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DoT: Joe Maswanganyi: Address by Minister of Transport, during the tabling of the Department of Transport budget vote 2017/18, Parliament, Cape Town (23/05/2017)

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DoT: Joe Maswanganyi: Address by Minister of Transport, during the tabling of the Department of Transport budget vote 2017/18, Parliament, Cape Town (23/05/2017)

Transport Minister Joe Maswanganyi
Transport Minister Joe Maswanganyi

24th May 2017

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Deputy Minister, Ms Sindisiwe Chikunga,
MECs Present,
Board Members of our State Owned Entities,
Acting Director General, Mr Mathabatha Mokonyama,
HODs of Transport from provinces
CEOs of our transport SOEs
Members of the media,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good Morning,

Let me start by once remind you that transport networks are the arteries of the economy, moving people to the workplace and goods to the marketplace.

As team transport, our fundamental task over the Medium Term Strategic Framework is to “improve access to economic opportunities, social spaces and services by bridging geographic distances affordably, reliably and safely.

Today we will be presenting a budget vote that will start a new chapter of radical socio-economic transformation in the transport sector.

We will play a role in the economy to drive that transformation using all our modes of transport. In this regard, we will utilise to the maximum, our strategic levers that are available to the State in the transport sector.

This includes legislation, regulations, licensing, budget and procurement as well as Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment charters to influence the behaviour of the private sector and drive transformation.

Over the medium term, the Department of Transport will focus on improving mobility and access to social and economic activities by maintaining the provincial and national road networks, upgrading and maintaining rail infrastructure, and improving public transport for rail and road commuters.

These activities will contribute to the realisation of outcome 6, that is, the maintaining an efficient, competitive and responsive economic infrastructure network of the government’s 2014-2019 medium-term strategic framework.

Our department’s total expenditure over the medium term will mainly be driven by transfers to our public entities, provinces and municipalities for infrastructure spending, operations and maintenance. These transfers constitute 98.1 per cent of the department’s budget over the medium term.

The department’s budget is expected to increase at an average annual rate of 6% per cent in the period ahead, from R59 billion in 2017/18 to R68.6 billion in 2019/20.

Ladies and gentlemen, South African National Roads Agency will receive an additional R1.7 billion over the medium term. The agency will also receive an additional R3.7 billion for upgrading the R573 Moloto Road.

As such the Roads Transport budget is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 9.4 per cent over the medium term, from R23 billion in 2015/16 to R29.8 billion in 2018/19.

To improve the efficiency of spending on road maintenance in provinces, the allocations in the provincial roads maintenance grant for the coal haulage network will be reprioritised in 2017/18 to create a new performance component in the grant.

This component is expected to be R1.9 billion over the MTEF period, and will include a new performance measure to ensure that investments are made in a manner that reduces the costs of transport in the economy.

The rehabilitation of 5 390 lane kilometres of provincially managed roads and the resealing of 11 976 lane kilometres are projected to cost R32.5 billion via the provincial roads maintenance grant.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the R573 Moloto Development Corridor will play a significant role as a logistics spine to connect Mpumalanga and Limpopo with Gauteng and to transport people, minerals and agricultural produce into regional markets and our export harbours. The upgraded Moloto Road is a crucial component of this strategy because of its importance to local economic development within the districts it traverses.

The rail option is a medium to long term solution that we are also pursuing vigorously to address the transport challenges within Moloto Corridor. The feasibility study is completed and we have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the People’s Republic of China for cooperation in implementing the project.

Our spending on Metrorail is expected to subsidise more than 484 million passenger trips per year in the period ahead, and spending on the mainline passenger service is expected to subsidise 2.3 million passengers over the medium term.

Ladies and gentlemen, our public transport network grant funds the infrastructure and operations of integrated public transport networks in thirteen (13) cities across South Africa.
Over the medium term, the grant is expected to increase at an average annual rate of 7.6 per cent, from R5.6 billion in 2016/17 to R7 billion in 2019/20, to support construction in the thirteen (13) cities and fund the indirect operating costs of services in Johannesburg, Tshwane, Cape Town and George.

Since the advent of the democracy in 1994, the South African Government established various State Owned Entities with the main purpose of maximising service delivery, however, some of the function performed by some entities are found to be duplicated.

It is worth mentioning that the Department has already embarked on the process of reviewing the founding legislation that will streamline these functions to ensure effective and efficient service delivery.

To further strengthen our 365 days road safety plan, Cabinet approved the National Road Safety Strategy 2016-2030 to address the challenges and gaps identified by the Department of Transport on the implementation of the previous strategies.

, including the 2006 National Road Safety Strategy.

In the current financial year there will be an increase number of law enforcement officers on public roads. The Department will advocate that law enforcement be declared an essential service, to ensure availability of traffic officers on a 24/7 schedule on the country’s roads.

In the 2016/2017 Financial Year, the RAF continued to take its services to the doorsteps of previously marginalised communities through the community outreach programme, ‘RAF on the Road’.

The programme is an exemplary service delivery project that reached 44 944 beneficiaries and led to the settlement of claims to the value of over R129 million. The programme has also contributed to RAF originating 23 839 direct claims by 28 February 2017.

Ladies and gentlemen, our Airports are once again receiving recognition on the global stage. On the world rankings the Cape Town International Airport moved from 22 to 19 of the World’s Top 100 Airports while King Shaka retained the 35th spot and O. R. Tambo International the 37th Best Airport in the World.

In 2016, ICAO informed South Africa of their intention to conduct a civil aviation audit. The audit was conducted from the 8th to 18th May 2017. I am proud to announce that South Africa’s ICAO audit results have risen from 83,83% to 86,71%.

This is an increase of 3.43 in the level of Effective Implementation of ICAO’s Critical Elements with 86,71% significantly higher than the world average of 60%. This puts South Africa at position one (1) in Africa, and 33 globally.

The implementation of various Operation Phakisa: Oceans Economy initiatives as well as outcomes of the broader Maritime Development Agenda continue to yield positive results, ranging from economic development, job creation, capacity development, and generally reclaiming South Africa’s status as maritime nation.

Two additional vessels were registered on the SA Ship Register during the current financial, bringing the total number of vessels to four (4).

In the current financial year (2016/17), we celebrated the country’s first three (3) black women, namely, Captain Thembela Taboshe, Captain Tshepo Motloutsi and Captain Pretty Molefe who all qualified as Master Mariners or Ship Captains. This       is the highest professional qualification for a seafarer enabling the holder to be in command of a vessel of more than 3000 gross tonnage.

The Ports Regulator finalised the first phase of the Valuation of Port Assets project. They also conducted the Port Tariff benchmarking study; the SA Port Performance Benchmarking as well as the Analysis of Terminal Operator Standard in SA ports.

Ladies and gentlemen, in the current financial year, Cabinet approved the enabling transport related Legislation and Bills to ensure that we deliver services to South Africa. Cabinet approved:

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  • the National Road Safety Strategy  2016-2030 for implementation;
  • the RABS Bill  for introduction to Parliament in  2017;
  • the National Aviation Policy and National Airports Development Plan for implementation;
  • the introduction of the Airports Company Amendment Bill, 2017 and the Air Traffic and Navigation Services Amendment Bill to Parliament;
  • the draft Reviewed Rural Transport Strategy;
  • the draft Comprehensive Maritime Transport Policy 2016, and
  • the publication of the Draft Green Transport Strategy for public comment.


In conclusion, I take this opportunity to thank you all and invite you to our Budget presentation in the New Assembly Chambers at 16h15 this afternoon.

I thank you

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