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Date
: 01/04/2004
Source: KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
Title: S Ndebele: KwaZulu-Natal Transport's Annual Summit
CELEBRATING TEN YEARS OF PROSPERITY: KWAZULU-NATAL DEPARTMENT OF
TRANSPORT'S ANNUAL SUMMIT, ADDRESS BY MR S'BU NDEBELE, MEC FOR
TRANSPORT KWAZULU-NATAL, 1 April 2004
His Worship the Mayor of Msunduzi, Councillor Hloni Zondi
AmaKhosi
Members of Parliament (both National and Provincial) present
Other Mayors present
Councillors present
Members of the Diplomatic Corps
Head of Department and Your Colleagues
Members of Rural Road Transport Forums
Members of the Community Road Safety Councils
Members of KwaZulu-Natal Taxi Council and Taxi Associations
Members of Project Liaison Committees of ARRUP
Religious Leaders
Members of the Vukuzakhe Associations
Zibambele Contractors
Senior Management from Various Departments
Distinguished Guests
Members of the Media
Ladies and Gentlemen.
Welcome to this our ninth Annual Report Back Summit. As with
previous Summits, today provides opportunity for me, as your MEC
for Transport, to report back to you on progress made in
implementing various KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport policies
and programmes as well as providing an opportunity for you, the
public, to contribute your views on how my Department can improve
on its performance.
The fact that this is our ninth Annual Report Back Summit is
strongly indicative that I, and my Department's management, have
always viewed public participation as ongoing and not just as a
five-year event when citizens go to the polls. All of us present
here today know only too well my view that the foundation of any
democracy and just society is a well-informed public. All of us
present here today know only too well that my Department has a
proud record of assisting communities and stakeholders to organise
themselves so that they can be kept properly informed on new
developments in order to take full advantage of new
opportunities.
The many trophies on display today bear testimony to this. Later
awards will be made to:
* Rural Road Transport Forums;
* Community Road Safety Councils;
* Vukuzakhe Associations;
* Zibambele;
* ARRUP Project Liaison Committees
* Taxi Associations; and
* The Bus Industry.
All of these organisations can bear witness to the fact that
KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport does go an extra mile to
ensure that communities are properly informed and that they
participate actively in the development of my Department's
policies, programmes and budgets.
This Summit, more than any previous Summit, is an occasion for me
to reflect back on my performance and that of my Department over
the past ten years. The theme of this year's Summit is "Ten Years
of Prosperity". The theme captures the ethos of how I interpreted
my mandate as your MEC for Transport.
Since 1994 the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport's social
contract with you has been to:
* Reverse the spatial inequalities associated with apartheid and
separate development
* Create an affordable, safe and efficient public transport
system
* Create a safer road environment for all road users
* Redistribute services to achieve equity
* Promote social and economic development
* Consult communities and stakeholders to strengthen participatory
democracy at all levels of South African society
* Create new and sustainable jobs
* Create economic opportunities for new market entrants
* Facilitate the transfer of skills
* Alleviate poverty
It was very clear to me in 1994 that levels of neglect and
depravation, particularly in rural communities, was so massive that
it would be impossible to make a lasting impact without appropriate
policy frameworks and without reliable data against which our
performance could be monitored.
It is well documented that rural poverty throughout KwaZulu-Natal
was so pervasive that living with hunger had become a way of life
for the vast majority of rural citizens. In many districts such as
Nkandla, Msinga, Nqutu, Hlabisa, Nongoma - to name but a few - more
than 90% of households had incomes below the Minimum Living Level
(MLL).
Since 1994 the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport has
systematically created a new policy environment to fundamentally
restructure choice and opportunity in KwaZulu-Natal society. We
have worked systematically to ensure that appropriate policy
frameworks are in place to guide the delivery of services in such a
way that sustainable transformation towards a more equitable
society is achievable within reasonable timeframes.
