A very good morning to you all and welcome to this media briefing
following yesterday's (Thursday, 3 September 2009) meeting in Tshwane
between government, the taxi industry and civil society.

All of you are aware of the shooting of a Rea Vaya bus in Soweto on
Tuesday night (1 September 2009), which left two people, including a
police officer, injured. As government, we condemn in the strongest
possible terms this shooting. I have been assured by national Police
Commissioner Bheki Cele that the South African Police Service (SAPS) is
working around the clock to ensure that the perpetrators of this crime
are speedily brought to book, and face the full might of the law.

Such attacks on the lives of innocent citizens cannot be allowed to
continue. All law enforcement agencies are, therefore, stepping up their
measures to protect lives and property, including a stronger police
presence. We will continue to ensure that our commuters are protected at
all cost.

We want to re-iterate that the interest of the commuter remains
paramount. Therefore, everything we do in public transport must
ultimately benefit the commuter.

On Sunday (30 August 2009), we started a special journey and took a
step forward towards improving the quality of life of our people, when
Rea Vaya Phase 1a was successfully launched in Johannesburg.

This followed the decision of the High Court in Pretoria which ruled,
last Friday (28 August 2009), against an urgent application by the taxi
industry to prevent the launch of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system.

Yesterday's (3 September 2009) meeting was attended by
representatives from national, provincial and local government as well
as the South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO), South African
National Civic Organisation (SANCO), South African Commuter Organisation
(SACO), South African Transport and Allied Workers' Union (SATAWU),
South African Municipal Workers' Union (SAMWU) and the South African
Disability Alliance (SADA).

Matters discussed at the meeting included:
● Finalisation of the Memorandum of Agreement, as was resolved at
the inaugural National Joint Working Group on Public Transport (NJWG)
meeting held on 30 July 2009.

● Finalisation of the national framework to guide implementation
of Integrated Rapid Transport Networks (IRPTNs) by local authorities and
deal with the inclusion of existing operators and labour.

● Coordination of cross-cutting implementation issues related to
BRT such as:
- negotiation process;
- business models;
- ownership and compensation;
- empowerment models; and
- links with other public transport projects.

● Monitoring IRPTN/BRT progress across spheres of government,
focusing on the incorporation of operators and workers in accordance
with the National Framework.

Resolutions adopted at the meeting included:

● A broader NJWG meeting will consider and adopt the Memorandum of
Agreement at a meeting to be held in two weeks time.

● The local negotiation process will continue. The city of
Johannesburg will be assisted to resolve issues around representation on
the part of the taxi industry so that negotiations at local level can be
fast-tracked.

● The BRT sub-committee of the NJWG will move speedily to develop
a national BRT framework, which will spell out clearly the role of the
taxi industry in BRT projects. Such a framework will guide negotiations
in all other BRT-implementing cities through lessons learnt from the
City of Johannesburg.

● All stakeholders pledged their commitment to the NJWG process
and agreed to resolve issues through negotiation and not through
violence, intimidation or threats.

As government, we remain fully committed to implementing the BRT system
in partnership with all stakeholders, especially the taxi industry.
Through the NJWG, we will continue our intensive engagement with the
taxi industry, civil society and other relevant stakeholders.

It is very important that Government and the Taxi Industry pursue a
common agenda with full commitment and determination to provide a
sustainable, effective, safe and affordable public transport system to
our people and to ensure that the legacy of apartheid planning is
reversed.

Government's common agenda is to ensure the empowerment of our
people. The question remains: Where are Blacks, and particularly
Africans, located in the mainstream economy of our country? BRT, which
encompasses up to 24 hour operations, can offer a significant entry
point for the current taxi industry to become one of the most powerful
players in our economy. We will continue to urge the taxi industry to
look at the BRT system as an upgrade of their services and take this
opportunity to grow a new revenue stream.

It is important to note that the BRT system constitutes a small portion
of the national public transportation system. The extent of the planned
BRT is less than 170 kilometres in the four cities of Johannesburg, Cape
Town, Tshwane and Nelson Mandela Bay, which is proposed to be developed
by 2010.
A further 287 kilometres is proposed to be developed by 2014, adding
the cities of Ekurhuleni, Buffalo City and Durban. A further
approximately 1 000 kilometres is proposed to be developed by 2025,
adding the cities of Mangaung, Rustenburg and Polokwane. This amounts to
a total of approximately 1 400 kilometres by 2025. This is a fraction of
the hundreds of thousands of kilometres of public transport operated
routes in South Africa.

We are only 279 days away from the 2010 FIFA World Cup. From the
experience of the Confederations Cup, we now know what is required of us
in the transport sector. This is no longer theory.

Our key responsibility is to get people to the stadium safely and on
time. We also need to get the fans out of the stadium back home and to
the hotels in safety. Without adequate transport, there will be no fans
in the stadium. Without fans inside the stadium, there is no world cup.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter gave us 7.5 out of 10 for the
Confederations Cup. From an organising point of view, we have learnt
specific lessons in preparation for next year. From a transport point of
view, we require tight coordination between provinces and national
government, between host cities and the provinces. For 2010, we will,
therefore, employ a combination of the modes of transport, including
rail and buses which are principally mass movers. These will be
supplemented by minibus taxis, which we believe are an integral part of
the public transport system. Our roll-out plan includes long distance
services such as bus, rail and aviation. Our plans must be tight because
we know that an estimated 40 000 England fans travelled to Germany in
2006 and more than 100 000 were from Brazil. We expect close to 500 000
fans to descend on our shores for the world cup in 2010. This figure
could be more when others travel, not to see the soccer but, to see the
country that hosts the soccer world cup. We have no doubt that we can do
it.

Finally, we want to acknowledge the role and unqualified support of all
stakeholders, all levels of government as well as organised formations
in our communities in the successful launch of Rea Vaya in the city of
Johannesburg.
In particular, we want to acknowledge the clarity of vision and the
leadership on the part of our Cabinet, the Gauteng provincial government
under the leadership of Premier Nomvula Mokoyane, Gauteng MEC for Roads
and Transport Mr. Bheki Nkosi, the Executive Mayor of Johannesburg Mr.
Amos Masondo, City of Johannesburg MMC for Transportation Rehana
Moosajee, national Department of Transport Deputy Director-General for
Public Transport Mr. George Mahlalela and other government officials.

Civil society organizations also played an important role, including
the South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO), the South African
Commuters Organisation (SACO), South African Transport and Allied
Workers Union (SATAWU), National Economic Development Labour Council
(NEDLAC), Gauteng Commuters Organisation (GCO), the South African
Disability Alliance (SADA), the Congress of South African Trade Unions
(COSATU) and the ANC/SACP/COSATU Alliance in Gauteng as well as support
from other provinces.

Most of all, we are excited by the unwavering support this project has
received from commuters. BRT is about the commuter and it has been
heralded as fresh and an idea whose time has come.

Ends.