ATC210819: Report of the Portfolio Committee on Transport on the 2020/21 Fourth Quarter Expenditure of the Department of Transport, Dated 17 August 2021

Transport

REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORT ON THE 2020/21 FOURTH QUARTER EXPENDITURE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT, DATED 17 AUGUST 2021

The Portfolio Committee on Transport, having considered the expenditure of the Department of Transport for the Fourth Quarter of the 2020/21 financial year, reports as follows:

INTRODUCTION

The prime mandate of the Committee is governed by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (“the Constitution”), in respect of its legislative and oversight responsibilities as public representatives. It is required to consider legislation referred to it and consider all matters referred to it in terms of the Constitution, the Rules of the National Assembly or resolutions of the House. It is also required to respond to matters referred to it by Government within its mandate. In addition, the Committee is entrusted with considering the budgets, Strategic Plans and Annual Performance Plans of the Department and entities that fall within the transport portfolio. This report provides an overview of the expenditures of the Department of Transport for the Fourth Quarter of the 2020/21 financial year, as presented to the Committee on 26 May 2021.

ANALYSIS OF THE 2020/21 FOURTH QUARTER EXPENDITURE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT

2.1Introduction

In 2020/21, the main allocation of the Department of Transport (“the Department”) – prior to the delivery of the Supplementary Budget by the Minister of Finance on 24 June 2020 – stood at R62 billion.[1] However, the Supplementary Budget reduced its allocation to R57.4 billion. Of this amount, the Department had spent R57.1 billion by the end of the Fourth Quarter of 2020/21. The Department spent R291.9 million (or 0.5%) lower than projected.

The Department spent R471.5 million against the available budget of R536.8 million for compensation of employees. Preliminary underspending of R65.3 million (or 12.2%) was mainly due to vacant posts that had not been filled. The Department had 735 filled posts against a funded establishment of 855 posts. This represented a vacancy rate of 14% (or 120 vacant posts).[2]

2.2budget expenditure per programme

Table 1: Expenditure per Programme

R Million Programme	Main Appropriation	Adjusted Budget	Available Budget	Year End Actual Expenditure	Expenditure As % of Available Budget	Underspending	% Underspending	COVID-19 Spending
Administration	491.8	469.8	469.8	384.3	81.8%	85.4	18.2%	2.5
Integrated Transport Planning	104.5	90.1	90.1	57.6	64%	32.5	36%	0.0
Rail Transport	13 195.2	9 599.4	9 599.4	9 584.3	99.8%	15.1	0.2%	0.0
Road Transport	33 816.7	31 471.1	31 471.1	31 460.0	100%	11.1	0%	0.0
Civil Aviation Transport	240.7	2 673.7	2 673.7	2 642.2	98.8%	31.5	1.2%	0.0
Maritime Transport	149.4	141.8	141.8	135.8	95.8%	6.0	4.2%	0.0
Public Transport	14 038.0	12 908.9	12 908.9	12 809.6	99.2%	99.3	0.8%	29.7
Total	62 036.3	57 354.7	57 354.7	57 073.8	99.5%	280.9	0.5%	32.1

(Source: National Treasury (2021)

2.2.1 Programme 1: Administration

The Department spent R384.3 million against an available budget of R469.8 million in the Administration programme. Preliminary underspending of R85.4 million (or 18.2%) was mainly due to:[3]

Outstanding invoices for advertising of the 2020 Transport Month;
Less travel following the COVID-19 pandemic;
A reduced need for legal services and advice than anticipated; and
Vacant posts not filled.

2.2.2 Programme 2: Integrated Transport Planning

In the Integrated Transport Planning programme, the Department spent R57.6 million against an available budget of R90.1 million. Preliminary underspending of R32.5 million (or 36%) was mainly owing to:[4]

The decision to insource work related to the Regional Integration Strategy; Regional Transport Integration Market Strategy, and the District Development Model;
Delays in projects such as the Transport Sector Perspective on COVID-19, Corridor Freight Development and Regional Corridor Strategy; and
Vacant posts.

2.2.3 Programme 3: Rail Transport

The Department spent R9.58 billion against an available budget of R9.6 billion. Preliminary underspending of R15.1 million (or 0.2%) was mainly due to delays in projects such as the establishment of the Rail Economic Regulator, as well as the White Paper on Rail Policy:[5]

2.2.4 Programme 4: Road Transport

In the Road Transport programme, the Department spent R31.46 billion against an available budget of R31.47 billion. Preliminary underspending of R11.1 million (or 0.04%) was mainly attributed to vacant posts not filled.[6]

2.2.5 Programme 5: Civil Aviation Transport

The Department spent R2.6 billion against an available budget of R2.7 billion in the Civil Aviation Transport programme. Preliminary underspending of R31.5 million (or 1.2%) lower was mainly thanks to:[7]

Vacant posts not filled;
Outstanding invoices for Watch-Keeping Services;
Delays in projects such as the National Aviation Transformation Strategy and the Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA) and Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS) Tariff Methodology;
Less travel following the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown; and
Lower membership fees than initially budgeted as a result of fee waivers and favourable exchange rates.

