Proposed Amendments to National Road Traffic Regulation; Scholar Transport Policy: Department of Transport briefings

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Transport

18 June 2013
Chairperson: Ms N Bhengu (ANC)
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Meeting Summary

The Department of Transport briefed the Committee on the proposed amendments to the  Regulations of the National Road Traffic Act (No. 93 of 1996)(NRTA), which had to be continuously amended to accommodate a number of varying factors.

The Department had undertaken the consultative process with the provincial departments of transport, local authorities and various relevant stakeholders such as the South African Bureau of Standards. The National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa, the South African Police Service, and the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) were included as well.

Members were concerned about the clarity of certain amendments of the Regulations, but agreed that the Department had good intentions and needed to tweak out the amendments.

The Committee said that the focus could not be urban development; all programmes focused on the development of infrastructure of urban roads and rural areas were either passed over or were a by-product of the programme.

The Department agreed that the some provisions of the Regulations needed to be reworked or elaborated on and that in the upcoming financial cycle rural infrastructure development should be a focus.

The Parliamentary Legal Advisor’s office had no objection to the amendments, but advised that they had failed on one of the elements of the scrutiny criteria, which could be reworked. The issue with the retrospective dates was to how to hold those that had not abided by the Regulations responsible if at the time there were no such Regulation.

The Department secondly briefed the Committee on Scholar Transport Policy. The draft of the policy had been publicised via workshops extensively; it was also presented to and supported by internal and external stakeholders.

Members appreciated that there was progress on the policy as there had been work on it for a long time.

The Chairperson said that the scholar transport programme needed to be community orientated, so that it touched the communities beyond the learners. The programme had the potential to bring about economic development and social improvement for the rest of the community. Even the awarding of the tender process should not focus on the price but rather on the development approach that would speak to the community.

The Department appreciated the inputs of the Committee and admitted that the Policy was still a work in progress. It asked the Committee to note and support the amended draft of the Scholar Transport Policy as well as the process going forward.

The Department said that both it and the Department of Basic Education should  be responsible for advocating and communicating this policy to the public and other spheres of government. Also a communication strategy for the learner transport policy would be developed to create awareness of the need for safe and efficient transportation of learners.
 

Meeting report

Department of Transport: Proposed Regulation Amendments to the National Road Traffic Act
Mr Mathabatha Mokonyane, Deputy Director-General: Public Transport, said that the National Road Traffic Act, 1996 (Act No. 93 of 1996) was the principal Act on road traffic matters that provided for concurrent road traffic matters operating on a vast scope.

The National Road Traffic Act was amended continuously; factors leading to the amendments were:

Newly developed and incorporated vehicle safety standards;

Dangerous goods standards;

Improved technology;

Inculcation of good ethos and driver behaviour;

Reduction of fatal accidents, production of safe and reliable vehicle drivers, and lacunae in the law.

There were important pillars requiring legislative amendments, domestic adjustments and adaptations for realisation of the pillars, these were:

Safer vehicles;

Safer road users;

Post-crash responses;

Safer roads and mobility; and

Road Safety Management

Regulation 1 of the Act would be amended by amending existing definitions and introducing new definitions.

Regulation 2 was amended by introducing the new grades of examiner of motor vehicles      which were grade “C” and “D” examiners, indicating that such examiners were qualified to examine and test a motor vehicle of any class, with the certain exceptions.

Regulation 7 was amended by providing that a date of liability for the registration of a motor vehicle should also arise in the case of a motor vehicle which was previously in the Republic on the date of issue of a temporary permit issued in terms of regulation 84.

Regulation 8 was amended by providing that an application for the registration of a motor vehicle should, if the motor vehicle was registered, also be accompanied by a certificate issued on form RC2 as shown in Schedule 2 or on a form similar to form RC2 on the official documentation of such financial institution. Paragraph (g) was substituted by sub-regulation (2) thereby replacing reference to the old South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) standard with the new South African National Standards (SANS) standard code.