Many of you will be familiar with some of our new policy
frameworks, which were developed through scientific studies such as
CARNS, The Road to Wealth and Job Creation and Asiphephe precisely
because you were thoroughly consulted throughout the research
process. Indeed without your contribution these policy frameworks
would not have received national and international acclaim that
they have. It is a significant achievement that the methodology and
findings in our CARNS study were adopted by the National Department
of Transport's Moving South Africa study, that the Road to Wealth
and Job Creation was adopted by the October Job Summit 1998 to now
form a founding document in government's Integrated and Sustainable
Rural Development Programme and Expanded Public Works Programme,
that our relationship with Australian Road Traffic Authorities in
the development of Project Victoria and Asiphephe has been extended
through National Government to all other provinces in South Africa
through the adoption of The Road to Safety Strategy and through new
legislative frameworks such as AARTO and the License Demerit
System.
It is these and many other policy frameworks that have provided -
and will continue to provide - for the delivery of more equitable
transport related services throughout KwaZulu-Natal. These services
have been delivered in ways that have resulted in real change to
the lives of beneficiary communities. The creation of civil society
structures such as Rural Road Transport Forums and Community Road
Safety Councils have undoubtedly contributed towards the
achievement of peace in KwaZulu-Natal. It is a fundamental
principal that peace is critical for the realisation of sustainable
development.
It is also a fundamental principle that access to clean water,
energy and transport are critical for the realisation of lasting
and sustainable development. Over the past ten years, KwaZulu-Natal
Department of Transport has made significant progress towards the
establishment of a more balanced and equitable road network in our
province. Communities throughout KwaZulu-Natal today have far
better road access to schools, to clinics, to pension payout points
and other public facilities than they did in 1994. Through ARRUP
major rural transport corridors are being upgraded to link rural
KwaZulu-Natal to South Africa's market economy. The development of
our rural road network has resulted in many new investments in
rural communities, which are increasingly benefiting from the
improved performance of the South African economy and the fact that
South Africa is increasingly becoming a tourist destination for
international visitors.
If I have indeed achieved what I was mandated to do then it is
because I was never alone in my struggle - our struggle - to
achieve a more just and equitable transport infrastructure and
transport system that increasingly meets the mobility needs of all
KwaZulu-Natal's citizens.
In the final analysis, most government policies are translated into
action by government bureaucracies. A feature of my tenure as MEC
for Transport has been a strong and enthusiastic bureaucratic
support team.
Further, in terms of our South African Constitution all three
spheres of government - National, Provincial and Local - must work
together to ensure cost efficient and cost effective delivery of
services. Over the past ten years my department has enjoyed an
excellent working relationship with other spheres of government and
I am grateful for the tremendous support that I have
received.
We have had ten years of democracy in South Africa. During these
ten years South Africa has moved from economic isolation and
meltdown - and being the polecat of the world - to becoming a
valued trading partner in the global economy, achieving sustained
economic growth and being internationally recognized as one of the
world's most celebrated democracies.
All of us present today need no reminding about the evils of
apartheid and separate development. That legacy lives with us and
it will take many decades to finally push back the frontiers of
poverty and create a truly representative economy. However, we all
need to acknowledge that South Africa has been blessed with
exceptional political leadership, as it has been this leadership
that has somehow managed to reconcile us with our past and enable
us to build a new nation.
Since 1994 a new Constitution, which lays the foundation for a
truly non racial, non sexist and human rights based social order,
has been put in place. Apartheid legislation has been repealed and
more than 780 pieces of legislation have been enacted to create a
framework for shaping our new South Africa. Millions of South
Africans can bear witness to the fact that over the past ten years
they have benefited from the delivery of essential services such as
water, electricity and housing. Government has banished
forever-former homeland development schemes such as the planting of
woodlots to meet rural fuel needs. There is no going back.
The struggle for economic liberation and the struggle against
poverty have only been sustained through improved economic growth
and national collection and redistribution of revenue. Our
2004/2005 National Budget plans for an expenditure of R368,9
billion which is more than double that budgeted for in 1994/1995,
despite the fact that personal tax and company tax thresholds have
been systematically reduced over the past several years. This is an
incredible achievement and provides irrefutable proof that
government has succeeded in broadening South Africa's tax
base.
