ADDRESS TO THE KZN LEGISLATURE ON DEVELOPMENTS IN PUBLIC TRANSPORT IN KWAZULU-NATAL BY THE HONOURABLE MEC FOR TRANSPORT

26 November 2002

"Among the most successful capital expenditure programmes to date has been the Road to Wealth and Job Creation sector strategy in KwaZulu-Natal, an innovative model that blends the process of meeting infrastructure needs of communities with capacity building and economic empowerment. In terms of this project, communities mobilize through Rural Roads Forums are able to take part in planning and prioritizing roads. Through a phased advancement programme and through skills training, emerging contractors are helped to participate in roads construction contracts". The Honourable Minister of Finance, Trevor Manuel: Medium Term Budget Policy Statement 2002.

Mr Speaker

I have begun my address today with this quotation from the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement 2002 precisely because it highlights the progress that we have made, as the KwaZulu-Natal department, in support of government’s drive to achieve equity in service delivery and, in the process, to create new and sustainable work and wealth opportunities among the poor. While the quotation is specific to the Road Construction industry, I must emphasise that the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport is one hundred percent committed to ensuring that all core functions associated with the Transport Portfolio are managed to create new and sustainable economic opportunities among those most disadvantaged by apartheid.

We are committed to the view that a sustainable KwaZulu-Natal Renaissance is dependant not only on the promotion of Good Governance, macroeconomic stability, high economic growth and the improved delivery of social services, it is critically dependant on government creating new income, savings and investment opportunities among the very poor. Not only will this broaden our tax base it will also stimulate demand in local economies.

There can be little doubt that one of the most exciting opportunities for Black Economic Empowerment in South Africa is the regulation of the Minibus Taxi Industry. The fact that the minibus taxi industry is 99% owned and managed by Black South Africans makes it a critical pillar of our Black Economic Empowerment strategy, especially as this strategy is directed towards the empowerment of ordinary citizens.

It is important that we deal today with recent events in the industry particularly around Durban for the benefit of the Honourable Members in this House. We want to recap the Taxi Process from the beginning of the misrepresentation dished in public platforms by various people including members of this House. The basis of the taxi process has been recognition that the industry is the important element of the public system. Indeed despite its many trouble, the industry is something that South Africa can take pride in.

The Restructuring of the Taxi Industry

The stage we are in is a culmination of a drawn-out process which started mid-September 1998 after the passing of the Interim Minibus Taxi Act, act 22 of 1998 by this legislature. This Act defined the legislative framework for the taxi industry restructuring agenda. The agenda is based on four programmes.

1. Legalisation and formalisation

This programme incorporates the `Be Legal’ Campaign, democratization and the registration of associations.

2. Education and Training

The major thrust of this programme is the building of management capacity for taxi operators and improved driving skills for taxi operators and drivers.

3. Economic Empowerment

It is about the transformation of the taxi industry from an informal and survivalist business sector to a formal and bankable economic giant.

4. Conflict Resolution

We regard this as a transitional programme. Formalising the sector was not going to be an event but a protracted process. Whilst moving forward with the restructuring agenda, we had to manage distorted competition and inherent structural instability and violence within the taxi industry.

Central to this agenda is the creation of an appropriate environment for increased investment to the sector and the development of mutually-beneficial relationship between taxi owners and other investment partners. A formalized environment had to be created first.

The formalisation process involved three stages

1. The registration of Associations, members, routes and the vehicles

2. The legalisation of operators and their vehicles

3. The democratization of route-based associations and the representative regional and provincial bodies

1. Registration process

This process was started in September 1998 and was completed in October 2000.

The registration is based on associations having at least 15 members to qualify for registration. Associations in the province range between 15 and 100 members. At the end of the process 252 Associations were registered in KwaZulu-Natal constituting the highest number of Associations in South Africa. These Taxi Associations form the organizational foundation of the taxi industry. Not only are there official and legitimate voice of the industry, they also have a self regulatory function where they discipline and can expel members who bring the association to disrepute in much the same way as trade and professional associations do.

Secondly the registration of members is intended to help us define the investor base within the industry. We can now safely say that in KwaZulu-Natal there are 12000 taxi-owners who have invested in a business sector carrying 65% of the commuting public. We have also discovered through the registration process that there are approximately 22 000 vehicles which qualify as minibus-taxis in KwaZulu-Natal.

Through the registration of routes, we have identified that on average each association operate five routes. This process was intended to assist to convert radius-based and `casual’ permits into route-based permits. It has been established that the radius-based permit system is the single most important cause of taxi violence.

