety on our roads is everybody's business.
We recognise the work done by the Ministry of Transport and government as a whole in implementing programmes to address road safety, such as the restructuring of the Road Accident Fund and transforming mode-based vehicle recapitalisation into integrated mass rapid public transport networks. Thank you. [Applause.]