Regulation 13 was amended by inserting Regulation 4A, which provided for circumstances under which a motor vehicle should be recorded as new in the register of motor vehicles.

Sub-regulation 5 was amended to streamline the circumstances under which a motor vehicle should be recorded as used.

Sub-regulation 6 was amended to properly reference the newly applicable SANS Standard 1518 “Transportation of dangerous goods-design of vehicles, tanks and accessories for the transportation of dangerous goods”.

Regulation 13A was amended by providing that a motor vehicle which was deregistered in terms of Regulation 55 as permanently demolished should not be registered and its parts should not be used to build or repair any motor vehicle.

Regulation 15 was amended by providing that in the event a motor vehicle being introduced in the register of motor vehicles by a manufacturer or importer who was an agent of a registering authority with a pre-homologated number, such motor vehicle should not be deemed to be registered (prototype vehicles).

Regulation 20 was amended to require every motor vehicle, whether it operated on the public road or not, to be licensed except for all motor vehicles which were exempted from registration in terms of regulation 5 of the National Road Traffic Regulations, 2000.

Regulation 21 was amended by the deletion of paragraph (g), which allowed an owner of a motor vehicle, issued with an exemption permit in terms of section 81, to make an application to the relevant Member of the Executive Council (MEC) to declare such motor vehicle as specially classified in relation to motor vehicle licence fees.

Regulation 32 was amended by inserting regulation 32A thus requiring a person or body of persons registered on the National Traffic Information System (NaTIS) or wished to make use of the NaTIS services to submit proof of full names, date of birth, identity number and residential and postal address. Also, the Minister may determine different dates for compliance with provisions of the inserted new regulation 32A in respect of different categories of persons and extend any date as determined.

Regulation 46 was amended by providing that if there was any change of name, street or postal address, proxy, representative or acceptable identification of a registered manufacturer, builder or importer (MIB) should when notifying the Chief Executive Officer of such change also notify the Inspectorate of MIB’s (National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS)). On receipt of the notification referred to in sub-regulation (1) the MEC or Inspectorate of MIB’s should evaluate the notification and if satisfied that such notification was in order update the particulars pertaining to such applicant in the register of manufacturers, builders and importers and notify the manufacturer, builder or importer accordingly. Should the MEC not be satisfied that the notification was in order, he or she may inform the MIB to make a new application.

Regulation 50 was amended by inserting regulation 50A.

Regulation 52 was amended by providing that if the postal or street address, proxy or representative of the title holder or owner of a motor vehicle which was registered in terms of these regulations, changes, such title holder or owner should, within a period of 21 days after such change, notify the appropriate registering authority of the change on the prescribed form and submit proof of the change.

Regulation 55 was amended by providing that the title holder of a motor vehicle which was permanently demolished should within a period of three months after the date on which such motor vehicle had become permanently unfit for use, notify the appropriate registering authority, that such motor vehicle was permanently unfit for use and had been permanently demolished.

Regulation 56 was amended by inserting regulation 56A which prohibits a person from operating on a public road a motor vehicle manufactured after 01 December 2013, unless such motor vehicle was fitted with a metal plate or a self-adhesive tamperproof metal or plastic label.

Regulation 66A to 66C were inserted to provide for the manner of application for registration as a weighbridge facility, manner of registration of a weighbridge facility and the manner of cancellation or suspension of a registered weighbridge facility.

Regulation 69 was amended to allow an examiner of motor vehicles to also test a motor vehicle issued with a motor trade plate for the purpose of certifying such motor vehicle as roadworthy as opposed to the current provisions which prohibit that.

Regulation 79 was amended to compel a proxy or representative of the holder of a motor trade number if the postal or street address changed to notify the registering authority, within 21 days after such change.

