Hilton Hotel, Sandton, 10 August 1999
INTRODUCTION
Master of Ceremonies
Organisers of the Achiever Awards,
Invited Guests,Ladies and Gentlemen.
It is with great honour for me to be here tonight to celebrate the efforts and hard work of individuals and organisations who have made and continue to make a contribution in our society. Your outstanding service and contribution is recognised and due to be awarded tonight. I hope that these Awards will recognise excellence and achievement in logistics and hopefully in other areas of our work to contribute to the economic growth of our country.
I accepted this invitation to speak and present the Logistics Achiever Awards because it is an important opportunity for me to interact with you and also to give you my early insight into government's thinking on transport, as new Minister of Transport.
After this country's first democratic elections five years ago, a major process of policy formulation and consultation was embarked on in the Department of Transport to align the planning and provision of transport with the needs of all our citizens.
Before then, the policy of apartheid has moved the poor away from job opportunities and access to amenities. This has burdened the workforce with enormous travel distance to their places of employment and commercial centres, and thus with excessive costs.
These policies deprived the majority of people of a say in transport matters, and has led to the payment of huge travel subsidies; exposed commuters to vast walking distances and insecure rail travel; failed to regulate the mini-bus taxi industry adequately; largely ignored the country's outrageous road safety record; paid little attention to the environmental impact of transport projects, and facilitated transport decision making bodies that are unwieldy, unfocused, unaccountable and bureaucratic.
Over the past five years, my predecessor and the Department of Transport have laid a firm foundation to built on. The Building has begun. Thirty Four (34) pieces of legislation from the Department of Transport were passed through Parliament in the past five years and the challenge for us is to implement because "we are a government at work for a Better Life".
As we deliver these services to the people, I'm clear in my mind that the delivery has to be fast without compromising quality and service excellence.
Of critical importance is the transformation of the transport system and the sector as a whole. In partnership, we need to break down the skewed systems and mindless routine so as to build new structures, new spaces in which cooperative energy and creativity can be realised. This demands a new way of working, which also means new ways of seeing ourselves and our colleagues.
Not only would we have to undo the legacy of the past and create a new platform but we would also have to create the conditions where investment, whether from the private or public sectors, could be of maximum benefit to all transport users and sustainable in the medium to long term.
If change is pain, it is also the freedom to remake ourselves, our attitudes and relationships, in the context of a clear acceptance of our responsibilities without which freedom means nothing.
Consistent with government notion to transformation, a challenge is thrown to you in this hall to introduce, encourage and harness the participation and involvement of the Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMME's) in the logistics business.
Transfer of skills and resources to SMME's is critical to ensure that all sectors of our society become beneficiaries of economic growth and development. A good transport sector is key to economic development nationally and in our region. The importance of interacting with SADC countries cannot be overemphasised.
CONCLUSION
It depends on the cooperation between government, the private sector, civil society and SADC, and gives substance to the concept of cooperative governance. My heartfelt thanks to all of the people who made this day possible for us and to those who went beyond the call of duty. To them I say a special word of thanks.
To all finalists, congratulation and good luck.
Thank you.