Voorsitter, ons almal in Suid-Afrika begeer 'n ekonomie wat groei. Die slagaar van 'n ekonomie van enige land is sy vervoerstelsel. 'n Goeie vervoerstelsel dra daartoe by dat die ekonomie vinnig groei. Die sterkste ekonomie in die wreld beskik oor die beste openbare vervoer.
Ek het in 1997, toe ek as lid van die Metropolitaanse Vervoerraad van die Nelson Mandelabaai was, die geleentheid gehad om 'n besoek na Hongkong, Singapoer en Bangkok af te l. Op daardie studietoer het ek twee dinge geleer. Die een is dat 'n moderne ekonomie soos Singapoer, wat seker een van die modernste vervoerstelsels gehad het, waarborg jou dat daar 100 m verder vanwaar jy van die trein afklim, 'n bus of 'n taxi is. Ek besef dat Suid-Afrika nie in daardie posisie is nie, want afstandgewys is dit baie moeilik om dit hier te handhaaf. Wat van so 1,5 of 2 km? Sal dit nie dalk werk nie?
Twee dae voordat ons terugkeer na Suid-Afrika, het ons 'n vergadering gehad en 90% van die persone wat teenwoordig was, het my baie teleurgestel, want hulle het ges dat die stelsel nie in Suid-Afrika sal werk nie, omdat daar nie dissipline in Suid-Afrika is nie. Hulle was versiende. Ek kon dit nie glo nie en ek wou dit nie glo nie.
Ons sal ons polisiring moet opknap. Ons sal moet kyk ... Ek sien die geweldige skade wat gely is as gevolg van die brandende treine. Dit is moeilik vir my om te s, want ek weet hoe kwaad
ons vir taxi's word, maar sonder die taxi's in Suid-Afrika, is daar geen openbare vervoerstelsel nie.
Verstedeliking vind plaas en 70% van die mense gaan in die toekoms in en om die stede bly. Die groei van informele nedersettings gaan toeneem en hulle gaan verder en verder van die stede wegbeweeg. 'n Opname het in 2014 getoon dat slegs 30% van die huishoudings in Suid-Afrika oor motors beskik. Die res moet van openbare vervoer gebruik maak.
Om dit te kan bereik, is dit baie belangrik dat ons mense met kundigheid en kennis het. Ek het 'n paar jaar terug gelees dat 'n ingenieur nie 'n kenner van openbare vervoer is nie; dit vereis verdere studie. Ek is oortuig daarvan in my hart dat die universiteite in Suid-Afrika aandag daaraan sou gee.
Die vraag is: Is daar oplossings vir die openbare vervoerstelsel? Ja, daar is. Ek glo dit vas. Die grootste verassing vir my was in Bangkok. Ons het die oggend vir die eerste spreker gewag om ons te kom toespreek, want hulle het daar 'n bogrondse treinstelsel gebou. Groot was die verassing
toe die persoon ons in Afrikaans groet. 'n Ingenieursmaatskappy van Johannesburg het aan die hoof van die bou van daardie treinstelsel gestaan.
Ons beskik oor die kennis. Ons moet ophou om teenmekaar te werk in hierdie land, maar eerder vir mekaar. Suid-Afrika sal dan suksesvol wees.
Ek noem een voorbeeld. Daar waar ek woon in die Oos-Kaap is daar nog geleenthede. Ons moet nie wag dat daar 'n krisis ontstaan nie. Baie het al daaraan gedink, maar niemand het dit nog werklik ges nie. 'n Treinstelsel vanaf Uitenhage, Despatch, Port Elizabeth, terug in die rigting van die noordelike gebiede, verby Bethelsdorp, Joe Slovo, teenaan Kwanobuhle tot by die provinsiale hospitaal, terug na die Uitenhagestasie.