Regulation 84 was amended to allow the operation on a public road of a motor vehicle which was to be registered and licensed in the Republic in terms of Chapter III of the Act, but had not been registered and licensed or was registered in terms of Chapter III of this Act but not licensed, or which may not otherwise be operated on a public road, with a temporary permit.

Regulation 99 was amended to categorise a haulage tractor under a class and code of driving licences as this was a new category of motor vehicle which came into being in the NRTA by the National Road Traffic Amendment Act, 2008 (Act No. 64 of 2008).

Regulation 107 was amended to make a provision that when a person applied for a driving licence which authorised him or her to drive an articulated motor vehicle, or a combination of a motor vehicle and trailer, a practical test should be conducted while the semi-trailer was attached to the truck-tractor, or the trailer was attached to the drawing vehicle, as the case may be.

Regulation 113 was amended to make a provision where a notice of a licence holder’s new residential or postal address in terms of section 22 of the Act should be given on a prescriber form to the appropriate registering authority of the licence holder, and be accompanied by proof of such change.

Regulation 114 was amended by the insertion of regulation 114G to 114Q to provide for the manner of registration of driving schools process, appointment of instructors by a registered driving school, grades of driving schools and the cancellation or suspension of registration of a driving school, duties of a driving school owner and so forth.

Regulation 117 was amended to prohibit a person from applying for a professional driving permit if such person made an application before a period of four years has lapsed, from conviction of an offence or an admission of guilt fine.

Regulation 138 was amended to make a provision whereby a motor vehicle which was 10 years and older as from a date determined by the Minister by Notice in the Gazette calculated from the first date of registration of such motor vehicle in the Republic, excluding any vintage motor vehicle, should be required to be certified roadworthy after every 24 months.

Regulation 149 was amended to include a haulage tractor in the requirements of motor vehicle brakes as this was a newly introduced category of motor vehicle in the National Road Traffic Act.

Regulation 149A was amended to prohibit a person from operating on a public road a motor vehicle which, according to the registration thereof, was registered for the first time on or after 1 July 1990, and which was fitted with an anti-theft device which was connected to or was in anyway interfering with the braking system of such motor vehicle except where such anti-theft device complied with the requirements of the Economic Commission for Europe of the United Nations (UN/ECE) Regulation 116.

Regulation 159 was amended to make a provision where a person was prohibited to operate on a public road a motor vehicle where the height of the dipped beam headlamp exceeds 1370 millimetres measured from the ground to the centre of the lamp

Regulation 169 was amended to allow a motor vehicle to be fitted with stop lamps, which display a flashing light signal during emergency high de-acceleration braking that complied with the requirements of standard specification SANS 20013. Uniform provisions concerning the approval of vehicles of category M, N and O with regarded to braking” or, SANS 20013H “Uniform provision concerning the approval of passenger cars with regard to braking”, and SANS 20048 “Uniform provisions concerning the approval of vehicles with regard to the installation of lighting and light-signalling devices”, and which was homologated as such by the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications

Regulation 272 was amended by inserting regulations 272A to 272E which amongst other things regulated the driving time of drivers of certain class of motor of motor vehicles, driving time limits, required the driver to record driving time, prescribed duties to be followed by an operator or owner in relation to the maintenance and preservation of records produced by a recording device in such a motor vehicle and extending the powers of the traffic officers in relation to driving time limits.

Regulation 305 was amended by inserting regulation 305A to 305D which prescribes circumstances under which a physically disabled person may be exempted from the provisions of parking, the application for exempting a disabled person regarding the provision relating to parking, manner of issuing an exemption certificate, and the validity period of the exemption.

Regulation 330 was amended by inserting regulation 330A to 330D to prohibit a person from offering and accepting goods on an overloaded vehicle, require a consignor of goods to have a method of determining mass of the goods transported, to compel the driver or operator of a motor vehicle to carry a goods declaration in the motor vehicle and to require a consignor or consignee to insure goods to be carried on a motor vehicle and the motor vehicle.

Schedule 2 to the National Road Traffic Act (Act No 93 of 1996) was amended to introduce new forms and amend existing forms.

Discussion
Mr I Ollis (DA) was troubled by the wording of Regulation 13A as it could have unforeseen implications where it stated that “…its parts shall not be used to build or repair any motor vehicle.” The implication of this provision could possibly shutdown an entire industry - that was the second-hand car parts industry. Furthermore, with the implementation of the testing of vehicles that were over 10 years old every two years; would the Department have the capacity of legal and fully operational testing centres to accommodate the burden of extra vehicles. He also asked about the Department's capacity to deal with foreign [legal] driver’s licenses that were not in English.

The Chairperson also added on the point Mr Ollis raised about the car parts and sought clarity on the matter, whether it was certain parts or all parts that not to be reused. It was preferable to rather use parts from a scrapyard that were from an operating car than buy cheaper fake parts from a dealership, as not everyone could afford brand new genuine parts.

Mr John Motsatsing, DoT Chief Director: Road Transport Regulation, said it was understandable that genuine parts from a scrapyard were preferable. The intentions of the Department were to consider all its stakeholders when making such provisions relating to legislation. The provision related to an instance where a salvage company or dealer of second-hand parts informed the Department that they had completely demolished a particular vehicle. As to a vehicle that was in a car accident which was written off by the insurance company and sold to the salvage companies, its parts could be traded.

In the framework that the Regulation referred to, there would be a title holder that would say the vehicle had been demolished, where the vehicle could have been demolished as it did not want to continue paying license fees for a vehicle that no longer existed. The Department would then deregister the vehicle and the title holder would be issued with a certificate that the vehicle was demolished and no longer in use. The Department was going further, to assist the South African Police Service (SAPS), with the introduction of micro dotting of certain vehicle parts to deal with theft of vehicles.  The Department did not wish to get rid of the industry that traded in second hand parts, as long as they were not parts of demolished cars.

Mr Motsotsing said the holder of the foreign driver's licence would have to have it translated into English and that was done by the Embassy. The Driving License Testing Centres (DLTCs) would then be able to deal with the validity of the driver's licence after that. Fraud and corruption in vehicle testing stations were being addressed and also the availability of such station to deal with the volume of cars and cost implications in the implementation of the Regulation.

The Chairperson said there was a difference between a second-hand part and a part of the demolished car.

Mr Mokonyama agreed that the sentence on its own had unintended consequences. The Department would go back and rework it.

Mr Ollis said the amendment could say that micro dotted parts may not be resold if they were not part of the original vehicle, as that could be an indication that they were stolen. The intention of the amendment were correct, it was just the wording that had to be elaborated on, as the courts would have to interpret the legislation.

Mr L Suka (ANC) asked for clarity on Regulation 13 regarding the registration of imported cars and if all cars 10 years and older had to be re-examined.

Mr Motsotsing said in instances where a vehicle was licensed and registered in the country of its origin, when it came to the system of the Republic, the provision meant that it could be distinguished whether the car was new or old. Also, it would have been easier to make determinations according to the distance the car had travelled; unfortunately it would be difficult for testing stations to determine if there was any tempering with the mileage of the vehicle. So, to make it easy, all vehicles 10 years and older had to be tested for roadworthiness every two years.

Mr Suka asked about the SABS standards when it came to Quantums and any other imported cars that were for the purpose of public transport. Most of the vehicles were not up to standard to deal with South African weather, road infrastructure, and generally as to how they were built. On vehicle testing were there penalties imposed for the vehicles that were found to be not roadworthy, in Canada for instance, if the authorities found faults on a car they imposed harsh penalties that were the equivalent of the cost of a new car.

Mr Motsotsing replied that the Department had not gone to the extent of imposing penalties on vehicles that were not roadworthy. In future attaching penalties could be considered. The SABS and SANS standards were being addressed; unfortunately in the South African context the manufacturers and importers did not design vehicles for the South African market and those vehicles had to comply the UN/ECE requirements. The SABS perhaps needed to be looked into so as to have stringent requirements for the vehicles that operated in the South African environment.

