SA CROSS-BORDER ROAD TRANSPORT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM BY MINISTER OF TRANSPORT, DULLAH OMAR

15 May 2000

Road transport, especially in our region which is primarily landlocked plays an important role in both social and economic development. It is therefore imperative that sustainable environment is created whereby the economy could flourish by means of cross-border links, utilizing ports of entry to transport tourists, commuters, including commodities to and within our member states.

A concern raised by the cross-border road transport agency (C-BRTA) as well as the NDOT, which is supported by the recent moving south africa study, is the high cost of transport in South Africa that is aggravated by border delays. Although it is accepted that controls are necessary, it is believed that processes need to be optimised in order to resolve the current unnecessary high level of delays. Infrastructure changes may be required to accommodate the necessary process changes.

Various border control initiatives are currently being managed by different government departments. Different views are pursued, and therefore requires standards to be established that are acceptable to both government and private sectors. Those processes need to incorporate all role players' views and should be used to determine if ports of entry performs acceptably according to the designed set of criteria. Corrective actions could be institutionalised in order to support economic growth with acceptable security standards.

According to a recent cross-border movement study carried out by the CSIR, approximately 120 000 taxis (representing 858 500 passengers) and 20 000 buses (representing 640 900 passengers) cross the south african border annually (1997). The cross- border road transport act (no. 4 of 1998) provided for the establishment of a cross-border road transport agency to manage and administrate these cross-border road transport agency to manage and administrative these cross-border public transport services.

The cross-border road transport act (no. 4 of 1998) also prescribes the procedures to be followed by the C-BRTA in awarding permits to operators. However, the agency is experiencing problems in approving and rejecting permits based on the lack of updated information on demand and supply of cross-border passenger movements as well as the lack of a sound scientific method to assist in the warranting of permits.

The C-BRTA in partnership with the csir are drafting a business plan for the implementation of a cross-border road transport management system that would address, among other, the following problems.

  1. determination of route viability for cross-border road transport: the cross-border road transport agency has recently been involved in legal disputes on why certain permit applications were not awarded. Although it is the applicant's responsibility to prove the demand for a service, it is difficult for the agency to provide scientifically sound evidence in support of their decisions.

  2. development of a permit management system: the current procedure for permit applications requires from the applicant to prove the demand for a service. However, the C-BRTA still needs a policy based on scientific research to issue permits in line with the viability of such a proposed service. Such a tool or method should be based on economic principles to indicate the viability of the service. Often operators are operating principles to indicate the viability of the service. Often operators are operating outside the limits of their permits and no information management systems exists to support local and provincial traffic law enforcement officers to act.

    in view of the relatively high accident and casualty rate of buses and minibuses in the country it is also suggested that specific attention be given to developing a permit system for drivers.

  3. de-bottlenecking of border posts: long delays at border posts are extremely aggravating and is not conducive to effective and cost-efficient transport operations. In order to scientifically quantify the problem areas, research need to be undertaken in order to determine:

Audit of NDOT, SADC, C-BRTA and other initiatives to ensure a consolidated effort in resolving the issue. Implementation of quality control measures to ensure effective and continuous service delivery.

It is the understanding that a number of studies to address de-bottlenecking at border posts have been undertaken and that the prime objective of this element in this project will be to review all of those studies with a view to combine all of the recommendations, review them in terms of the business plan and include them for implementation purposes.

The provision of cross-border public transport is complex due to various cross-border state agreements, different international currencies and different state and regional transport policies.

The methodology followed during the investigation of possible solutions is largely dependent on the availability of information. An audit of current systems in operation will be done to determine, for example, whether a management information system containing all the available information on cross-border flows exist and an analyses of the awarding of permits to transport operators. These applications should be economically sustainable and legally enforceable.

The following activities will be undertaken in order to compile a business plan:

It is our view as the department that the work done by the C-BRTA in this regard will deliver positive results. In addition, the cross-border road transport which is pivotal to regional economic growth will be well serviced.

I THANK YOU, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN