Although the green paper on rail transport is now in the final Cabinet process, it is still not possible to put a firm date on when the paper will be made public, according to Jan-David de Villiers, chief director of public transport in the department of transport (DoT). “We obviously want to set a time,” he told FTW, “but it’s a very complex process getting the paper passed through the Cabinet and its various sub-committees.” Another reason for the complexity of the issue, he added, was that it’s the first policy for rail in the 150-year history of this country. “We can’t release it without a political mandate,” said De Villiers, “and we haven’t yet been given the go-ahead.” He did, however, point out that the DoT planned to have a roundtable discussion on October 24, and that all pertinent stakeholders would be invited. When questioned about the creation of a rail regulator, De Villiers assured FTW that this was included in the green paper. “In the meantime,” he added, “we are forming an interim regulatory committee.” He also confirmed that public/ private partnerships on rail transport were also part of the content of the green paper. “We have defined the participation of the private sector,” he said. Once the green paper has been discussed with all the relevant parties and then published, De Villers said that this would be followed by a white paper that would have to be approved by Cabinet, and would ultimately result in South Africa’s first Rail Act.