Ek dink dit sal die suksesvolste stelsel in Suid-Afrika wees. Dit sal nie die kostes wees van 'n Gautrein nie, want ons hoef nie ondergrondse kostes aan te gaan nie en bogrondse kostes sal minimaal wees. Ons het al daar gaan kyk. Die verste wat persone sal stap is ongeveer 1,5 km na die trein toe.
Kom ons staan saam in die belange van Suid-Afrika. Soos, my leier, Dr Pieter Groenewald, ges het, ons moet werk in die belange van Suid-Afrika en sy mense. Laat ons vir mekaar werk en nie teen mekaar nie. Dankie.
Xitsonga:
XANDLA XA HOLOBYE WA SWA VUTLEKETLI: Mutshamaxitulu Manana Boroto, Holobye wa swa Vutleketli eAfrika-Dzonga Tatana Mbalula, Tatana Mosebenzi Zwane mutshamaxitulu wa komiti na swirho swa komiti ya Ndzawulo ya Swa Vutleketli,
English:
Minister, Deputy Ministers, hon members of this august House, shadow Minister [Laughter.] [Applause.] Acting Director-General of the Department of Transport, deputy directors-general, DDGs, chairpersons, CEOs of state- owned entities, our guests in the gallery and
Tshivenda:
vhadzulapho vha Afrika Tshipembe, ndi khou ni resha.
English:
We are celebrating Nelson Mandela Month, a revolutionary son of South Africa. This is what the United Nations has indicated to all of us that we should celebrate. We are commitment and need to remind you that transformation of our country has been in the lips of the ANC and in the actions of the ANC as we get to develop South Africa. President Nelson Mandela in his electoral mandate of a better life for all, which we caring forward to grow South Africa together with all of us, had always indicated that, and I quote:
Our people have elected us because they want change. Change is what they will get. Our people have high expectations which are legitimate. While the government cannot meet all these needs overnight, we must put firmly into place the concrete goals, timeframes and strategies to achieve this change.
These are the words which were said by President Nelson Mandela, and I think these words ring and sound very clear as we develop our strategic plans and make sure that the five-year plans of the Department of Transport are in place.
The seven apex priorities and the National Development Plan force us to return to important dictate of the Constitution that implores us to improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each person. The amending, review and at times the complete overall of legislation as part of the transformation of the state, has become essential in unlocking the potential in the transport sector.
As a capable and developmental state we need to fast-track transformation particularly in building progressive systems while we are further implored to infuse in every system the social cohesion, development and economic growth as desired by our people. Martin Luther King said:
If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.
Today, as the Department of Transport, and in particular our state-owned enterprises, we are implored to fly or to run. This will be supervised by Mr Fix it. With the severity and the
urgency it has becomes imperative that we run or we fly to achieve the ideals to implement all the programmes as put forward in our strategic plans.
The ANC talks about the developmental state. Our commitment to improve the functioning of the state-owned entities is thus a thing we should be able to look at and make sure that we capacitate these entities, but important is that there must be capabilities as we are geared to challenge the challenging issues in front of our people. The recruitment of personnel should not be something that we recruit for the sake of recruiting, but we should be able to look at the capabilities so that the capable state can be able to do smart things and make sure that we are technically inclined in this age of technology, we are capably inclined in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and there are professionals who are honest and highly ethical cohorts of public servants. Fraud and corruption must be a thing of the past.
Hon members, we would only develop our people through a strong developmental state. Today, given the very difficult living
conditions our people are experiencing as it has been clearly outlined by the Minister, we have to dig deep into our systems and structures and find quick solutions that will impact positively on these challenges as spoken to.
At the centre of economic growth and the development of South African people we need safe, secure, efficient, reliable and affordable transport systems through which we may improve the lives of the people and unleash the potential of our people in making sure that together we grow South Africa. As we move with speed towards stimulation and recovery of the economy, we are forced to look at among others, the human capital and entrepreneurial spirit that must be nurtured and make sure that as they act they act accordingly.