Mr Mokonyama said as the discussions came along, the amendments would be refined accordingly.

The Chairperson was happy that the Regulations were brought to the Committee; the process could be sped up. She asked a general question that rose out of the presentation, was there anything being done regarding safer roads and mobility, especially in very rural areas.

Mr Motsotsing replied that in the current proposals that aspect was not covered. However, arising out of the interventions identified by the United Nations (UN), the country should seriously look into safer roads. The Department would be looking at those aspects of infrastructure to reduce the fatalities in rural areas.

The Chairperson said perhaps people in rural areas did not make enough noise as their situation was far worse than that of their counterparts in urban areas and were therefore not prioritised.

Ms N Ngele (ANC) said she would stand up for the people in rural areas. These programmes were in urban areas. People in rural areas did not have a voice. They did not know where to go and what to say. One would find potholes right in the middle of towns. Before programmes went to urban areas, one had to start in rural areas as on many occasions they had been passed over.

Mr Mokonyama replied that he also came from a rural area and therefore knew the pain the Members were communicating. In the upcoming budgeting cycle, all the programmes and projects that had a rural focus, as indicated previously by the Department, needed 'to be dusted off'. There needed to be mobilisation to approach National Treasury to take the programmes with a rural focus seriously.

The Chairperson said there was a policy that there had to be 200 cars per rural road for it to be upgraded to a tarred road, but that did not mean that gravel roads could not have street lights.

Legal Opinion on the Amendments to the National Road Traffic Regulation, 2000
The Parliamentary Legal Adviser said that the Minister of Transport had submitted the draft Regulations Amendments to National Road Traffic Regulations, 2000 to the Secretary of Parliament on 31 May 2012. The draft Regulations were then referred to the Portfolio Committee on Transport and the Interim Joint Committee on the Scrutiny of Delegated Legislation for consideration on 22 October. The Legal Services office of Parliament was requested to comment on the draft regulations.

The draft Regulations complied with the procedural aspects. They were submitted to Parliament for comment and the Minister confirmed that a proper consultative process was followed in compliance with provisions of section 75(1) and (6). The draft Regulations were also published in the Gazette.

Draft Regulations 20, 36 and 72 makes reference to dates that have passed already, subordinate legislation was required to apply prospectively not retrospectively unless expressly provided for in the principal Act, in this instance the Act made no such provisions.

The Parliamentary Legal Adviser recommended that the Department change the dates that were retrospective to prospective ones. There were also nominal changes made to spelling and grammar in the draft Regulations.

It was in the opinion of Ms Vuyokazi Ngcobozi, State Law Adviser, that the Regulations did not trespass on personal rights and liberties and in any manner inconsistent with the Constitution. The Regulations only failed to meet one of the elements of the scrutiny criteria because of the provisions that had a retrospective effect of the dates provided in the above mentioned Regulations.

Department of Transport: Draft National Scholar Transport Policy Presentation
The revised draft policy document of 2011 was refined to integrate the inputs from provinces, industry, Portfolio Committee on Transport as well as the Department of Basic Education (DBE) and the National Treasury.

The final version was developed and approved by the Director-General in October 2012. Prior to this approval, the draft policy was subjected to a rigorous process of scrutiny by provinces at an inter-departmental workshop of 30 Aug 2012.

Principal to the transport policy was how to manage learner transport operations, in a manner that supported the education of that learner.

The policy applies to public schools as defined by the South African Schools Act 1996 and should be understood within the context of inter-governmental relations.

Main features of the policy included the:

Service standards and procedures

Route accessibility and design

Safety specifications and vehicle design

Capacity building and skills development

Close  collaboration and monitoring of the implementing agencies

The fundamental objectives of the policy were to improve access to quality education and to provide a safe and secure transport environment for leaners through cooperation and collaboration with law enforcement authorities, and most importantly to manage and oversee the implementation of an integrated learner transport service and ensure effective management of leaner transport systems.

