Chairperson, hon Minister of Transport, members of the NCOP, ladies and gentlemen, today, in this House, I am speaking on behalf of the MEC for roads and transport in Gauteng.
The Gauteng government heralds the plan that our government will execute in the current Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, period. These plans have been carefully laid out to meet the national outcomes highlighted by our President in his state of the nation address.
We are, therefore, confident that the plans brought to this House today will not only be the signposts of what we will achieve, but also of what we have done and still intend improving upon in our service delivery models.
The Minister in his Budget Vote elaborates extensively on the preparations for the 2010 Fifa World Cup soccer tournament. As the transport fraternity, we will concern ourselves with the mobility of both local and international fans and spectators. As the Gauteng province we welcome the Minister's budget speech and assure you that we have developed a transport plan for 2010 that is aligned to the plans tabled by the Minister. We have developed a transport plan that identifies the core network relevant to provincial transport operations and which considers the main internal and external linkages in and out of the province.
We have also taken into consideration that it had to be relevant to land- based transportation movement. The conception of our plans is based on three levels of transportation networks. These are as follows.
The interprovincial services which we envisage will be provided by the national Department of Transport, but the Gauteng province will do the planning for the services that will be provided to ensure integration with provincial and intercity services in the province.
The intercity services will be provided by the province itself. Local or intracity services will be provided by the cities at two levels, namely high frequency services that will operate from a primary network, and a feeder and distribution system to be provided either by buses or accredited minibus taxis, thereby maximising coverage.
Unlike the 2009 Confederations Cup, our concept for the 2010 World Cup will be different given that the profile of the spectators is that of international visitors with prebooked travel packages and direct access to the stadium's precinct. We intend to provide less of the Park and Rides than we did previously during the Confederations Cup.
Our concept largely focuses on a strong rail backbone system supported by services rendered through the other three spheres of government. Hence the formation of institutional structures called the 2010 transport provincial forum to play a co-ordination and alignment role, so as to ensure a seamless delivery of transport through the province during this World Cup.
We have classified routes into categories that will cater for our citizens, our visitors and spectators. The most important routes are the protocol routes that will cater mainly for our VIPs and teams. The tourist routes will be focusing on our main tourist destinations in Gauteng, such as the prestigious Dinokeng and Cradle of Humankind, including the world-renowned Vilakazi Street and other destinations or offerings.
Despite the Gautrain project, which is not specifically meant to service the 2010 soccer tournament, we will be opening the O R Tambo International Airport route to Sandton in order to give transport services to the visitors from the airport to Sandton. On public transport, the Minister reiterated the importance of public transport and, therefore, I wish to endorse the statement by highlighting some of the programmes that the department has been engaging on in order to integrate land transport functions with land use and economic planning. These programmes ensure that transport demand is managed and our investments used effectively.
Because of the importance of transport in the economy of the country, we have decided to advocate for the promotion, regulation and development of an integrated public transport system. This system seeks to incorporate the transformation of the bus and taxi industries, as well as the integration of the Gautrain, into a public transport network and commuter rail system.
The transfer of the bus services functions from the North West province into Gauteng, after the demarcation process, has enhanced our bus transportation services because this has not only resulted in increased subsidies, but has actually promoted transportation services offered in those areas.
Regarding the taxi industry, we support the engagements that have taken place in the National Joint Working Group and the minibus-taxi industry. These have made positive contributions and inspired new initiatives that aim to grow the industry. This process will result in the growth and empowerment of those who were previously excluded from the broader public transport offerings, especially as they relate to other supported modes.
This Ministry has the responsibility to ensure road safety. That actually means that all spheres of government involved in carrying out transport functions are required to act upon the Minister's initiatives, like working with the Minister of Basic Education to intensify road safety education in our schools.
The department has come up with a plan aligned to the national call of providing every learner in high school with the opportunity to matriculate with a valid South African driving licence. Our proposed concept will concern itself mainly with all learners in high schools situated within our 20 Priority Township Programme in Gauteng.
We intend employing and training approximately 100 driving instructors on a permanent basis, thereby ensuring the sustainability of this programme while also creating job opportunities that are long-term based. In assuming this huge responsibility we will ensure that all the intended objectives, as indicated by the Minister, are realised, especially regarding the bookings and testing backlogs.
Regarding road infrastructure, the Minister and broader society's concerns about the backlog of road maintenance is noted. I must indicate that we are now working on strategies to overcome this challenge in a cost-effective and sustainable way.
The capital project programme of the Gauteng department of roads and transport has, in the period 2009-10, completed three of the major projects namely Phase 2 of K29, Malibongwe Drive, P174, and Phase 2 of the K15 route. Beyers Naude, Cayman Road and Voortrekker will continue and be carried over to the 2010-11 financial year.
All projects concluded by the department are Expanded Public Works Programme, EPWP, compliant. Five hundred and fifteen jobs were created and 20 subcontractors were given the opportunity to work on the projects in line with the promotion of SMMEs. They targeted 60% of the projects on women, 40% on youth and 2% for people with disabilities.
The issue of corruption is a concern in all spheres of government because it does not only hinder service delivery, but also slows the responsiveness of government to its citizens. A draft strategy on risk and anticorruption in Gauteng has been prepared, mainly to deal with the corruption at the driving licence testing centres, DLTCs, in Gauteng, a situation that has been viewed as spiralling out of control.
As interventions, we have planned to increase random inspections at DLTCs by the compliance unit from the community safety department; conduct monthly audits at these centres; randomly take tests over from examiners; and randomly make changes to the booking schedules and the deployment of the department's representative for daily observations and report writing at the call centre.
We also envisage electing a policy management committee that will address all legislative policies, procedures and administrative gaps that exist within the business unit following the above-mentioned principles. These are some of the areas that the strategy will cover and this will be forwarded to the national department as it is soon as it is finalised.
We, therefore, endorse the budget tabled by the Minister of Transport in the National Assembly and express our appreciation for the ongoing support that we receive from the national Department of Transport. We would also like to use this platform to assure the National Assembly, the NCOP and the people of South Africa of our continuous effort to provide transport infrastructure and services that are not only effective and efficient, but also advance the agenda of enhancing Gauteng City Region's global competitiveness. I thank you very much. [Applause.]