Chairperson, hon members, Deputy Minister of Transport, the hon Cronin, chairperson of the portfolio committee, Ms Ruth Bhengu, MECs, ladies and gentlemen, one of the foremost thinkers of our time, former President of India Dr A P J Kalam is passionate about technology, children and development. After delivering one of his talks, a 10-year-old came up to him for an autograph and he asked her what her ambition was. "I want to live in a developed India," she replied without hesitation. The ambition of that 10-year-old is shared by 48 million people in this country and 800 million people on the continent.
Like the rest of the world, we want development. We have moved from a state of underdevelopment, which was induced by apartheid colonialism. We now characterise ourselves, and are characterised by others, as a developing country. A country is developed when it has peace, democracy, water, energy, transport and communication.
In his book, A Vision for the New Millennium, Dr Kalam asks the following question about development, "the next question which comes to mind is how can it be made possible? We have to build and strengthen our national infrastructure in a big way." Later in this presentation we will turn our attention to infrastructure as a route to development.
President Jacob Zuma told the taxi industry in April this year to defer negotiations on the Bus Rapid Transit, BRT, system until after the elections. During the state of the nation address the President said the Minister of Transport would resume discussions with the industry by 11 June 2009. Indeed, on 11 June 2009 we met over 2 000 representatives of the taxi industry made up of taxi associations and their organised structures nationally. Prior to that, we held a fruitful discussion with the leadership of the South African National Taxi Council, Santaco.
On 26 June, we met the leadership of the National Taxi Alliance, NTA, and held similar consultations with provincial departments and affected municipalities. We are now all ready to start a "Codesa" of the taxi industry. We will encourage the industry to participate in the entire transport value chain. These include buses, freight, rail, transport finance and fuel to mention a few. For a start, our structured engagement focuses on five strategic areas: Implementation of the Bus Rapid Transit system and other Integrated Rapid Public Transport Networks, IRPTN; taxi subsidisation and the Taxi Recapitalisation programmes; legislation, licensing and regulatory issues; enterprise development; and communication and stakeholder engagement.
We have agreed that a working group made up of government, the national Department of Transport, provinces and the affected cities will be formed. In this vein we would like to acknowledge the presence, here in this House, of the taxi industry. Your presence indicates a new leaf in our relationship as partners and stakeholders in the transport sector. We can say we have now entered a phase that is not going to be characterised by conflict. We are in the postconflict phase in the taxi industry. As a son of a preacher, I know there's a verse in Galatians that says:
Kepha uma nidlana, nilumana, qaphelani ukuthi ningaqedani. [If you keep on biting and, devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each one other. [Applause.]
If 2009 is a turning point in our country, it will indeed be a pity if the taxi industry does not turn. We will implement integrated ticketing to ensure seamless movement between the various transport modes. We are thus planning to implement the IRPTN in eight major cities, that is: Johannesburg; Tshwane; Cape Town; eThekwini; Polokwane; Nelson Mandela; Mbombela and Mangaung.
We must acknowledge that the bus sector is experiencing problems and requires urgent intervention. Durban Transport, one of our subsidised bus services, is beset with problems. The present operator opted out within eThekwini as of 1 July. The operator cited inadequate subsidies and escalating fuel costs as the reason.
Together with the eThekwini Metro and the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport we will find alternative operators as a matter of urgency. We will appoint new operators who will start on 1 August 2009 for a period of 12 months. The city is finalising discussions with taxi and other bus services to provide additional trips during July to maintain ongoing services.
Government is investing R25 billion over the MTEF period to stabilise and upgrade rail passenger transport services in our country. Of this, R14 billion is being spent to upgrade rail passenger infrastructure rolling stock, whilst the balance will be funded by rail operations.
The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa, Prasa, has shown its capacity to absorb the huge capital allocations, and in some instances, has exceeded the capital funds allocated to it. South Africa has gone a long way in curbing the decline in commuter rail services over the past few years. Prasa has, since the 2006-07 financial year, accelerated the rolling stock investment. This has resulted in over 1 500 coaches being refurbished to the tune of R5 billion. An additional 700 coaches will go through this programme this year at an estimated cost of R2 billion.
Prasa is on course to eliminate the historical backlogs in the general overhaul and upgrading of rolling stock. Whilst the R25 billion allocated by government remains vital to the upgrading of the current rail passenger transport, we need to recognise that the intervention will not resolve the key underlying challenges facing rail in the long term.
