Durban – Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga has made assurances that her department remains committed to ensuring that there are fewer trucks with heavy cargo on the road.
Chikunga, speaking on Friday at the launch of October Transport Month in Johannesburg, said the government was making efforts to revive the country’s rail networks.
“Cargo that must be on our roads is supposed to be road-friendly cargo, and not rail-friendly cargo. We therefore think that road freight movement places a serious fiscal burden on government.”
She said she could not speak of road freight without mentioning its governance across the country’s borders “as in the facilitation of cross-border freight and passenger transportation, a function which has been improving in leaps and bounds for the Cross-Border Road Transport Agency (the C-BRTA), which is also among those of our companies turning 25 years old this year”.
“The C-BRTA supports the South African economy by facilitating the seamless movement of goods and passengers across various borders which link South Africa and the neighbouring countries.
“Through the reduction of operational constraints, regulating market access and issuing permits, the C-BRTA plays a vital role in the socio-economic development of South Africa and the SADC region,” Chikunga said.
She said there were challenges on many roads in the country, mentioning the issue of potholes on many of the provincial and municipal road networks.
“Through Sanral (the SA National Roads Agency Limited), and with the co-operation of the provinces and municipalities, the department rolled out Operation Vala Zonke, a national pothole repair programme which is aimed at road refurbishment, maintenance and the overall fixing of potholes in South Africa.
“This has also resulted in the establishment of a Roads War Room with a call centre to complement the Automated Pothole Public Reporting application developed to allocate, track, trace and activate interventions where necessary.
“This intervention ensures that road maintenance will be carried out as soon as it is reported, causing South Africans to travel a little easier when on our roads,” Chikunga said.