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Members of the media, colleagues and friends

It is always a pleasure to interact with members of the media. Your role is very important in ensuring that the majority of the people have access to information that empowers them to take decisions affecting their lives. I take this opportunity to introduce to you the new Director-General of the National Department of Transport, Ms Wrenelle Stander. Ms Stander takes over the leadership of the department from our former Acting Director-General, Professor Medard Rwelamira.

Rail safety

We recently inaugurated the new Board of the Railway Safety Regulator. As you are all aware, the Railway Safety Regulator is a new statutory body tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that our railways are safe and on track.

The Board is currently finalising the process of appointing a Chief Executive Officer who will oversee the full operation of the Regulator. We are proud that the task team has already started with a process of consulting with key stakeholders. Standards and regulations in this regard have already been drafted.

World Road Congress

The Government of South Africa through the South African National Roads Agency is hosting the 22nd World Road Congress from 19 to 25 October 2003 in Durban.

The Congress is being hosted by the Government of South Africa in collaboration with the South African National Roads Agency, the implementing arm of the Ministry of Transport. The Congress is the first of its kind to be held in Africa. Over 100 countries will be represented.

About thirty ministers will lead their countries' delegation. It will focus on road development throughout the world. The conference will also have a ministerial session, which will focus on infrastructure development in developing countries.

Highlights and challenges

Road-based public transport subsidies

The issue of public transport subsidies remains a key focus area for government. In this regard, as a department we have commissioned Statistics South Africa covering the whole country. This survey will assist us in determining public transport needs of our people, especially the most vulnerable people. We are expecting the final product at the end of November 2003.

The current public transport policy only benefits permanently employed workers and does not cater for the broader spectrum of the most needing communities. In order to address that, a process of developing a new public transport subsidy policy has already commenced. Through this we have already started consulting with key stakeholders in the industry.

Small bus operators

Realising that the majority of small bus operators do not have formalised structures which government could consult with on issues that affect the bus industry, a process in conjunction with provincial departments of transport has started to facilitate the formalisation of this industry.

Taxi transformation

During the last year, the provincial departments of transport made much progress with the formalisation and legalisation of this industry. All provinces have finalised the Be Legal Campaign and some are busy with the verification and adjudication of applications received.

Government and Santaco are also busy preparing for the rollout of the Taxi Recapitalisation Programme. Regarding the provision of EMS and the New Taxi Vehicle (NTV), government has secured a 25% equity stake for Santaco and its members in both the EMS and NTV-processes. The Best and Final Offer instruction document (BAFO) was issued on 21 May 2003 and it is closing on 12 September 2003.

My department has also appointed a consortium to assist with the implementation and monitoring of the taxi recapitalisation rollout plan. This consortium will initially assess and update the variables that impact on the rolling out of recap, in order to determine the readiness of all role players for the rollout of the project. This will assist government to identify the gaps in the implementation of the project and to address those gaps appropriately.

Commuter rail rolling stock refurbishment

During the last financial year two contracts have been entered into by the South African Rail Commuter Corporation and rolling stock manufacturers to refurbish 236 coaches. The total cost of this programme is in the order of R615m over two years ending March 2004.

Transport planning

Along the lines of providing integrated development plans for the country, the government transport cluster has completed 60% of the first level of Integrated Transport Plans (ITPs) as at end of August 2003. The outcome of these plans will guide transport authorities in investing in appropriate transport infrastructure, the rationalisation of public transport services and effectively linking transport nodes to socio economic areas.

Black Economic Empowerment

The National Department Of Transport (NDOT) is spearheading a process to develop a BEE Strategy for the transport sector. Since the beginning of the year, the department has been meeting with a range of stakeholders in six sub-sector working groups - aviation, maritime, rail, busses, taxis and road freight.

National Ports Authority Bill

The National Ports Authority Bill has been approved by the Portfolio Committee on Transport and will now be debated in the National Assembly later this week. The Bill seeks to create a conducive legal and institutional framework for the regulation and management of ports.

The enactment of the Bill will result in a process that will finally see the establishment of the National Ports Authority as a stand alone-entity outside of Transnet. Of importance will be the creation of an independent port regulator whose function will be in the first instance, to oversee the relationship between the Authority and Transnet whilst it is still part of Transnet and secondly, to ensure that South African Ports remain competitive. The new regulatory framework will facilitate concessioning and investment in ports.

Infrastructure development

Rural transport

The NDOT is finalising the Rural Transport Strategy, which is intended to provide a framework for a Rural Transport Development Programme aimed at improving access to rural areas, connecting villages to economic centres and improving the general mobility of rural people.

Integral to this process is the expansion of the non-motorised transport systems, which will incorporate the provision of pedestrian, bicycle and animal drawn transport infrastructure. The NDOT intends to ensure that the inter-modal interfaces between motorised and non-motorised transport modes enable rural communities to travel in a convenient, safe and affordable manner.

This means that in areas where it is currently not feasible to extend conventional public transport systems, pedestrian, bicycle and non-motorised transport systems will be delivered to improve access to bus and rail systems as well as access to economic and social services.

R100 million has been spent in the Eastern Cape and Limpopo for practical poverty alleviation projects. This was used to complete 55 engineering projects, mainly focused on re-gravelling rural roads, building drainage systems and carrying out minor bridge works. A total of 4 138 people were employed, including 1 802 women. A further R94 million was allocated for projects carried out in the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State and Limpopo.

