‘Taxis are expensive and unsafe’ – EFF, MK party reject Transport Department’s budget

On Monday, Parliament scrutinised the Department of Transport’s proposed budget as MPs voiced their concerns about the state of the public transport system.

Members of the Portfolio Committee on Transport debated on the department’s annual performance plan and budget for the 2024/225 financial year.

The Department of Transport and its entities have been allocated a budget of R80.6 billion, a slight increase from the previous financial year.

Transport Department budget

In the debate, African National Congress (ANC) MP, Selelo Selamolela indicated that the parliamentary committee expects the department and its entities to ensure they achieve “optimal value for every Rand spent” in its budget.

Selamolela noted the bulk of the budget would be dedicated to the department’s priority projects – including road maintenance and introducing the bus rapid transit (BRT) system for more municipalities across the country.

While the department’s entities have been stabilised post-Covid, the committee’s chairperson expressed concern over the current state of the Road Accident Fund (RAF), which received an unqualified audit outcome from the auditor-general.

“The Road Accident Fund has a major debt liability that requires the attention of the executive and the department as this will need to be fixed with an act amendment, if not completely replaced,” the ANC MP said on Monday.

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Selamolela also noted the National Treasury has earmarked R21.5 billon for the maintenance and improvement of the road network managed by the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral).

“Let all hands be on deck to ensure that the objectives articulated in this budget are met in the best interest of our people.”

Although the Democratic Alliance (DA) accepted Transport Minister Barbara Creecy’s budget, the party’s MP Chris Hunsinger was critical of the financial plan, claiming it contained “service delivery gaps”, among others.

Hunsinger pointed out the transport department has had six ministers over the last seven years.

“On the positive side, it is most encouraging that irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure has been the lowest in the last five years,” he said.

Watch the budget vote debate below:

The DA MP said it was unjustifiable that Sanral “received a lion’s share” of the budget when it only maintained 8% of the country’s roads compared to provinces.

“The combined provinces look after 273 000km of road, while Sanral only services 24 000km,” Hunsinger continued.

EFF, MK party reject budget

The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, however, rejected the department’s budget.

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) MP, Nontando Nolutshungu indicated that her party was also against the proposed budget.

Nolutshungu said the public transport system was unsafe and inaccessible, especially in rural areas.

She said minibus taxis were the most accessible mode of transport, but it was expensive and were not accommodative to people living with disabilities.

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“They are also unsafe for commuters who are constantly exposed to the volatile violence caused by fights over routes and other issues.”

Furthermore, Freedom Front Plus (FF+) MP, Philippus van Staden said government would have to urgently come up with a new plan to turn around the department.

“The department’s policies will have to be revised and if necessary, adjustments would have to be made or scrapped and replace with new workable policies,” van Staden said.

Creecy responds

ActionSA MP Malebo Kobe, meanwhile, urged the transport ministry to look into regulating e-hailing services in the country otherwise the industry will continue to “operate in the shadows with impunity”.

In addition, Creecy told MPs that there would be a dedicated focus on road safety.

“If we want our roads to be safer, we must move away from a situation where we all practice road safety on the Easter weekend and the Christmas period and the rest of the time we kill each other on the roads.

“That is not an appropriate way to be dealing with road safety,” the minister said.

“We agreed that taxis are an important part of the ecosystem and we have got to look at how to decrease the violence in this sector,” Creecy added.