A route-based permit allowed an operator to operate within a 50 km radius from a particular starting point. For example, starting from Durban CBD, an operator was legally entitled to operate the following areas:

• KwaMashu, Inanda, Verulam, Durban North and Tongaat on the North

• Wentworth, Umlazi, Isipingo, Amanzimtoti and Umgababa on the South

• Chesterville, Westville, Pinetown and Mpumalanga on the West

Such a permit legally sanctioned route grabbing and naturally led to fierce conflict over routes. A classic example was the bloody conflict in Empangeni between A and B Rank Taxi Associations and Esikhawini Taxi Association. Eleven people were killed because of the inadequacy of the inherited permit system.

2. The Legalisation Process (`Be Legal Campaign’)

This constitutes the second stage of the formalisation process. After completion of the registration process by the Registrar information is handed over to the Local Road Transportation Board for legalisation of operators and the processing of permit applications. There are three criteria used by the Board to determine the suitability of an application.

1. The registration information of the members, his/her vehicle/s, routes and the association from the Registrar

2. A valid Certificate of Fitness from the relevant division of the Department

3. A rank permit from the relevant municipality

Based on its established due process the Board will grant a permit to an operator subject to the operator furnishing a Certificate of Fitness within a period of three months. If the Board is not furnished with such a Certificate within that period, the authority is withdrawn and a new application is required.

Since the beginning of 2 001, 9 000 permits have been issued by the Board to deserving taxi operators, subject to them providing the following information -

1. A valid Certificate of Fitness

2. Rank permits from municipalities

3. Route details for each vehicle within associations

The validity of such permits was extended over a six months period instead of the usual three months. However during that period prior to the launch of the enforcement drive very few permits were uplifted by taxi operators due to one or more of the above-stated reasons. Of the few which were uplifted by Associations, very few were handed to operators by their chairpersons, mainly due to the fact that some of the chairpersons wanted payment for their services.

When the enforcement campaign started many of the vehicles which were fined or impounded, were as a result of this oversight from operators and their associations. Upon realizing this problem, many operators then flocked to the Board to try and uplift their permits. This created a huge logjam within the Board. Secondly many of the operators who wanted to uplift their permits came without the necessary documents for uplifting of permits. Either they did not have valid COF's or no vehicle route details, etc.

Other associations were not granted their permits by the start of the enforcement campaign simply because they were challenging each other in court over outstanding route claims etc. Whilst we believed that we did everything in our power to grant the necessary authority to operators and were convinced of the legitimacy of the enforcement drive, we however provided the following compromise:

1. We broadened the scope of permit authority to include radius and casual permits. We also excluded from legal sanction, operators with permits but were found to be outside their permitted area.

2. The Board agreed to grant permits to operators who are still challenging each other through legal processes excluding the contested routes. This would give those associations and their members a legal authority which will protect them from enforcement. 

3. Penalised operators were allowed to retrieve their vehicles upon producing valid documents even after the penalty has been served.

4. We also agreed to decentralize the operation of the Board to all the Taxi regions so that we ease the bottleneck at the Board offices. Part of this will be the refocusing of the Enforcement Unit to support the legalisation process at the regional level.

 The Public Transport Law Enforcement Unit

1. Where does the enforcement unit come from?

By the end of 1999 it was clear that in spite of the protected negotiations going on, order would not be restored in the taxi industry without systematic enforcement to protect legal operators and the public. Consequently, a National Land Transport Transition Act 22 of 2000 was passed. It compliments and reinforces the National Road Traffic Act of 1986 and spells the obligatory tasks to be performed by the industry itself through its structures as well as government agencies. It introduces a regime of fines and penalties including the impounding of vehicles. According to the legislations, a pound needs to be properly fence, properly guarded, hence the appointment of Condo security company. Specifically for KwaZulu-Natal, the judicial commission chaired by Judge Alexandra recommended that a streamlined enforcement unit needed to be created as a matter of urgency.

2. What does the enforcement unit enforce?

1. Driver
   Driver’s Licence
   There are many instances where people who drive taxis have no driver’s licence at all.

Professional Driving Permit
Because thousands of lives are in the driver’s hands they are required by the National Road Traffic Act to be in possession of PDP which is renewable every 12 months. This requires strict enforcement.

2. Vehicle
   A certificate of fitness is required. The COF is renewable every 12 months and there is no argument that it needs to be checked on a continual basis within those 12 months to ensure that the vehicle is not made roadworthy for the purposes of the COF. The COF is displayed prominently on the windscreen.

3. Trading Rights
   Each taxi must display prominently on its windscreen

- ordinary licence
- COF
- Carrier permit

The trading rights certify that the vehicle owner has exclusive right to trade in that particular route and has a right to be protected by law. This has been a one single contributor of taxi violence in KwaZulu - Natal. Previously, there was a prolification of private security companies to protect the routes of each association. Most of us have seen a naked display of heavy calibre arms on the main routes. Any government worthy of the name must have a monopoly of a legitimate force. Security companies were paid for by a heavy levy, sometimes R2000 a week to maintain these heavy armies. It should not be surprising to see the organized taxi industry supporting "Operation Shanela "

4. Commuters
   Passengers using a taxi without a permit cannot be paid out by the Road Accident Fund or insurance. This government cannot limit its involvement by merely an expression of condolences to those killed or injured in car crashes. Enforcement also ensures that operators do not risk the lives of passengers through overloading for quick profits.

