Kempton Park, 19 November 1999
Master of Ceremonies,
MEC for Transport in Gauteng, Mr Khabisi Mosunkutu,
Members of the Kempton Park Tembisa Metropolitan Local Council,
Invited guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
Thank you very much for extending this Invitation to me to address the Annual Awards of the Institute for Traffic and Municipal Police Officers. I consider this invitation as significant because it affords me an opportunity to directly interact with you and to hear what you have achieved over the past twelve months and congratulate you on your successes.
When I took office just over five months ago, I set for myself and my department priorities. The first and the most important one being Law Enforcement. I would like from the very onset to thank all Road Law Enforcement Officers across the country and at all levels of government for the effort that you have put in your job in the interest of Road Safety.
I must also hasten to say that the conditions under which you operate are not the best but I have not heard anyone of you who did not go to work because of certain demands.
The work that you do is very important and it gives me pleasure to see that it can be rewarding as well. I have been informed that this year it will be for the first time in the existence of the Institute for Traffic Officers (ITO) that the same two officers share the Officer of the Year as well as the Bravery Awards in one year. This is commendable.
Master of Ceremonies, I have also been informed that it is also the first time that the Bravery Award is bestowed onto a non-human K9 member of the ITO. This shows without doubt that most of you, if not all, are committed to serve and protect our communities with diligence and determination.
As Minister, I wish to send my sincere gratitude and appreciation to your efforts. It is through these efforts, which makes us proud that we are a nation at work for a Better Life. I want to thank you once more and keep up the good work.
Ladies and Gentlemen, may I take this opportunity now to indicate that I will be launching another phase of the Arrive Alive Campaign in Kwazulu-Natal on Monday (22 November 1999). It is at this time once more that I want to make a special appeal to each and every man and woman out there, doing Law Enforcement to double their efforts.
Our country has bore the brunt of being labeled the worst in the world when it comes to road traffic accidents. Statistics informs us that in 1997, 10 000 people were killed and close to 50 000 were seriously injured on our roads. This also led to a R12.8 billion loss to our economy. I'm standing here today saying that our country and its people cannot afford to sit back whilst thousand of innocent citizens are being slaughtered on our roads.
I wish to make a passionate appeal that you should go out there and do your utmost best to bring those who violate not only traffic rules but turn thousand of innocent and law abiding citizens into orphans, widows and widowers. Bring them to book.
Another point that I would like to talk about is corruption. This is a very serious problem that should be attended to forthwith. The government will work tirelessly to end corruption. This picture however, does not imply that there are no pockets of excellence, where some of you have remained loyal and honest, to all of those your innocence will pay off.
I want to send a clear message to those of you who are involved in corrupt practices that your days are numbered. Government has a responsibility to protect citizens from these acts, and we will do everything with our power to eradicate this disease wherever and whenever it is diagnosed.
Accordingly at meetings between myself as National Minister and the nine provincial Minister's we have given and continue to give high focus to our Arrive Alive campaign. We have unanimously agreed that the Fragmented Law Enforcement system which we inherited is wholly inadequate and fragmented.
To this end, we are in a process of establishing a Corporation to be called the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) to address these inefficiencies. The RTMC Act was approved by Parliament and printed in the Government Gazette in April this year, to institutionalise cooperative Governance by pooling the powers and resources of the national and provincial (and to a limited extent the local) levels of government.
The cooperative governance system envisaged by the Act depends on the willingness of local, provincial and national government structures to pool their resources. The effectiveness with which these resources are shared will be pivotal to the success of the RTMC. It will be facilitated through the leadership provided by a Shareholders Committee consisting of myself as the Minister of Transport, the MECs responsible for transport in each of the nine provinces and two members of SALGA.
We will be convening the first Shareholders Committee Meeting before the end of this year. This will see the appointment of an Acting CEO, who will be charged with the responsibility of putting together a Business Plan which will see the RTMC moving.
The Ministers Committee (MINCOM) agreed that this process should continue to ensure that the management of road traffic is streamlined and improved. Let me share with you some of the key challenges facing the RTMC,
Now let me turn my attention to the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO). The current efficiency of the adjudication system for traffic offences leaves much to be desired. In general only about 25 percent of traffic fines are paid, with collection rates in some metropolitan areas as low as 9 percent.
To this end therefore, the department sought and obtained Parliamentary approval of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) Act in September last year. The purpose of the Act is to:
The overall strategy and implementation options for the AARTO system will also be discussed at the next MINCOM meeting.
Particular attention will need to be paid to the issue of identifying the funding that will be required to kick-start AARTO, since the adjudication of road traffic offences is a new responsibility for the Department of Transport, for which it has not in the past had to make dedicated budgetary provision. I'm consulting Cabinet to discuss funding options available and perhaps an appropriation of some additional funds.
Bad driving, road rage, unroadworthy vehicles and sometimes poor pedestrian behavior have contributed to terrible accidents, loss of life and damage to motor vehicles.
I am absolutely determined with your assistance to tackle the problem of road accidents head-on. If poor law enforcement is a major cause, then we must radically change the system to promote better law enforcement. It is for this reason that government has worked tirelessly to create the Road Traffic Management Corporation through legislation.
As we improve law enforcement, we will find a culture of great law compliance beginning to develop.
The systems will take time to phase in but our vision over the next five years is to replace the current inefficient, law transgressor - friendly and fragmented system with a new uniform, efficient and predictable system of law enforcement.
Lastly master of ceremonies let me extend a word of heartfelt appreciation to those officials who have under all these difficult conditions done a sterling job. I am at this moment reminded of the recent success that we read about in Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Kwazulu-Natal and of course other areas which I have not mentioned. I want to congratulate each and everyone of you. Continue to make us proud.
Thank you.