Economic growth outstrips transport infrastructure ED RICHARDSON THE DEPARTMENT of Transport has taken a hard look at its shortcomings – and admitted that they are affecting business. In its appendix to the 2005 budget, the department states “the South African economy has grown faster than the rate of investment in transport infrastructure. As a result, future growth and improvements in service delivery will be constrained by the state of the current infrastructure”. It adds “an unreliable rail network, reliance by many exporters on more costly road freight, and the poor throughput at most South African ports is not entirely because of inadequate infrastructure, but is also linked to outdated managerial and operational practices”. In order to address this problem, a freight logistics strategy has been drafted to direct the necessary investment in infrastructure and to identify operational improvements to eliminate bottlenecks in the freight logistics system. The establishment of an independent ports regulator is also expected to have a positive impact on the efficiency of freight logistics, the department says. An additional amount of R500 million has been allocated in the 2005 Budget for national road infrastructure and road infrastructure co-ordination in 2007/08. Additional funding for provincial roads in 2007/08 is also included in the Provincial Infrastructure Grant. Representatives of the three spheres of government will develop a road infrastructure development plan through the roads co-ordinating body to ensure co-ordination in the identification of road upgrading projects. In partnership with provinces, the department is revitalising a number of strategic rail branch lines. This is in response to the decision taken at the 2003 Cabinet lekgotla to prevent the deterioration of rail branch lines that are critical to the economic and social sustainability of towns and to the development of regions in the vicinity of the lines. Work is nearing completion on the Kei Rail line in the Eastern Cape, and preliminary work has started on improving the Nkwaleni line in KwaZulu-Natal and the Belmont-Douglas line in the Northern Cape, the report states.
