SATAWU statement on the Transport Month campaign
Rea Molopyane
SATAWU statement on the Transport Month campaign
13 October 2011
The South African Transport & Allied Workers’ Union (SATAWU) gives its full support to the nation-wide “Transport Month” campaign by the Department of Transport. As the country’s biggest transport union we fully agree with the minister, that “South Africa’s future lies in being able to move people and goods faster, efficiently and in a cost-effective manner. We can only succeed in this venture if all of us work together- government across all tiers, business big and small, labour and all formations of our people.”
For South Africa and Africa to grow and take their rightful places in global trade and movement, it is important that our rail transport remains effective and efficient. It has to play a much bigger role in a global competitive environment to provide our companies and people a competitive advantage in the global markets. For this sustained growth that we aspire to achieve, rail transport must play a sustainable economic role. SATAWU welcomes the commitment shown by the Department of Transport in addressing the integration and interconnectivity challenge between rail operators and other systems especially taxis.
Later this month SATAWU will embark on awareness campaign focused on the road freight sector as part of our nation-wide road safety drive in support of the transport month. The aim of this project is to empower our truck drivers on various issues of safe driving, obeying traffic rules and being responsible drivers.
We hope that in time, our public transportation will become one seamless system, with the working class & the poor at its centre. The struggle to transform our economy is something that also needs to be specifically taken up in the transport sector by transport workers, SATAWU has a critical role to play in this regard. The struggle for affordable, accessible public transport for all South Africans is also a struggle to ensure that government’s budgetary priorities are biased towards public transport, towards rural and township roads, and towards the safety of our children – many of them have to walk long hours to school and back every day on roads without pavements, or bridges.
At present, too much of our infrastructure spend is biased towards middle-class private car users. Only 30% of South African households have access to a car – but too often we are spending billions of rands on infrastructure for the middle-classes (like the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project). Over R20-billion has already been spent on just Phase A1 of this project – but a recent vehicle count by government of this stretch of freeway revealed that only two percent (2%) of vehicles on it are public transport vehicles.
As the SATAWU we say this massive multi-billion rand Gauteng e-tolling expenditure and the on-going projects on freeways was the wrong priority. We agree with government that all future SANRAL freeway and tolling projects must be put on hold and thoroughly reassessed.
SATAWU continues to call on the government to retain and introduce adequate measures to ensure that public transport is improved in the national interest. We repeat this call again today. Government must prioritise the achievement of safe, reliable, accessible, integrated and affordable public transport must finally prioritise improving the current public transport.
Issued by:
Mamokgethi Reagoikanya Molopyane
SATAWU National Spokesperson
082 395 0907
Twitter: @Reagoikanya