DOT Revised Annual Performance Plan; RABS Bill: Committee Report; with Deputy Minister

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Transport

21 August 2020
Chairperson: Mr M Zwane (ANC)
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Meeting Summary

Video: Portfolio Committee on Transport, (NA) 21 Aug 2020

The Department of Transport presented its revised 2020/21 Annual Performance Plan since the COVID-19 pandemic. It outlined the effects Covid-19 had on the sector particularly during lockdown levels 4 and 5. It had a tremendous impact on administration which had deferred vacant posts to the next financial year. Integrated Transport Planning's budget for goods and services was shifted to funding the PPE. Annual infrastructure and job creation targeted for the rail sector was negatively impacted by Covid-19 and would be downscaled as indicated in the PRASA Corporate Plan. The Road Transport budget was reduced by 50%, and indicators for infrastructure and job creation were revised in line with the adjusted budget. Additional indicators were added for the Deep Rural Roads Maintenance Programme. Infrastructure and job creation indicators for the Civil Aviation sector were downscaled. Money allocated for goods and services was reallocated to the Taxi Relief Fund. Scrapping of old taxi vehicles had been deferred.

Members were concerned about the deferred filling of vacancies; the reduction in training;  the state of railways and lack of security on stations; fraud allegations with insourcing security guards; taxi scrapping requirements; and delay in the calibration of instrument landing systems for airport runways which led to some being switched off.

Meeting report

Deputy Minister's overview
Deputy Minister of Transport, Ms Dikeledi Magadzi, said the Revised Annual Performance Plan (APP) was in compliance and aligned to the supplementary adjustment budget. The coronavirus had impacted the transport sector tremendously particularly during lockdown levels 4 and 5 as a number of targeted interventions were slowed down or completely halted.

Previously the Department of Transport had presented the revised budget figures that highlighted the department had a baseline of R130 billion and it had to reprioritise and reduce the baseline annual budget for 2020/21 by 20% amounting to R12.5 billion. However, only R11.32 billion of the amount was given which meant a total amount of R668 billion was reallocated to the department resulting on an overall net reduction of R4.46 billion for the department in the 2020/21 financial year allocation. The revision of the APP was permitted in terms of s10 of the Money Bills and Related Matters Act required following the adoption by cabinet of the fiscal framework.  Besides the 2020/21 deliverables being slowed down or halted by the lockdown, particularly in Quarters 1 and 2, they were also impacted by the baseline reduction and reprioritization of resources from the budget items and reallocation to priority areas to respond to the pandemic. Consequently, there was a downscaling in the number of interventions for this financial year which were deferred to 2021/22 to mitigate the risk of non-achievement due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Deputy Minister said there was only one area – in line with the economic recovery stimulus package – where an additional allocation had been added. DoT had to readjust its approach in revising the APP to consider with extreme caution the prevailing conditions and to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus for users of services such as taxis, buses, trains, planes, and at taxi ranks, airports etc. DoT would strive to achieve a delicate balance between chasing the sector targets while ensuring the safety of people.  She assured the Committee that the revision presented would not deviate from the Apex priorities of the Sixth Administration that were to be achieved over the medium term.

The Deputy Minister apologised on behalf of the Minister for his absence as he was being held up at another meeting.  

Department of Transport (DoT) revised 2020/21 Strategic and Annual Performance Plans
Mr Alec Moemi, DoT Director General, took the Committee straight to the APP revised areas.

Administration
R9.6 million shifted from savings on the programme’s goods and services to fund the shortfall in distressed DoT entities (CBRTA, RTIA ), and to procure PPEs for Covid-19. Development of the DoT Evaluation Plan (2020 – 2022) deferred to 2020/21 – mainly to ensure that programmes earmarked for evaluation exercises progress optimally by mid-term of the current performance cycle.Vacant posts to be filled during 2020/21 reduced from 75 to 17; percentage of employees to be trained reduced from 50% to 10%; appointment and placement of interns deferred to Quarter 4 of the financial year (may be earlier depending on the risk-adjusted approach to Covid-19).

Integrated Transport Planning
R10.7 million shifted from savings on goods and services to fund the shortfall in distressed entities and to procure PPEs for Covid-19. Targets to develop the Regional Integration Strategy (RIS) downscaled. For the remainder of 2020/21, efforts would be made to conclude a benchmarking exercise on the development of the strategy; stakeholder consultations and finalisation of the draft strategy were deferred to 2021/22; and submission of the final draft strategy for Cabinet approval was revised to 2022/23.