2.2.6 Programme 6: Maritime Transport

In the Maritime Transport programme, the Department spent R135.8 million against an available budget of R141.8 million. Preliminary underspending of R6 million (or 4.2%) was mainly due to the cancellation of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) World Maritime Day Parallel Event, as well as various women and youth empowerment and career awareness initiatives related to it as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown.[8]

2.2.7 Programme 7: Public Transport

The Department spent R12.8 billion against an available budget of R12.9 billion in the Public Transport programme. Preliminary underspending of R99.3 million (or 0.8%) was mainly owing to delays in projects such as:[9]

Public Transport Grant Monitoring;
The implementation of the ShovaKalula Bicycle Project;
The implementation of the Integrated Public Transport Networks (IPTNs) in district municipalities; and
The slow filling of vacant posts.

2.2.8 COVID-19 Spending

By the end of the Fourth Quarter of 2020/21, the Department had spent R32.1 million on COVID-19 related projects and business activities. The COVID-19 spending was for the procurement of protective equipment and other interventions within the Department with a view to supporting public transport operators to respond to the pandemic. In addition, the COVID-19 spending was to give assistance to the Department of Basic Education with the procurement of disinfectants and sanitisers for scholar transport.[10]

COMMITTEE OBSERVATIONS

Members made the following observations during discussions:

3.1 Underspending by the Department remained a concern. The Department spent R291.9 million lower than projected.

3.2 The Committee was of the view that the Department could not say that it reached 100% targets when its expenditure did not translate to an improvement in actual service delivery.Members remarked that even though the Department achieved its targets for the Rail Programme, trains were still not moving on main lines. The roll-out of new train sets was very slow with no significant improvement. The Department was told that railway lines could have been fixed during lockdown while there were restrictions on rail passenger transport, but instead the infrastructure was left to be looted. It was noted that safety at stations and on the corridors remained insufficient and continued rail safety incidents were reported. The use of diesel locomotives instead of electric engines raised a concern as this means the train would have limited ability to control the braking system and the opening and closing of the carriage doors.

3.3 The Committee noted preliminary underspending of R65.3 million due to vacant posts that had not been filled in the Administration, Integrated Transport Planning,Road Transport,Civil Aviation Transport and Public Transport programmes. The slow filling of vacant posts remains a concern and the view was expressed that the Department should make greater use of virtual platforms to conduct interviews as much as possible to ensure that vacancies are addressed.

3.4 The Department indicated that it had spent R33 million on personal protective equipment (PPE) from March 2020 to October 2020, while the presentation stated that R32 million was spent. The Department was asked to clarify the amount and indicate whether PPE was indeed procured and delivered or handed over to operators attaxi ranks.

3.5 The Committee noted the reasons for the delay in the processing of the Merchant Shipping Bill as well as the finalisation of the national anti-fraud and corruption strategy.

3.6 Having noted the PUTCO bus accident on the R573 Moloto Road on 21 May 2021 in which six bus commuters lost their lives, the Department was asked to clarify the conditions attached to the PTOG transfers to PUTCO and whether it would review the conditions if it was found that the company was not adhering to safety conditions for transporting passengers. The Department was also asked to get into contact with the family members of the victims of this incident as soon as possible. The Department was also asked to clarify whether and how many public transport vehicles, including busses, were stopped during road blocks.

3.7 It was noted that SANRAL was seemingly over performing on maintenance of their network, but that the report did not correlate with what was happening on the ground or the conditions of the road as experienced by drivers.

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS

The Committee recommends that the Minister ensure that:

The Department provides the Committee with a quarterly update on the number of vacant posts and the timelines to fill the vacancies. It is further recommended that the Department seek assistance from the Department of Public Service and Administration in its efforts to fill vacancies;
The Department aligns its targets with service delivery;
The Department provides the Committee with a quarterly update on how it was addressing delays in the following projects: Public Transport Grant Monitoring; the implementation of the Shova Kalula Bicycle Project and the collaborative management of scholar transport regulation between the Department and the Department of Basic Education; and the implementation of the Integrated Public Transport Networks (IPTNs) in district municipalities;
The Department along with PRASA provide the Committee with an updated report on progress with depots to house the new train sets as well as an update on the plans to open more main passenger corridors;
The Department along with SANRAL provide the Committee with an updated report on progress made on the Moloto Road Corridor project;
The Department ensures that the Committee receives a report on all performance targets or suspensive conditions linked to public transport operations subsidy contracts with recipients like PUTCO and Golden Arrow.

Report to be considered.

[1]National Treasury (2021).

[2]Ibid.

[3]National Treasury (2021), pp. 139-140.

[4]National Treasury (2021), p. 140.

[5]National Treasury (2021), p. 140.

[6]National Treasury (2021), p. 140.

[7]Ibid.

[8]National Treasury (2021), p. 140.

[9]Ibid.

[10]Ibid.

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