The Gautrain is one of our key infrastructure projects to date. The Gautrain Management Agency and the Bombela Consortium have assured us that their recovery plan will ensure that Phase 1, between O R Tambo Airport and Sandton, will be ready before the Fifa World Cup. To date, Gauteng, has sustained more than 12 000 local direct jobs and more than 68 000 indirect jobs. It has also contributed to Black Economic Empowerment.
When we speak of poverty, we make a distinction between poor people as individuals and families, and poor communities. A community is poor if it does not have water, roads, electricity and communication. Correcting the legacy of apartheid on rural South Africa calls for the creation of an equitable road network. No school, hospital, clinic or public facility should be unreachable just because there is no road. To begin with, all public facilities in all communities should be accessible by car. We will build pedestrian bridges where necessary to ensure life continues regardless of whether it has rained or not.
To fund this, the budget of the Rural Transport Development Programme, RTDP, needs to increase. We are also looking at nonmotorised transport such as the Shova Kalula bicycle programme, where a total of 26 000 bicycles were distributed last year and we will have distributed a further 15 000 by April 2010.
We will pay particular attention to combating fraud and corruption in procurement and tender processes, the Road Accident Fund, RAF, and driving licences. There are a couple of important documents in the life of a human being: a birth certificate; Identity Document, ID, which confirms that you exist; a driving licence; a passport; and perhaps a marriage certificate. Working with Home Affairs, we will ensure that all our documents have enhanced security and unquestionable integrity to be acceptable in our country and internationally. The current service provider's contract for the drivers' smart cards expired on 30 April 2009. It was extended to 31 December of this year, to allow for a proper tender process. We will appoint a new service provider by the end of the year.
A new computerised examination system for learner licences will root out corruption and fraud. Plans to computerise all learner licence centres will start immediately. For rural communities new mobile licence testing centres will bring access closer. KwaZulu-Natal already has twenty-one fixed stations and two mobile stations; Gauteng has one fixed and two mobile; and Mpumalanga has three fixed and one mobile. We will be rolling these out to the rest of the country.
In the state of the nation address, President Jacob Zuma said:
Another important element of our drive to create job opportunities is the Expanded Public Works Programme, EPWP. The second phase of the programme aims to create about four million job opportunities by 2014. Between now and December 2009, we plan to create about 500 job opportunities.
President Zuma further said: The newly-formed Infrastructure Development Cluster of government will ensure that the planned R787 billion infrastructure expenditure, as provided for in the budget earlier this year, is properly planned. This funding includes allocations for the school building programme, public transport, including the Bus Rapid Transit system, housing, water and sanitation.
The EPWP infrastructure sector aims to create 2,3 million job opportunities using labour-intensive methods over five years. There are very good examples of labour-intensive programmes in many of our provinces which we intend to roll out nationally. We will systematise this approach as we build bridges, roads and other infrastructure throughout the country.
The Rural Road Maintenance programme in KwaZulu-Natal has to date created 42 000 sustainable jobs. These, mostly women, maintain 21 000km of road. We will identify 100 000km of road to maintain nationally, which will create 200 000 sustainable jobs. This is part of our contribution to the 500 000 jobs that the President mentioned in the state of the nation address. The emerging contractor programme in road construction creates thousands of job opportunities and promotes broad-based black economic empowerment. These programmes will be funded from the rural roads component of the Infrastructure Grant of R5 billion.
Lawlessness detracts from our drive to become a developed country that respects human life. The carnage on our roads is unacceptable and can be stopped. The complete road safety strategy will be released soon. Having completed the pilot Road Traffic Infringement Agency, RTIA, in Tshwane and Johannesburg, the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences, Aarto, is now ready for implementation. This will include the demerit system, which is similar to acquiring yellow cards until a red card becomes inevitable. The same is now going to apply to your driving licence. You retain or lose your driving licence according to your conduct on our shared space, the public roads. This is what the demerit system is all about. It's now going to be part of our lives in South Africa. Road safety is no longer going to be left to the individual's conscience.
We will bolster traffic law enforcement and education. A total of 145 patrol cars, 20 roadblock trailers and other law enforcement equipment will assist the Special Operations Unit at high accident frequency localities; that is in addition to what provinces and cities have. The road infrastructure strategic framework and its action plan will help us assess, prioritise and reclassify the road network. In addition we have developed the South African National Road Agency Limited, Sanral, Strategic Road Network and infrastructure investment plans.