Within the transport sector we are broadly endured to make sure that we have the provincial chapters of women in transport. We infuse youth programmes and make sure that there are disabled as we transform this sector. However, we should be able to take into consideration that there are a number of organisations and institutions within Transport that are not transformed.
Maritime, freight and logistics, rail and aviation are some of the industries that we can say that we definitely need to fly or to run so that we can be able to transform them.
Ladies and gentlemen, the continued development of engineering and other rare technical skills remains an urgent task that we need to deal with in the transport sector. The department has partnerships with higher education and training institutions to develop these skills and other related qualifications. We have already seen some of the people here amongst us who belong to and who have been developed so that they can be able to assist us in growing the economy of South Africa.
Chairperson, within the maritime transport sector we see improvements led by government more so the continuous professional development programme which has begun to alleviate many of the challenges in terms of training and skills in this sector. The experience afforded by this programme assisted unemployed graduates and undergraduates to improve their skills and are seriously and easily marketable. For improvement of this sector we need to continue to rely and make sure that we are
guided by the comprehensive maritime transport policy.
The ports regulator is developing a favourable regulatory regime which will be able to assist in stimulating and sustaining the growth specifically through a port tariff incentive programme to benefit localisation and industrialisation along the ports of South Africa. Through this intervention, we have successfully reduced port tariffs by 6, 27% this financial year.
I was part of the Durban bilateral in maritime. [Interjections.] Yes, I went to the Durban July Handicap with hon Malema. As we were doing dialogue in Durban we really came across very challenging things of less transformation in the ports and in maritime. We are looking forward to working very hard to make sure that this is some of the areas where we have to transform.
Operation Phakisa has continued to do miracles in developing pathways in maritime sector and again we believe that using government programmes we should be able to transform the maritime issues.
Since the launch of the Green Transport Strategy, the Department of Transport has made great strides and in this current financial year we believe that the country will be able to focus on public awareness to introduce the notion of green economies, and we believe that we should be able to contribute towards the climate change which is a challenge throughout the world. In everything that we are doing we must make sure that we move towards clean transport and green transport so that our economy as it grows should not impact climate change.
Madam Chairperson, let me indicate that the Minister has spoken to the issues of the SA National Roads Agency Limited, Sanral. I want to commend Sanral on the Horizon 2010 which will help government in making sure that the planning of infrastructure development is seriously focussed and the inclusion of every other as they will be moving towards the rural areas and assisting municipalities. This is something that we will be able to pride in.
Whatever, we should not be very complacent to what our communities are doing in burning objects on the roads which are
our assets. We need to condemn and call our communities and say it cannot be right that we burn our assets, our heritage - the roads. Definitely, we do not dispute that there must be protests, but as they are happening we should be able to guard against jealousy destroying our assets.
Hon members, I would wish to say that the SA Civil Aviation Authority, Sacaa, the Air Traffic and Navigation Services, ATNS, and the Airports Company South Africa, Acsa, are three examples of what good state-owned enterprise can be like. We would urge the other state-owned enterprises that are failing to say that "Operation kopa hinkwaswo" [Operatrion copy everything] will not take anything from you.
Xitsonga:
Fambani mi ya kopa eka lava leswaku...
English:
...you are able to know how good things are done by just copying. For sure it will be free.
Every time these three entities win national and international awards. We want to say that we congratulate them for their good work. But they can be able to do more than what they are doing now. They can be able to do good work as we have seen Acsa developing airports in other African countries and in the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, Brics. We have seen the good work that ATNS is doing in the continental skies to make sure that the skies are safe. We have also seen the Civil Aviation excelling particularly in the international arena.
Hon members, as I sit down I need to indicate that there are lots that are in front of the portfolio committee - ATNS, Acsa Sacaa, the Road Accident Benefit Scheme and the National Land Transport Bill which we have to speedily deal with. We support the budget as presented by the Minister of Transport. Kea leboga. [I thank you]. [Applause.]