Draft Road Infrastructure Strategic Framework

The NDOT, provinces and municipalities have reached consensus on an approach that will ensure that the Road Infrastructure Strategic Framework is finalised. This will enable the implementation of key strategic actions of the Framework to improve road service delivery.

Aligned to this process has been the establishment of coordinating structures such as the Transport Joint Intergovernmental Forum and the Roads Coordinating Body to ensure alignment of planning and budgeting processes, and effective infrastructure delivery.

In line with the resolution of the Growth and Development Summit the department is also embarking on a new initiative to integrate labour intensive road construction programmes. This initiative aims to mobilise the road sub-sector in order to maximise the amount of jobs that can be created through labour intensive construction methods.

In addition, the initiative will ensure that the road sub-sector contributes meaningfully to the Expanded Public Works Programme, which was announced by the President as a key vehicle for creating jobs for the unemployed people who cannot get access to the formal economy. Furthermore, this initiative will contribute to skills development within the transport sector in order to create capacity for more infrastructure delivery.

Road to Safety 2001 - 2005

"Our five-year road to safety strategy"

We are beginning to see results in the implementation of the Road to Safety 2001 - 2005 . Provincial and local authorities are beginning to integrate and share resources and ideas on law enforcement, the training of law enforcement officers in new technologies and the latest measures to manage traffic is in an advanced stage.

Our counter fraud and corruption strategies are being deployed at all traffic centres and the commitment of our traffic officers on the road is at a high peak.

Let me share with you some of our key milestones:

Implementation of a tamper proof driving licence card

The department commenced with the issuing of Credit Card Format (CCF) driving licences on 1 March 1998. At the end of April 2003 a total of 7,025 million CCF driving licences were produced and most of driving licences contained in identity documents were replaced.

During this period the department not only managed to introduce a tamper proof driving licence document of which no successful forgeries were made, but also managed to centralise all driving licence records into a central database the National Traffic Information System (NATIS).

During this process a fingerprint database of all drivers was also created. We have just completed the conversion of licences from the former TBVC states and self-governing territories into the national database.

We have identified some challenges in this process and we are in a process of amending legislation to address them. We would like to thank millions of South Africans who heard our call and converted their licences. We call for full cooperation with our law enforcement officers in all areas of road traffic management and safety.

Computerised learner driving licence test

In line with our strategy to fight fraud and corruption is the introduction of modern technology to limit human intervention in driving licence testing. We are currently working on a computerised learners licence testing procedure where we want to deploy an audiovisual, user-friendly computerised system to assist with the compiling of test questions and the marking of the test results. The system will be introduced at 330 learner driving license testing centres in all 11 official languages in the coming period.

Supporting these measures, we are also experimenting with technology that will limit human intervention in the process of eye testing and the capturing of fingerprint information in the CCF driving licence replacement process and by extension to the whole licensing process from learners licence to the actual issuing of licences.

Establishment of a Public Traffic Call Centre

In order to receive feedback from road users and to allow responsible road users to contribute to safety we are going to launch the "Public Traffic Call Centre" in Limpopo on Tuesday, 23 September.

This is a pilot project. When the pilot is assessed we will roll-out across the country. The call centre will give easy access to public road transport passengers on buses and minibus taxis to report unsafe vehicles, reckless and negligent driver behaviour; as well as fraud and corruption within the traffic fraternity.

Dangerous goods transportation

We have introduced regulations to cover both bulk and packaged goods that are classified as dangerous and transported by road in excess of the exempted quantity. Both the National Road Traffic Act and the South African Bureau of Standards comply fully with the UN's model regulations, which are basic principles that provide for a uniform development of national and international regulations.

Arrive Alive Road Safety Campaign

The Arrive Alive road safety campaign is continuing as a year-round campaign with the assistance of the provincial and local traffic authorities. The 7th phase, since it commenced in 1997, has just been completed and the project will now enter into its 8th phase.

The Arrive Alive campaign focuses mainly on traffic law-enforcement and communication. Arrive Alive was not intended to be an all-purpose strategic and operational tool, but a limited rolling tactical programme designed to achieve effective practical cooperation between the three spheres of government in ongoing road safety management, especially in the areas of coordinated law enforcement and communication.

Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO)

The department and other role players are in a process of finalising the technology and training for this important programme. We are more than convinced that the points penalty system is a key element of our law enforcement strategy. We will be finalising the system and a pilot project will follow. This is an entirely new system for South Africa and a number of aspects such as infrastructure technology solution and operational issues are currently receiving attention.

Road Accident Fund (RAF)

The Road Accident Fund, the Asset Forfeiture Unit of the Scorpions and other law enforcement agencies have acted speedily against fraudsters and corrupt service providers who defrauded the people of South Africa of millions of rands.

In the recent past, the fund has introduced a project called "Tip-offs Anonymous". The project ensures that members of the public can report fraudulent behaviours and service providers who approach them and try to convince them to defraud the Fund.

The Fund's forensic department is working around the clock to root out corruption, fraud and theft of the fund's monies that are aimed at compensating road accident victims. Arrests in this regard have been reported nationwide.

Government has in principle accepted the main recommendations of the Satchwell Commission Report. An implementation programme is currently being worked on. Government proposals will be subjected to public scrutiny.

Thank you.

Issued by: The Ministry of Transport

10 September 2003

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