The three-year Gauteng freeway improvement scheme comprises lane additions and interchange upgrades of approximately 185km. A further 65km will be completed in Gauteng by 2012 at an estimated cost of R14,3 billion. On the issue of the N2 Wild Coast, the Minister responsible for intergovernmental co-operation and I will, together with the stakeholders, ensure that all issues are addressed, whether they are green or brown issues, we want them addressed in a satisfactory manner.
The Airports Company of South Africa, Acsa, has embarked on infrastructure development to the tune of R20 billion in anticipation of the increase in the number of passengers travelling to South Africa by 2010. At present, Acsa handles more than 32 million passengers annually. The number will be 43 million in the year 2010 and will continue to grow. At the end of 2011, the ten airports under Acsa's network should facilitate 44,4 million passengers and handle 611 631 aircraft landings. Major airport developments are taking place at O R Tambo, La Mercy, Cape Town, Polokwane and Bloemfontein.
We hope to finalise the formal naming of the new airport at La Mercy in accordance with national legislation and the regulations of the International Civic Aviation Organisation, Icao. Until that process is complete, there is no name. This process is underway. This has become urgent, taking into account the rules of Icao, which say that a name must be formally filed by the country for it to be registered as an official name. The coming Fifa World Cup calls on us to speed up this process so it can be ready to use.
The health of a country's road network determines its wealth and net worth. Africa's economic health is critical and requires urgent and steady resuscitation through transport infrastructure. With this in mind, the Department of Transport will actively develop closer links with its counterparts in Africa. The Southern African Development Community, SADC, Ministers who deal with infrastructure met recently in Namibia. A government delegation of several Ministers from South Africa made presentations to the gathering. We have also been invited to Dar es Salaam on 8 July this year, to address a conference under the theme, "Make Roads Safe Africa 2009". All these interactions form part of the region's plan to prioritise the provision of transport infrastructure, which is a key driver of economic growth.
The Confederations Cup has underlined that the 2010 World Cup is not just about sport. Twenty-two players on the field do not make a soccer match, but merely a practice. It's only a match when fans fill the stadiums and the fan parks. A co-ordinating structure of transport has been established to look at all matters around transport and report to the relevant structures dealing with 2010. Yesterday, we agreed that each department of transport in the provinces and the relevant municipalities will appoint a person with whom the buck will stop when there's a traffic snarl-up. [Applause.]
We know that the 2010 Fifa World Cup is going to be a nightmare, as far as transport is concerned, particularly with the arrival of heads of state, like the President of the United States, most of the European Union, EU, Prime Ministers - we know the King, Prince and Prime Minister of Spain are coming - and that becomes a nightmare for transport. We need those dedicated people who deal with transport issues and report to the Department of Transport nationally and to the relevant structures of Fifa.
Soon we'll be visiting the host cities to assess transport plans for 2010. We definitely are not going to be satisfied with the PowerPoint presentations that look very beautiful, but when you get to the ground you find that it does not even exist. [Applause.]
Transport remains critical for a successful 2010 Fifa World Cup, because every fan and official at the stadium will use the transport system during the tournament. Through our planned public transport infrastructure of R19,6 billion we will ensure the tournament leaves a rich legacy for our country and continent.
The Budget of the Department of Transport for 2009 is R23,7 billion. Our receipts come mainly from dividends received from Acsa, and share revenue from salvage tugs that provide oil pollution prevention services. In 2007 the department received Acsa dividends of R100,7 million. No dividends have been declared for this year.
In 2008, the department received R140 million. The bulk of the funds go to Integrated Planning and Inter-sphere Co-ordination, R8,8 billion, and Public Transport, R14,2 billion. Programme 1 is R231 million; programme 2 is R51 million and the rest as it goes.
In conclusion, efficient, affordable and modern transport systems can redefine Africa as a developed world. Like that 10-year-old in India we all wish to live in a developed country and continent. It is not the wealth of the country that builds roads; it is the roads that build the wealth of the country. [Applause.]
I would like to thank my predecessor, the hon Jeff Radebe for laying a very firm foundation for the work we are doing today. I also want to thank the Director-General, Ms Mpumi Mpofu and her team for their work and dedication in the work that they do. We appreciate that very much. I thank the portfolio committee and Chairperson Ruth Bhengu for the constructive way in which they engaged the Department of Transport so we can fine-tune our programmes for the benefit of our people and country. You will see that team transport is really the mover, as we meet with all the provinces and our agencies, we are ready to move South Africa. Thank you very much. [Applause.]