I am belabouring this point for two reasons.
Firstly, nationally allocated budgets account for more than 97% of
all provincial budgets. The formula used to divide nationally
collected revenue between provinces is based on size of population
and levels of poverty. It is a formula that recognises that those
provinces that have the greatest need will require the greatest
share of nationally allocated budgets. The formula has a strong
focus on redistributing revenue from the richer provinces to
provide new and improved services for the poorer provinces.
Here it is important to emphasise that KwaZulu-Natal receives more
funds from National Government than any other province in South
Africa despite the fact that KwaZulu-Natal contributes only some
14% to South Africa's Gross Domestic Product. Gauteng which
contributes some 40% to South Africa's GDP receives only 16% as its
provincial allocation of the national fiscus. It is this
redistribution of revenue that has allowed the KwaZulu-Natal
Provincial Government to increase budget allocations to all
portfolios despite the fact that our provincial economy has
performed below the national average.
Secondly, it is not possible to reduce tax thresholds and still
collect more revenue without broadening the tax base by creating
more income earners. An analysis of nationally collected revenue
gives the lie to the notion that South Africa has experienced
"jobless economic growth". Here I would like to add that a recent
Human Sciences Research Council Report " Human Resources
Development Review 2003: Education, Employment and Skills in South
Africa" records that 49% of all school leavers in South Africa
today either find a job or go on to further their education. This
is a truly staggering statistic as it provides compelling evidence
that the prospects of a better life for all are now within reach.
In 1994 research into school leavers indicated that only 7% of
matriculants would find employment!!! Not only have the job
prospects for all school leavers in South Africa improved
dramatically since 1994, the Human Sciences Research Council report
has also drawn attention to current skills shortages in a wide
variety of fields and predicts a dramatic increased need for
professionals over the next five years (e.g. 35 000 additional
nurses, 70 000 to 100 000 additional educators). Compare these
statistics of hope with those compiled by the Development Bank of
Southern Africa on the KwaZulu-Natal Development Profile (1998).
This study drew attention to the fact that on average unemployment
in Zululand (communities north of the Tugela) grew between 1980 and
1994 by 265% and that in some communities such as Nongoma
unemployment grew during the same period by a staggering 465%.
Unemployment in South Africa is not a recent phenomenon. It is I
believe important for all South Africans to acknowledge that life
is indeed getting better because of democracy.
What I am emphasising here is that the performance of my Department
is inextricably linked with the solid performance of National
Government during the first ten years of democracy. It is a
distortion of the facts to suggest that KwaZulu-Natal can go it
alone. Here I would like to point out that provided that our
National Government continues to adhere to the current formula to
redistribute nationally collected revenue, KwaZulu-Natal will
experience improved budgets over the next several financial years.
The reason for this is that 2004/2005 provincial budget allocations
are still based on Census 1996. Census 2001 indicates that
KwaZulu-Natal's population grew by 12% while that of several other
provinces decreased. We can therefore anticipate increased budgets
when Census 2001 is factored into the formula to distribute
revenues to provinces.
We have come a long way since 1994.
In 1994/1995 I inherited a budget that allocated a mere R3 million
to provide new road access for rural communities. This was an
allocation of less than 1% of the total transport budget despite
the fact that majority of citizens in KwaZulu-Natal live in rural
communities. I will never forget my first months in office when
every day I could look out of my window on crowds of people waiting
patiently to complain to me about their lack of road access. Many
had taken the trouble to draw detailed maps on scraps of paper
outlining their most urgent road needs. This daily gathering crowd
had two things in common. One was that they and their communities
were in desperate need of road access and had been frustrated by
the previous government. The other was that they believed that if
they approached me directly then surely the road was theirs.