Rail Transport
Programme reduced by R1.021bn – R1.012 billion from the Passenger Rail Agency South Africa (PRASA) rolling stock renewal programme; R15.8m from savings on Taxi Recapitalisation Programme (TRP) to fund revenue shortfall of Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) and R6.3m shifted from savings on goods and services. R1.260bn reprioritised from PRASA capital to operations to fund the revenue shortfall as well as Covid-19 expenditure within the programme. Development of the National Rail Bill deferred pending approval of the National Rail Policy. Annual infrastructure and job creation targeted for the rail sector was negatively impacted by Covid-19 and would be downscaled in line with the Corporate Plan of PRASA.

Road Transport
Programme reduced by R2.551bn – R1.096bn from South African National Roads Agency SOC Ltd (SANRAL) non-toll capital; R2.530bn shifted to fund the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) and R309m for Covid-19 / revenue shortfall; R1.756bn reduced from Provincial Roads Maintenance Grant  (PRMG) allocations.

 R2.7m shifted from within goods and services while funds were also shifted from savings on TRP and savings on goods and services across programmes to fund the Cross Border Road Transport Agency (CBRTA) (R104m) and Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) (R200m).Targets for SANRAL and Provincial Roads Maintenance Programme (PRMP) infrastructure and job creation indicators were revised in line with the adjustment budget. Additional indicators were added for the Deep Rural Roads Maintenance Programme and Roads Engineering sub-programme, in line with the Employment Creation Stimulus Programme.

Civil Aviation
R44m shifted from savings on watch keeping services and travelling expenditure on goods and services to fund the revenue shortfall for CBRTA, RTIA and to procure Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for Covid-19. Submission of the Air Services Bill to Cabinet deferred pending approval of the Civil Aviation Amendment Act. Development of the South African Search and Rescue (SASAR) Amendment Bill and establishment of the Aviation Safety Investigation Board (ASIB) downscaled due to impact of Covid-19. Infrastructure and job creation statistics for the Civil Aviation sector to be downscaled in line with the Corporate Plans of the Airports Company South Africa Limited (ACSA) and Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS). International travel delayed and passenger numbers reduced for domestic travel.

Maritime Transport
R6m shifted from savings on goods and services to fund the revenue shortfall for CBRTA / RTIA and to procure PPE for Covid-19. No revisions were made in the programme.

Public Transport
Programme reduced by R1.008bn – R1.902bn reduced from the Public Transport Network Grant (PTNG), R250m from the TRP and 9.7m from goods and services. R1.135bn reallocated to the Taxi Relief Fund and R25m for procurement of PPE for the taxi industry.

Targets for scrapping of old taxi vehicles and the Shova Kalula Bicycle Distribution Programme had been downscaled. DoT would provide progress reports on taxi scrapped and bicycles distributed.

Discussion
Mr L McDonald (ANC) asked if it would it be possible for emergency funding to be given to the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) as the Instrument Landing System at some airports have been switched off as the ILS had reached the calibration expiry date. When would the specially-equipped aircraft to perform the calibration be delivered?

Mr C Hunsinger (DA) asked for clarity on the number of vacant employment posts and if there would be a reevaluation of the organogram. He recommended that reduction to training and skills should be reconsidered due to long term impact on the sector. He asked if R1.260bn prioritized by the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) was part of capital expenditure (CAPEX) or operating expenses (OPEX)? He asked if vandalised and destroyed material in the railway sector had resulted from absence of security. He would love to see additional capital added to rural road maintenance and not only the indicators and urged that the budget be balanced with the prioritizing of rural road maintenance. The Civil Aviation Amendment Bill needed to be fast tracked as it was of crucial importance.

Ms N Nolutshungu (EFF) noted the budget cut for the Taxi Recapitalisation Programme and that the Minister had committed to the subsidy date of implementation for the scrapping of vehicles. She cautioned that individuals would abuse the subsidy as it benefits parties from both sides should scrapping occur.

Mr T Mabhena (DA) asked about the vacancies that would not be filled in 2020/21 – would they be selected in terms of priority? Would training cuts apply only to the Administration programme or to the entire department? What is the current uptake of the TRP on a monthly basis? There had been fraud allegations related to insourcing of security guards by PRASA. He mentioned the PRASA station in Soweto seemed abandoned. Will refurbishments be on Opex only? He asked if the requirements for railway workers could include individuals with no matric certificate but who had experience working on the railway tracks. Will the R1.7bn for deep rural roads maintenance be solely for maintenance of rural roads? On the audit of stations which ones are hardest hit and how much will be allocated to bring them back to life?