The formation of the Public Transport Enforcement Unit was a key recommendation of the Judicial Commission of Enquiry into Taxi Violence. It was realized through its work and engagement with the industry leadership and various authorities that one of the major problems enforcement agencies face is the fact that public transport enforcement is a specialized area requiring specialist understanding of legislation and procedures.

Taxi operators were able in the past to confuse enforcement officers because of their limited understanding of the nuances within public transport enforcement. Such a scenario led to a serious paralysis of the regulatory environment. A specialized Task Force has closed this loophole. Since its beginning, the Unit has identified all the gaps and consolidated its operations. To resolve whatever problems experienced by taxi operators on the ground we have created a consultative structure jointly led by the Head of Department and the Chairperson of the Taxi Council. This structure continuously receives reports and makes the necessary adjustments if necessary.

Secondly given the nature of its dangerous work a team within the Inspectorate needed special survival techniques. It is a specialized unit within the Road Traffic Inspectorate of the department. The inspectorate had identified specialized areas requiring specialized skills and training in the past. Within the inspectorate there are various specialized teams, such as the medical teams and search and rescue teams. The Unit is tasked with the enforcement of public transport legislation.

In addition to the normal training received by traffic officers, they received additional training in

1. Public Transport Legislation

- The Interim Minibus Taxi Act, Act 4 of 1998
- The National Land Transport Transition Act, Act 22 of 2000
- Road Traffic Act,

2. Advanced Driving

3. Survival techniques

Officers of the Public Transport Enforcement Unit were recruited from the Road Traffic Inspectorate. Only officers with three years experience and a matriculation exemption were selected for this additional responsibility.

The importance of this Unit cannot be over-emphasized. Since the start of its operation there has been a dramatic decrease in taxi violence in KwaZulu-Natal. Route-invasion is rapidly becoming a ‘thing of the past’ and this has fostered a new spirit of co-operation within an industry that has made tremendous progress in embracing the democratic process.

Secondly, it is important to appreciate that passengers traveling in illegal minibus taxis are not insured in terms of the Road Accident Fund. Passengers traveling in an illegal minibus taxi are exposed to far greater risks than passengers traveling in a legal minibus taxi.

The Democratisation Process

One of the key pillars for the formalisation of the taxi industry has been the conducting of free and fair elections in all the 252 taxi associations in the province. This process was completed in November of 2 000. Subsequent to that elections were conducted in 16 regions, which constitute the regional foundation for taxi operation. In April 25 of 2001 the process was completed with the election of the KwaZulu-Natal Taxi Council under the leadership of Mr. C. Ngiba as Chairperson and Mr M Mthiyane as his deputy.

We are all familiar with the notion that democracy is a process. Institutions of democracy are built up over time by being recognized and supported. My department recognizes and supports the democratically elected Provincial Taxi Council as an institution of democracy. This means that we work through the Provincial Taxi Council irrespective of the individuals who are elected into office.

As we have stated earlier on, we have an organized industry with properly elected structures who will continuously engage us on various issues of concern to the members. The Taxi Council is a recognized forum to address the concerns of the industry. We will therefore discourage the splinting of the industry by engaging the industry outside of these formal structures.

However, in spite of these considerations, we have engaged the Concerned Group on the issues they are raising. A first meeting which was arranged for the 11th of November 2002, by honourable member of this House, Mr Mthiyane with the Head of the Department, was cancelled at a short notice by the Concerned Group through Mr Mthiyane. They informed us that they are pursuing the matter through the courts.

A second meeting was then arranged on Thursday, 14th November 2002, and this meeting was abandoned by them because we were trying to establish the mandate from the constitutional structures. Because of this, they left a meeting unceremoniously. 

Conclusion

The taxi industry in KwaZulu-Natal is the most critical pillar of our public transport sector. Not only is it the most available mode of transport, it is also the most affordable to the public. It is calculated that some 65% of commuters rely on minibus taxi transport for their daily mobility needs. Under no circumstances can the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport exempt the minibus taxi industry from regulation and enforcement programmes it is to be true to its mandate of putting safety first on public transport.

Zero Tolerance in KwaZulu-Natal means just that. Whether you are a private motorist, heavy duty trucker or public transport operator you are not above the rule of law on our road network.

While we in government are fully committed to supporting a Black Economic Empowerment initiative within the public transport sector, it is the responsibility of the Minibus taxi industry to project and manage a positive image, which will enable it to become the cornerstone of a revitalized public transport sector in the democratic South Africa.

For further information, please contact Thabang Chiloane on 082 8055 748 or Mlungisi Ndhlela on 082 5666 781. 

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