The struggle to increase the rural share of the transport budget
was, at times, quite bitter. There were also moments of intense
disappointment. Many of you will remember our joy in the 1997/1998
budget when Premier Ben Ngubane announced a special allocation of
R100 million for our Roads for Rural Development programme and our
subsequent disappointment when this allocation of R100 million was
not honoured in the 1998/1998 budget due to the unfavourable
financial circumstances of our province.
Today more than 40% of the Department's road budget is allocated to
provide improved road access for rural communities and, at the same
time, to provide them with new economic opportunities, particularly
through Vukuzakhe and Zibambele.
This increased expenditure on rural roads is having a major impact
on rural economies that have been stagnant for several generations.
Improved road access, particularly through the upgrading of major
transport corridors, is having the effect of renewing beneficiary
communities. Not only have new and sustainable job and enterprise
development opportunities been created in rural communities through
the construction of roads but increasingly new community assets
such as earth dams, sports fields and quarries are being developed
as part of the road construction process.
For me it is a truly remarkable achievement that Zibambele was
piloted only in the year 2000 yet despite its youthfulness
President Mbeki, in his address to the National Council of
Provinces (11 November 2003), declared Zibambele a clear example of
"best practice" which could be rolled out throughout South Africa
to create 134 500 jobs at an annual cost of R691 million.
Our work to organise all Zibambele contractors into savings clubs
is almost complete. I can assure you that the KwaZulu-Natal
Department of Transport will provide appropriate aftercare support
to Zibambele Savings Clubs and assist the clubs to identify
appropriate investment strategies for their collective savings.
Ideally we would like to identify projects, which will create new
employment opportunities in rural communities.
In this regard I would like to make three important
announcements.
* We have budgeted, in 2004/2005, to review rural supply
opportunities in the construction and maintenance of roads and to
assist Zibambele Savings Clubs in establishing local manufacturing
plants to supply us with the required materials (e.g. gravel,
concrete, stone, sand, pre-cast concrete products, cement bricks
and blocks, gabion baskets, etc.).
* We have budgeted, in the 2004/2005 to 2007/2008 MTEF period, to
increase the opportunities for Zibambele contractors as
follows:
2003/04 - 17 400
2004/05 - 22 280
2005/06 - 27 080
2006/07 - 29 360
2007/2008 - 32 500
I am confident therefore that by 2010 the KwaZulu-Natal Department
of Transport will reach the target of 40 000 Zibambele contracts
that was set by me at the launch of Zibambele in January
2000.
* We will assist Zibambele contractors to access those social
grants to which they are entitled. Here it is important to note
that the National Department of Social Development has recently
reported that less than half the number of those eligible have
received Child Support Grant, less than one third of those eligible
have received the Foster Care Grant and only one out of every seven
of those eligible have received the Care Dependency Grant.
The growth of Vukuzakhe from a zero budget to contract values of
more than R408 million in 2003/2004 is also a truly remarkable
achievement. I am pleased to announce that there will be a
significant increase both in the Local Roads and ARRUP roads budget
allocations for the MTEF period 2004/2005 to 2006/2007. This will
increase the value of contracts awarded to Vukuzakhe
contractors.
I am also pleased to announce that on 5 April 2004 we will formally
launch the Vukuzakhe Provincial Council. Although I do not want to
pre-empt the announcements that will be made at the launch, I
understand that a progress report will be made concerning the
establishment of a PPP (Public / Private Partnership) to address
the plant needs of Vukuzakhe contractors. I have also directed my
department to adopt a more embracing understanding of Vukuzakhe
training needs to include the sponsorship and graduation of black
engineers and technicians. I believe that my department is in the
process of establishing a new bursary fund, which will be
administered in consultation with Vukuzakhe Provincial Council to
promote engineering in the black community.
This financial year we will also be launching a new Labour
Intensive Road Construction programme. The programme will
specifically target youth and Stage 1 Vukuzakhe contractors on a
project-by-project basis. The Department has allocated R25 million
towards Labour Intensive Road Construction this financial year and
expects to raise significant additional funds from the national
Expanded Public Works Programme.
I do believe that to have progressed from a budget allocation of
only R3 million in 1994 for rural access roads to our current
budget allocations is something to be proud of. I am equally proud
of the fact that, as our budgets for rural roads has increased so
too have our budgets to support the training of Rural Road
Transport Forums and Vukuzakhe contractors. We have come a long
way, together, since those first long cold days and nights spent in
Kwanzimela when our work was only beginning. Who among you will
ever forget the experience of sleeping in those dormitories, lying
next to people who you then did not entirely trust?
It is not only in the development our provincial road network,
Zibambele and the emerging contractor sector that the KwaZulu-Natal
Department of Transport has made truly commendable progress.
We are acutely aware of our responsibility to regulate and
transform the apartheid public transport system into one that can
take its rightful place in a democratic South Africa. Only last
month I was privileged to be part of the launch of South Africa's
first Metropolitan Transport Authority. The establishment of the
Durban Transport Authority was launched in the Ethekwini Metro
which is host to almost 40% of KwaZulu-Natal's population and which
is increasingly an attractive tourist destination for domestic and
international visitors. The Durban Transport Authority will oversee
the establishment of an Integrated Intermodal Transport System,
which will introduce a wide variety of measures to reduce road
congestion and to provide the public with safe, affordable and
comfortable public transport.
Although we have made considerable progress in ensuring black
ownership and management in the bus industry, it is the regulation
and transformation of the minibus taxi industry that has commanded
our attention. In KwaZulu-Natal by far the largest market share of
public transport is captured by the minibus taxi industry, which
grew spontaneously to meet the mobility needs of black people. Its
rapid growth occurred in an unregulated environment in which there
was no protection against overtrading.
Since 1994 the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport has introduced
measures to regulate and democratise the minibus taxi industry in
order to ensure safe public transport for the majority of our
citizens. Part of the process of regulating the minibus taxi
industry has been to transform it into a more profitable business
in which income is derived from a wider basket of income generating
enterprises and not only from fares. Today KwaZulu-Natal's more
than 20 000 registered minibus taxis are administered through 252
registered taxi associations who in 2002 elected the KwaZulu-Natal
Taxi Council (KWANATACO). The establishment of KWANATACO has fast
tracked the co-ordination, regulation and empowerment of the
minibus taxi industry in KwaZulu-Natal which is currently 99% owned
and managed by black South Africans and accounts for 65% of the
daily mobility needs of commuters.
KWANATACO is now registered as a public entity. Its business plans
have been submitted to the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport
and these have been approved. The budget allocations to KWANATACO
are as follows:
2003/04 - R5 300 000
2004/05 - R5 600 000
2005/06 - R5 800 000
2006/07 - R6 100 000
The further empowerment of the minibus taxi industry, at a
provincial level, is necessarily dependent of the nationally driven
recapitalisation of the minibus taxi industry in South
Africa.
For many years now we have campaigned to create a safe road
environment for all road users in KwaZulu-Natal. I am certain that
everyone present today is familiar with our mass campaigns such as
Siyabakhumbula, Asiphephe Focus Days and Prayer Days. The
KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport, together with the
KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health, invites you all to the World
Road Safety Prayer Day, which will be held on 7 April 2004 at
Kingsmead Cricket Stadium (opposite Durban Station). The World
Health Organisation has dedicated a week to promote World Road
Safety out of its concern that road related fatalities have become
a worldwide problem. The world theme is that "Road Safety Is No
Accident".
For many years now the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport has
actively campaigned to create public awareness precisely on the
theme that "Road Safety Is No Accident" and that road safety is
everyone's business.
It has been scientifically verified that by and large most road
collisions (80%) are caused by human error. The term human error
does, in fact, include a failure by road users to observe the rule
of law on our roads. Human error refers to:
* Driving under the influence of alcohol
* Driving without a valid driver's licence
* Driving recklessly at speeds in excess of the established
limits
* Driving a vehicle which is not roadworthy
* Driving a vehicle which is overloaded
* Jaywalking
* Pedestrians illegally crossing a busy freeway
Most road accidents are therefore avoidable. It is for this reason
that the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport has always coupled
its Zero Tolerance enforcement programmes with public awareness
campaigns, which, together, are expected to instil a culture of
road safety in all road users.
