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Date : 11/09/2006
Source: KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
Title: Ndebele: South African Road Federation Conference


Keynote address by KwaZulu-Natal premier Dr JS Ndebele at the South African Road Federation Conference held at the International Convention Centre (ICC) in Durban

KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison Mr Bheki Cele, the President of SARF, the Deputy President of SARF Mr Chris Hlabisa, delegates from Tunisia, France, Zambia, Botswana, Tanzania, Switzerland, Ghana, Namibia, Nigeria, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, head of the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Department of Transport Dr Kwazi Mbanjwa, Heads of Department and officials from other government departments, other distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

Let me take this opportunity to thank the South African Road Federation (SARF) for inviting me to deliver the keynote address at this important conference. On behalf of the people of South Africa and particularly KwaZulu-Natal, our government extends a warm welcome to all delegates attending this conference.

There is no doubt that this conference has come at a time when South Africa and Africa prepare to host the 2010 Soccer World Cup. Information sharing will be fundamental to the provision of a balanced road network, as well as social and economic growth in Africa.

The necessary economic and social growth sought in terms of the Millennium Development Goals for Africa and the African Renaissance must be achieved. The alleviation of poverty cannot take place without a substantial improvement in road infrastructure.

It was John F Kennedy who once said: "It is not wealth that builds roads, but roads that build wealth".

Improving quality of life

By investing in infrastructure such as bridges, roads, ports, airports and so on, a country can facilitate trade and creation of wealth as roads do not only provide access to markets, services, employment, business development and transport, but they also improve personal mobility and quality of life.

The socio-economic development of Africa is being held back by a lack of efficiency and effectiveness of the road network throughout the continent. I am hoping that this conference will be able to examine the state of the African road network and provide solutions on what can be done in terms of sound delivery, management and operations.

The challenge that all of us face is to find innovative ways to provide improved transport infrastructure that will make the less vulnerable undertake productive activities in a wider economy.

Solutions to Africa's balanced road network will no doubt lead to benefits that are more tangible such as access, price reduction and service improvements. The stranded will be mobilized quite rapidly and improved service for all road users will lower transit times with positive productivity impact.

My colleague, the national Minister of Transport Mr Jeff Radebe, recently shared with members of the American Chamber of Commerce who were in South Africa, some of the developments in transport infrastructure which include the following:

The Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA) has committed some R8 billion over the next few years for modernisation and upgrading projects at our major airports, including the building of a new passenger and cargo airport as part of the Dube Trade Port complex north of Durban. The Air Traffic and Navigation Services Company (ATNS) has made major strides to improve our airspace management, and some of their capital expenditure programmes include R96 million for the renewal of terrestrial aeronautical navigation systems and some R160 million for replacement of existing older radar systems in certain areas of South Africa.

In general, our Government is gearing up, and in certain cases has started, to roll out the massive infrastructure development programme across various sectors, estimated at R400 billion, including planned R134 billion investments by Eskom and Transnet in the next five years.

Government commitment

For national roads, Government is planning to mobilise investment in excess of R25 billion from both public and private sources, over the next five years and has committed about R63 billion for the next three years in the three spheres of government. The R25 billion, is over and above the more than R2 billion baseline allocations made to the South African National Roads Agency per annum to manage the non-toll national road system.

A total of R10,7 billion will be used to expand the state toll road network. In addition, the private sector will invest an estimated R16 billion in concession toll roads. A significant proportion of this total investment will be focused on major metropolitan nodes to address the escalating congestion challenges. With reference to other roads, Government is gearing up to invest R5,4 billion in the development of access roads across the country in the next three years, using labour intensive methods with a focus on maximising job creation and skills development. A further R500 million has been secured for investment in strategic secondary roads that are critical for the movement of freight.

Regarding freight transport, Transnet has committed to invest R41 billion over the next 5 years to improve services and ensure seamless freight logistics. Investments will be made in the areas of ports, pipelines and rail. Of the rail portion, R8,9 billion will be invested in the coal line and R2,7 billion in the iron line, while R10,8 billion is planned for improving infrastructure in the General Freight Business.

Eskom and Spoornet are also concluding talks to develop a new coal rail line that will supply the Majuba power station, estimated at about R2 billion. Government is also finalising a rail branch line development strategy, which will pave the way for the development of an investment plan for branch lines across the country. In KwaZulu-Natal the Nkwalini line is underway at a cost of about R10 million.

