Old Assembly Chamber: 3rd July 2009

Chairperson,

South Africa's road, rail and air transport infrastructure serves millions of people each day and keeps the wheels of business and industry turning; it is an integral part of our lives. The aim of the Department of Transport is to provide competitive transport costs, improved safety and security, reduced infrastructure backlogs, improved access and reduced transit times to the general public.

Our transport infrastructure and public transport system must be improved if the department is to reach its stated aim. There are still too many problems and too many shortcomings with these. The lack of a reliable, safe public transport system for example prevents more South Africans from using public transport and this in turn contributes to problems such as the congestion, and deterioration, of our roads.

This morning the Minister of Transport said that progress has been made in the discussions with the taxi industry. The IFP appreciates this as the taxi industry is a very important part of our transport system. However, we must acknowledge that taxi passengers are still subjected to overcrowding and unsafe journeys with this mode of transport as the old taxis do not get regular maintenance checks and this puts the passenger's lives at risks. Taxi passengers are also subjected to harassment by drivers and operators.

The increased volume of heavy duty vehicles on our roads is a problem as it contributes to the roads deterioration. There is, however, currently no viable affordable alternative. The use of rail to transport heavy loads should be promoted and incentives given to industries to make use of rail. This will take a major load off our roads.

The state of many commuter trains is really bad, these should be refurbished and additional security measure taken so that passengers use this mode of transport more. Again, it will help in easing congestion on roads.

Government should effectively restructure the Road Accident Fund to ensure that corruption does not persist. We find that claims can take years to be settled and when that eventually happens the lawyers fees are so exorbitant that the victims only receives a fraction of the money due to them. Government should put claiming processes in place that do not require the involvement of keen lawyers and ensure that the money is paid directly to the accident victims.

We need to look at our toll roads and the impact that they have on the surrounding communities who use these roads everyday.

In conclusion, Chair, I'd like to thank the Department for their briefings on the budget and for taking note of the committee's inputs.

The IFP supports this budget vote.

I thank you.

Contact:
Eric Lucas
082 557 2481.