The policy hoped to reduce the rate of road accidents, establish a coordinated approach in relation to planning and implementation, have learner transport operators that adhered to road traffic regulations, and viable and sustainable operations amongst other things.

Roles and responsibilities as established by the policy were that the national Departments of Transport and Basic Education were to develop and review the policy and national guidelines on learner transport and for monitoring the overall achievement of accessibility to schools and transport objectives respectively. The provincial Departments were to implementation the provisions of learner transport, including procurement and contracting of providers and monitoring the achievement of accessibility to schools and the achievement of transport objectives. They would also have a role in the registration and licensing of operators, route design and monitoring of the learner transport services.

A National Inter-Departmental Committee (NIDC) would be established comprising the DoT, DBE and Provinces to provide strategic direction in the implementation of the National Learner Transport Policy. The NIDC would report jointly to the Ministers of Basic Education and Transport. Provincial learner transport implementation committees comprised of Provincial Departments of Transport (PDOT), Education and other relevant stakeholders would also be tasked with the management of the learner transport policy implementation.

Provincial Education Departments (PEDs) in consultation with the provincial Transport Departments were responsible for learner transport planning, irrespective of where the learner transport function resided. A joint planning committee on learner transport with representatives of the PDOT and the Provincial Departments of Education were to be established.

The implementation of this programme could not happen in isolation; it had to happen within the planning and management parameters of the transport system. The strategies and plans for scholar transport in a province ought to be included in the Provincial Land Transport Framework (PLTF) and Strategic Plans, PEDs' strategic plans as well as in the Integrated Transport Plans (ITPs) of Local Government.

The responsibility of developing safety norms, standards and regulations would rest with the Department of Transport. Learner transport vehicles would be easily identifiable and would have unique branding; this would make it easy for law enforcement agencies and other road users to notice vehicles transporting learners. The vehicles used to transport scholars had to meet the applicable requirements of the general regulations of the National Road Traffic Act for the transportation of passengers. The Provincial Departments of Transport, in the provision of scholar transport services, should ensure adherence to legislation regarding vehicle specifications.

All scholar transport operators should possess operating licences that allowed them to operate the school service in addition to any other services for which they may be licensed. Provincial Departments of Transport, through their Provincial Regulatory Entities, ought to register and license learner transport operators, and keep a database of all learner transport operators.

Inter-governmental co-ordination should also ensure integration of land use and transport, especially with regard to ensuring that settlements and the building of schools are co-ordinated through appropriate inter-governmental forums.

Provincial departments of Education would be responsible for the selection of learners to benefit from the service. Principals, after consultation with the School Governing Bodies (SGBs) must identify learner transport beneficiaries in line with the set criteria.

The implementing department in consultation with other relevant stakeholders ought to design the learner transport services. A well-defined learner transport service which included proper infrastructure and facilities were a requirement for the safe transportation of learners.

Contracting of services needed to be co-ordinated in order to ensure a uniform scholar transport system for the entire country. When proper processes of contracting were not followed, it could result in fraudulent and corrupt practices.

The payment of leaner transport operators’ should be based on kilometres travelled. Remuneration of service should be standardised to ensure uniformity throughout the country and should be in line with the public transport contracts.

The implementing department after consultation with relevant stakeholders would determine the type of services that was appropriate for their area of jurisdiction and for the beneficiaries.

The safe and secure transportation of scholars was one of the pillars of this policy. Exposure to external factors that may pose a threat to safety of scholars ought to be minimized. The security of scholars would have to address factors such as hijackings, violence and other potential life threatening incidents. Provincial Departments of Transport needed to ensure that there was sufficient and efficient law enforcement to ensure that learners were transported safely and legally.