Mr P Mey ( FF+) asked if the rolling stock renewal programme would slow down the manufacturing of trains in the country. He commented that Port Elizabeth was in a dilapidated state and suggested future oversight visits should not only be to Gauteng but to the rest of South Africa.

The Chairperson asked if the DoT was ready for domestic air travel to open in lockdown level 2 in terms of fumigation essentials. The Department should have made a clear decision on what would happen to the people with years of experience but who do not meet the academic requirements. He asked if all rural roads in all provinces were included or only in a selected few.

Response
Mr Moemi replied that the inability to calibrate the Instrument Landing System (ILS) at airports in the country was due to the fatal accident involving the SACAA aircraft and crew late in January 2020. Calibrations were done according to calibration standards by SACAA .The investigation report needs to be completed by another country for the avoidance of bias. Three countries have been approached to do the investigation. Extension applications are done with the assistance of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) which grants the extension. The longest extension allowed is 180 days for recalibration. It had been done to several runways but not all because each runway is treated individually not the airport as a whole.

Allegations that South African airports were not safe to land were untrue. There are runways at the airports that are compliant and which are within the calibration period. The ILS on some of these have been tested by South African engineers and there was nothing wrong aside from the requirement that after a specific time they had to be calibrated. As a result of there being no calibration aircraft, a decision was made that while negotiations were in process, Treasury would be approached for money to buy a new aircraft and it should be able to hire private sector capacity to do the calibrations. However as it stood the country did not have the capacity and a German firm was identified to do the job. The downgrade of airports is not an option due to the effect it would have on landings and movement. Had there been a local company that could do the job, it would have been utilised. Treasury gave the guarantee to raise money by approaching banks to buy the new aircraft. Investec had already approved in line with budgeted amount with guarantee. A suitable aircraft was more expensive than anticipated. Insurance had taken longer to pay out. The insurance payout of R46m would be short of the amount needed to buy a new aircraft including the guarantee and payout added together. They were still short of an additional R38m for the calibration equipment. The Germans were supposed to come through and help with calibrations so long.  The once off calibration was intended to help the Department buy time to do its own calibration. Calibration could not happen due to lockdown. In Lockdown Level 2, aircraft had come in with the calibration experts and were under quarantine for ten days. There were about five days remaining and thereafter they would start with calibration.

Three runways had been downgraded at OR Tambo airport, two at King Shaka airport, one at Cape Town International Airport and the rest were fairly good and the systems were holding up. The interventions made had bought enough time and Treasury had been asked for the shortfall for its consideration next week. Once approved, there would be additional money for the aircraft and it would be bought and fitted and there would be capacity. There needed to be a second aircraft due to the number of airports and there were currently discussions in process.

The target for 75 vacancies filled would not be completed by the end of this financial year, however there would be 17 vacancies filled by the end of financial year and the rest would have to be filled next year. All 75 vacancies were a priority.

There had been a cut in capital for the rolling stock renewal programme because PRASA did not have the parking space to receive five trains per month. The City of Cape Town had given the Department land for a depot. Delmarten (sp) had been completed. There had been discussions with Transnet for new parking for all trains.

There were negotiations with Gibela on the contract. The strategic plan looked at the entire value chain on train production and there had been an agreement with Gibela for a maximum of two trains per month. Prices of trains would be fixed due to advanced payment.

Rural roads maintenance applies to all rural roads. The comments about the Portfolio Committee  fast tracking the Civil Aviation Amendment Bill were welcomed. To Mr Mabhena he replied that the current uptake of the TRP was 53% of what was there. The issues about scrapping were still under discussion

Committee Report on Road Accident Benefit Scheme Bill [B17B-2017]
The Committee approved the Report which rejected the Bill. The Report noted that the Bill had been amended by the Fifth Parliament's Portfolio Committee but it was awaiting approval by the National Assembly when it lapsed at the end of the Fifth Term. The Bill was revived and referred to the Portfolio Committee in the Sixth Parliament. The Committee had deliberated on the Bill and had decided to reject the Bill in its entirety. It was of the view that amendments to the Road Accident Fund Act may be more prudent at this time. There were no dissenting views.

Minutes of the 18 August meeting were also adopted.

Meeting was adjourned.

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