Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am delighted today to introduce myself as your brand new Minister and patron of this important event. I would like to thank the organisers for allowing me to address this 42nd meeting of the Southern African Transport Conference. May today serve as the beginning of a new relationship between myself, my office, and the important industry stakeholders assembled here.
An efficient and functioning transport sector is the key to a successful economy. Our roads and rail network are the arteries of our nation, should move people and goods safely, speedily and affordably across the length and breadth of South Africa, and facilitate our connectivity with the African continent and the wider world.
We all know today that our sector is not operating as either an effective economic facilitator or social service. The condition of our roads, logistical and capacity issues affecting our freight network, and road safety are just a few of the problems that have plagued this sector in recent times.
When our transport systems suffer, our economy faces depressed economic growth, declining investment and working people cannot get to their jobs affordably or on time and, we see a rise in unemployment in a country that desperately needs more jobs.
As the 7th Administration we are aware of these challenges and aim to address them comprehensively throughout the next five-year term.
A significant development in the previous year has been the establishment of the National Logistics Crisis Committee (NLCC), chaired by President Ramaphosa and the adoption by Cabinet of the Freight Logistics Roadmap.
The work streams of the Logistics Crisis Committee have been set up with personnel from key ministries, including from the Department of Transport and our entities. The committee is working to ensure stability across the various supply chain and logistics sectors.
Areas of focus include key logistics corridors handling commodities that are essential to the export market and economic growth (such as coal and iron ore), addressing backlogs and congestion at strategic border crossings such as Komatipoort and Beitbridge, combatting congestion in key national highway corridors such as the N1 and N3, as well as interventions to combat cable theft and maintenance backlogs at Transnet.
The NLCC is a young structure, and it is also being employed as a means to encourage more private sector collaboration and participation with Government as we address the many challenges South Africa is facing in the area of logistics.
In this regard, I would like to extend my gratitude to my predecessor, Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga, for her instrumental role in the establishment of the NLCC and in encouraging further engagement between the private and public sector in tackling the problems I have mentioned.
I also want to thank the members of the Committee for the work that they have done so far and pledge my strong and unequivocal support as incoming Minister for all the important work which lies ahead.
Together with Minister Maropene Ramokgopa we will ensure important reforms at Transnet continue so that the entity reaches pre-pandemic performance levels.
Anchoring times for ships waiting to berth at the port of Durban have been reduced, and a terminal operator has been appointed to enter into a joint partnership with Transnet to develop and upgrade the port.
Prasa is continuing to reopen passenger rail lines severely affected by infrastructure damage and cable theft, with 28 of 40 priority lines being fully operational.
As of March this year, 256 stations are fully functional in cities across the country. I can report today that continuous work is being done to rehabilitate and open up more strategic commuter corridors. This will ensure that the public can rely on safe, secure, punctual and affordable public rail services that will not hinder their participation in the economy.
The Rail Policy that was approved by Cabinet in 2023, has various far-reaching recommendations on the future of freight rail and urban commuter rail that will be implemented during the 7th Administration.
My department is currently developing a Draft Devolution Strategy for Urban Commuter Rail. This draft will be workshopped extensively with all role players and stakeholders later this year.
South Africa is part of the consortium of nations that signed the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations members in 2015. The aim of the Sustainable Development Goal, Target 3.6 was to halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents by 2030.
However, results of a report released by Statistics South Africa entitled Road Transport Accident Deaths in South Africa, 2007-2019, reveal that the number of deaths resulting from road transport is unacceptably high.
We cannot normalise a situation in which more than 12 000 people are killed on our roads annually.
Nor can our country continue to sustain the cost of in excess of 10 000 fatal crashes which the Road Traffic Management Corporation estimates amounts to roughly R186.5 billion, or 3.3% of our GDP annually.
This is totally unacceptable from an economic and a humanitarian perspective.
The Ministry will prioritise road safety during this term of office so that our roads are safe for those who use them and foster economic activity.
Ladies and Gentlemen, taxis are part of community life and according to the recent National Household Travel Survey now carry 80 percent of those who use public transport. During this term I pledge to work with the industry to ensure it takes its place in a safer, greener transport ecosystem. We will work together to decrease levels of conflict and violence which pose a significant risk to the sector and to commuters.
In addressing the topic of today’s conference, upskilling and reskilling the transport industry for current and future challenges, I would like for us to take a step back and acknowledge the international context in which we are now living.
Transport is in the midst of one of the greatest changes since the introduction of the automobile. As we work to improve our public transport, freight and logistics systems we must be aware that we will have to find new solutions to old problems.
In this next decade transport will be revolutionised by an acceleration of digital technology and new inventions powered by renewable energy.
Such innovations include operational automation and real-time tracking of shipments to assist in port management, digital signalling to modernise the management of our railway system, and the use of artificial intelligence in traffic management, as well as the introduction of self-drive vehicles and drones for delivery.
Some of the exhibitors presenting here today are demonstrating these new technologies. It won’t be long before their use is upscaled throughout our logistics supply chains.
It means no time must be lost to upskill those already working in the industries so that they are not left behind as we transition to the widespread use of these new technologies.
The transition to new energy vehicles is also accelerating rapidly across the globe. Sale of new petrol and diesel cars will be banned by 2035 in Europe. New York has also announced that sales of nearly all gas- and diesel-powered cars and trucks in the state will be banned by 2035.
The Department of Transport’s Green Transport Strategy ensures that our development objectives are not at odds with our climate change mitigation goals.
The strategy includes investing in green energy infrastructure; promoting the uptake of alternative fuels such as biogas, and green hydrogen; extending the rail network to provide alternative public transport; and developing “green procurement guidelines” which will promote low-carbon technologies.
Implementation of this strategy will be a priority for our Department in this term of government.
In an era of hyper-globalisation we must more effectively use our country’s unique geographic position as an important transit hub for our landlocked neighbours and other countries on the African continent.
By fully integrating and upgrading our rail networks in the southern African region we can further the objectives of agreements such as the African Continental Free Trade Area and, from a South African perspective, take advantage of our membership of BRICS to access new markets.
New technologies and new global imperatives will fundamentally alter the skills requirements of those employed in the transport sector, as well as open up new value chains for new forms of economic access, ownership and employment.
I wish you well over the coming days as you deliberate on these important questions!
I thank you.