Transnet is planning expansions at most of South Africa's ports, as well as a R3,2 billion rand investment in the new port of Ngqurha. Some of the major investments will be made at Durban port, i.e. R6 billion to improve the car and container terminals and Maydon Wharf. Another R6 billion will go toward the expansion of the bayhead complex. Richards Bay will also get major improvements. These investments are critical for increasing the throughput of our ports in line with the National Freight Logistics Strategy.

On the passenger rail side, Government is finalising the National Rail Plan and associated business plans, which will focus on upgrading infrastructure and improving services in priority corridors across the country, as part of our efforts to improve public transport in our country.

World cup transport

As part of our preparations for the 2010 World Cup, R3,5 billion has been allocated for public transport infrastructure. R241 million, outside of the above figure, has already been allocated to host cities for the improvement of public and non-motorised transport in the vicinity of the stadiums in Central Business Districts (CDBs) and stadia linkages in key corridors linking residential areas with CBDs and stadia as well as in communities where people live. The R3,5 billion will be allocated across the next three years to 2009 with R700 000 for July 2006, R1,8 billion in August 2006 and R1 billion in September 2006. Projects to be funded include dedicated public transport infrastructure, interventions to ensure public transport friendly routes, motorised transport facilities including pedestrian facilities, and intelligent transport systems.

As identified in the process culminating in the formulation of the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA), our country has some key inhibiting factors that are constraining the growth of our economy. These constraints are evident at both the macro economic and sectoral levels and need targeted focus to be effectively addressed. They include a need for job creating activities, the development, acquisition and retention of skilled personnel, ensuring sufficient amounts of resources (i.e. delivery capacity funds, human capital, materials, equipment and machinery), input sector focus on supporting economic growth sectors, reduction of input costs, regulatory environment constraints, and Government specific organisational and delivery capacity, among others.

We regard job creation as a critical area for first and second economy integration. As we know, our economy has not created jobs faster than there are entrants to the market, notwithstanding the positive growth we have been able to sustain for several years. From an infrastructure perspective delivery through the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) is critical for success in job creation. This approach involves the application of labour intensive methods to provide infrastructure. Success of this programme relies on the mobilisation, training and effective use of the workforce on site to ensure a streamlined and high quality delivery of infrastructure. This approach has meant a change from conventional practice in the construction industry, and in certain cases the learning curve has been steeper than expected causing delays in programme rollout. However, Government is geared up to address key challenges in this regard. Skills shortages have also been found to be a major inhibitor to the rollout of key government programmes. This is so for both Government internal capacity and industry capacity. The recent study by the South African Institution of Civil Engineering called "Numbers and Needs" clearly articulates the challenge we face in the area of engineering, and the picture is equally worrying in other fields within and outside of the transport sector.

Public private partnership

It is thus very necessary that industry supports Government in implementing capacity development initiatives such as the Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA) to bring the urgently needed skills to South Africa, while also rolling out our medium to long-term capacity development strategies. The construction industry not only faces a challenge in mobilising human capital, but the sheer demand for construction will put a strain on the supply of materials such as cement, steel, concrete, and other raw materials.

This period will also require heavy machinery and equipment supply, which will be thinly spread across the various projects. going back to human capital, specialised skills such as project management, engineering design and artisan will be highly sought after. This presents a threat that is already being observed in industry, that of price inflation in view of the increase in demand. This trend needs to be arrested soon, otherwise South Africa will generate less infrastructure per allocated spend.

The National Freight Logistics Strategy identified the key bottlenecks in the logistics system that inhibit seamless movement of cargo, as well as increase the cost of doing business in South Africa. The strategy went further to define a vision for seamless logistics and identified the necessary key interventions to improve this situation. Our main challenge now is to accelerate the rollout of the strategy to ensure implementation of elements such as economic regulation in the rail and port environments, the improvement of rail infrastructure, rolling stock and operations, the introduction of competition to bring down costs and improve service and the achievement of an appropriate modal split of cargo movement.

Among others, environmental regulations were identified as a challenge, the sheer time it takes to obtain the go ahead to initiate development and the cumbersome nature of the processes involved. Many projects across various sectors are held up by this agreeably important step, which urgently needs simplification and streamlining. However, government has realised this challenge and is working towards its resolution, as evidenced by the introduction of new Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) regulations early this year.

In conclusion, I wish to challenge delegates to critically review current research initiatives to determine alignment with continental objectives, in order to overcome the legacy of the past and enhance the quality of life for all our people. With those words, I wish you all the best in your deliberations and look forward to the implementation of the resolutions of this conference.

Thank you.

Issued by: Office of the Premier, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
11 September 2006

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