Punitive measures would be taken against operators that transported learner in unroadworthy vehicles. Provincial Departments of Transport would work closely with Local Government to ensure that learner transport providers complied with the safety measures legislated by the Department of Transport.

It was the responsibility of the DOT to ensure that a code of conduct for drivers was in place. The code was required to contain details of the expected behaviour and measures for dealing with non-complying drivers, procedures for drivers and responses in the case of emergencies including accidents, theft, hijackings and when a scholar on board was seriously ill. The provincial Departments should ensure the development of a code of conduct for passengers/learners in scholar transport. The code should include expected/unacceptable behaviour and measures for dealing with scholars who did not adhere to the agreed code.

The Departments of Transport and Basic Education intended to pursue discussions with National Treasury for an establishment of a dedicated grant for learner transport. Monitoring and evaluation was an integral part of the policy making process. It ensured that challenges and opportunities were promptly identified and responded to, and assessed the impact, progress and achievements of the policy.

This policy provided for a collaborative, uniform and integrated framework of governance, planning and management of scholar transport in the country. Upon approval by Cabinet, a framework for the implementation of the scholar transport system would be provided. Those elements of the policy which required only administrative action would be implemented immediately.  Major policy changes from existing practice would be done in a phased manner.

Discussion
Ms Ngele said there had never been transport planning in rural areas. It could not be said that it was unfortunate that there was nothing to be done for those children in the rural areas, it was not impossible to get them to school; those children should not be excluded by the programmes.

Mr Suka said the presentation gave hope that something practical would be done. He asked if there had been an audit in the various provinces to determine the number of learners per community to be ferried to schools. There should be strong emphasis on the monitoring of the programme to ensure there was proper monitoring of the programme to guarantee effective use and weed away those who may misuse the system. It was also to be determined if the system would be monitored along the lines of kilometres travelled or number of child per transport.

Mr Mokonyama replied that for the policy to be approved by Cabinet, National Treasury would need to know the financial implications based on the data the Department had collected throughout the country. Also, monitoring of the policy and implementation were mentioned in the presentation, but to elaborate there would be an inspectorate for each contract that would deal with the condition of the buses and they would also ensure the code of conduct was abided by.

Ms R Motsepe (ANC) said that the issue of late coming of students to school was a great concern. Children were late because their transport would travel from area to area picking them up and then had to deliver them to different schools, sometimes the vehicle would even break down and the children would be left in the vehicle unattended and had to find their way schools themselves. That needed to be examined when such policies were being established.

Mr M Duma (ANC) asked if stakeholders (such as the current service providers) were consulted in this process and what their inputs were regarding the policy.

The Chairperson was concerned that the presentation not once mentioned the “communities” whereas the scholar was part of the community, which was an indication of the narrow focus of the policy. The policy needed to have a focus on the economic development and the larger social aspects of the community. The money from the programme could possible leave the community and go to an already successful company in an urban area that would run the programme; the policy did not speak on any of that. Also the structuring of the policy went beyond the Department of Transport and Education; there were other departments to be called on. For instance;

Department of Health - for the specification of seats of disabled students, and also to examine the IQ and physical tests of drivers

Social Development

Correctional Services - it would have the systems to check criminal records of the drivers, as there had been cases where children were molested by the drivers

Mr Mokonyama asked to give a more in-depth response to the Committee in writing. But he said that operators would be from the provinces and the communities affected by the programme. The policy was still being refined and finalised. It would therefore accommodate the inputs of the Committee.

Other business
Mr Suka asked if there were Bills that had to be processed by the Committee.

Advocate Adam Masombuka, DoT Chief Director for Legal Services, said there were two Bills that were approved by Cabinet and would be tabled by Parliament. He explained the process that the Bills would follow to be passed.

The Chairperson was concerned that there were Bills that had possibly bypassed a presentation to the Committee by the Department's legal services unit. 

The meeting was adjourned.
 

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