Adopting a culture of road safety means that the public themselves
assist road traffic authorities in rooting out anti-social road
behaviour. Use the Mpimpa Hotline 086 221 10 10. Report bad
driving. Report unroadworthy vehicles, especially public transport
vehicles. Do not get into a vehicle when you know that the driver
is drunk or unlicensed.
The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport intends using World Road
Safety Day to intensify our public awareness campaigns. Although 7
April 2004 has been billed as a Prayer Day, we have canvassed
extensively within the business community and trade unions and not
just with religious leadership. If there is one area in the
KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport's "Ten Years of Prosperity"
where I would have wished for a more dramatic improvement it is the
concern to create a safe road environment for all road users.
However, in making this wish I do not want to overlook the
tremendous work and dedication of the RTI, PTEU, Asiphephe,
Community Road Safety Councils and the Directorate: Road Safety. I
acknowledge that we have all done our best but that some of the
public have let us down. We need the support of all road users to
create a safe road environment. Obey the rule of law on our roads.
These laws are not arbitrary laws; they have been specifically
designed to create a safe road environment for all road users and
to protect you, the public.
By way of conclusion I would like to acknowledge that there are
many, many milestones that could serve to highlight the success
story that is undoubtedly the KwaZulu-Natal Department of
Transport. These milestones are well known to you and include CARNS
(1997), the KwaZulu-Natal Road Traffic Act (1997), the Road to
Wealth and Job Creation Initiative (1998), the KwaZulu-Natal
Provincial Minibus Taxi Act (1998), KwaZulu-Natal Rural Mobility
Study (1999), KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Road Needs Assessment
(1999), the launch of Regional One Stop Shops (2000), the
KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Roads Act (2001), the Maritime Industry
Signing of the Black Economic Empowerment Charter (2003), the
introduction of cargo tricycles and bicycles on a pilot project
basis (2003) to name but a few. Time does not permit me to give
these milestones the recognition that they so richly deserve.
I believe that what we have started in the KwaZulu-Natal Department
of Transport in the first ten years of democracy can continue to
grow and prosper in the second ten years of democracy. To some
extent this is guaranteed through the budgets that have already
been allocated in the current MTEF planning period. In the final
analysis though the continuity of Zibambele, Vukuzakhe, ARRUP
KWANATACO, RRTF's and Community Road Safety Councils rests with you
the public. No democratically elected government can ignore the
will of the people. If what we have started in the KwaZulu-Natal
Department of Transport during my tenure as MEC of Transport is
firmly rooted in the community of KwaZulu-Natal, then undoubtedly
these initiatives will continue and grow from strength to
strength.
Finally I do wish, once again, to thank the many department
officials - past and present - who have made it their life's work
to ensure that those less fortunate than themselves do indeed
benefit from the new policy environment that has been developed
since democracy. I would like to publicly thank my Department under
the leadership of Kwazi Mbanjwa as Head of Transport, Senior
Managers:- Roger Govender, Vicky Cunliffe, James Mlawu, Chris
Hlabisa and George Mahlalela, Directors and the entire staff. They
have been working long hours as public servants ensuring that
communities do get what they deserve. A People's Contract between
my department and the wider community of KwaZulu-Natal has become a
living reality for millions of citizens who now benefit from a new
dispensation.
Ten Years of Democracy. Ten Years of Pushing Back the Frontiers of
Poverty. Ten Years of Prosperity with the KwaZulu-Natal Department
of Transport. These have been ten good years for KwaZulu-Natal. We
have cause to celebrate.
Thank you.
Media contact:
Logan Maistry
Deputy Director: Media Liaison
KZN Department of Transport
Cell: 083 6444 050
Website: www.kzntransport.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Transport, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial
Government
1 April 2004
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