Structures

Traffic Management  

The Division; Traffic Management at the Eastern Cape Department of Transport is responsible for ensuring effective road traffic safety administration. The division’s main functions are: 

• The ensuring of sound traffic law enforcement services 
• The promotion of traffic law administration services 
• The ensuring of adequate dissemination of road safety information 

This Division consists of two Directorates, namely: 

• Law enforcement ; and 
• Traffic Law Administration and Road Safety Education 

Various structures already exist for the co-ordination between the different spheres of government. Road traffic management is regarded as a process of co-ordinating all the individual elements involved in road traffic in order to ensure the optimum and safe movement of people and goods by means of road vehicles on the road network. Although road traffic management is generally aimed at an increase in road capacity and an improvement in road safety, effective traffic management in reality encompasses the co-operation of a wide spectrum of disciplines, including law-enforcement officers, educationists, engineers, emergency services, the media (newspapers, radio, television, etc.), legal practitioners, etc. Many remedial measures therefore require co-ordination and consultation prior to implementation, for example roadside SOS call-boxes, sophisticated freeway traffic control systems, or even something as simple as a new road traffic signal or sign, etc. 

The Arrive Alive campaign officially started on 1 October 1997 as the largest co-ordinated action ever taken against offenders on roads. This is part of the Government’s plan to drastically decrease road deaths and injuries in the country. The campaign focuses on those offences that are regarded as major contributing factors to death and destruction on South Africa’s roads and especially in those areas where most of the accidents occur. 

Two institutional structures exist to co-ordinate national and provincial government, namely MINCOM and COTO: 

• MINCOM is a Ministerial Conference of Ministers of Transport that allows for consultation between national and provincial spheres of government. The national Minister of Transport and the nine provincial MECs responsible for transport are the members of MINCOM. The Heads of Departments of the respective national and Provincial Departments of Transport support them. 
• COTO is the Committee of Transport Officials and comprises the designated representative officials of the national and provincial departments of transport. Other statutory institutional structures that already exist to co-ordinate transport planning within the 3 declared Metropolitan Transport Areas in the Province are the Metropolitan Transport Advisory Boards (MTAB) established in terms of the Urban Transport Act to oversee the preparation and \updating of Transport Plans for submission to the MEC on an annual basis. The three declared MTAs are Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Transport Area (NMBMET), the Buffalo City Metropolitan Transport Area (BCMET) and the Mthatha Metropolitan Transport Area (UMET). The MTABs are comprised of local councillors, officials from the provincial transport departments, representatives from the SARCC, bus and taxi operators and the core city engineers. The MEC is in the process of establishing structures for co-ordinating transport functions within the Province between the Department and all planning authorities. This is in line with the recommendations of the Inter-Governmental Relations Framework Act. These proposed structures consist of political decision making committees, technical planning committees and liaison structures with stakeholders.  

TransMEC  

This is a Political Structure with the MEC for Safety Liaison, Roads and Transport as chairman and will include political representatives from District Municipalities, the Metropolitan Municipality and the Core Cities of the Metropolitan Transport Areas (Buffalo City and Mthatha). Its functions are to: 

·         Transport Co-ordinate transport policy: The MEC will give direction with feedback from Councillors; 

·         Disseminate information and policy direction from National to Local spheres of government; 

·         Facilitate devolution and delegation of transport functions to the Local sphere of government. 

Technical Committee (TTC)  

This is a Technical Structure comprising national, provincial and municipal officials responsible for transport related matters in the Province. The Head of Department of the Department of Roads and Transport will chair it. Its functions are to: 

• Provide technical support to TransMEC; 
• Receive assignments from TransMEC; 
• Ensure consistency, uniformity of approach and sharing of developed solutions. 

Transport Co-ordinating Committees (TCCs)  

There will be thematic sub-committees known as Transport Co-ordinating Committees to support the Transport Technical Committee. These could be standing committees or ad-hoc committees for particular tasks and periods. TCCs may consist of one or more members of the TTC as well as other persons knowledgeable in transport affairs. A TTC member must chair each Transport Coordinating Committee. The Terms of Reference and membership of each TCC must be determined by the TTC. The functions of the TCCs are to: 

• Develop more comprehensive solutions for specific components within various sectors of the transport industry; 
• Report on their findings to the TIC for further action; 

Transport Forums  

District and Local Transport Forums provide very important opportunities for effective communication with stakeholders on all aspects pertaining to transport needs. The Department will continue to encourage municipalities to establish such forums. 

Eastern Cape Rail Committee 

This Committee was established in August 2005 to focus particularly on the need for co-ordinated planning and management of the rail system in the Province. The composition of the Committee includes officials from the national and provincial transport departments, Core Cities, Metrorail, Spoornet and SARCC Its functions include but are not limited to: the following. 

(a) Rail Network 

• Assess, consider and review the demand for, and role of rail transport in the Eastern Cape. 
• Source and review information on the existing rail transport network (distinguish between active and potential commuter, inter-city passenger and freight networks). Assess, consider and advise on the need for an appropriate central database (and/or website) on infrastructure and services. 
• Source information, review, and advice on the efficiency and utilisation of the network and assets. 
• Consider, review, advise on, and guide the further development or use of the existing and envisaged future network (including services and infrastructure) 
• Develop key performance indicators. 

(b) Rolling Stock 

• Consider, participate in, and guide the development of rolling stock replacement/revitalisation strategy. 
• Consider, review, advise on, and guide unique identity or branding of rail services or inter-modal transport services. 

(c) Services 

• Consider, review, advise on, and guide marketing and dissemination of rail service information to all role players and potential users. 
• Consider, review, advise on, and guide rail services to include and address appropriate access to stations. 
• Promote Inter-modal Transport and Integrated Ticketing where appropriate. 
• Initiate the formulation of guidelines for minimum service levels. 
• Develop a mechanism to ensure minimum service levels. 
• Develop means to avoid parallel public transport services 

Infrastructure and Facilities  

• Assess, consider, and review deficiencies and shortcomings based on network demand , including appropriate-ate transfer or inter-modal facilities. 
• Determine criteria and a system to prioritise rail-related projects from a provincial strategic point of view. 
• Review project proposals of provincial significance and/or cross-boundary metropolitan projects/proposals and prioritise. 
• Consider and review status and progress of existing and new projects. 
• Source information, review, advice on, and guide priorities for the 5-year infrastructure plan. 
• Consider, review, advice on, and guide the development of a demand responsive rail network including up-grading or new links or related facilities where appropriate. 
• Initiate the formulation of guidelines for minimum design standards. 

(e) Passengers/commuters 

• Source information and review passenger needs, attitudes and perceptions (rail and other public transport users). 
• Consider, review, advise on, and guide strategies to meet passenger demand and requirements. 
• Consider, review, advise on, and guide special passenger and pedestrian needs. 
• Consider, review, advise on, and guide safety aspects. 

(f) Policy and Legislation 

• Consider, review, advise on, and guide provincial rail transport policy formulation. 
• Co-ordinate and advise on implementation of national transport policies. 
• Consider, review, advise on, and guide developments in regard to rail leasing and/or concessioning where appropriate. 
• Consider, review, advise on, and guide developments in regard to the Railway Safety Regulator. 

(g) Funding and financial administration 

• Source information, review, advise on, and guide infrastructure funding needs/requirements. 
• Review funding sources and formulate a joint strategy to facilitate appropriate infrastructure funding. 
• Source information, review, advise on, and guide appropriate, prioritised, and intergrated capital expenditure budgets. 

• Review, report, and advise on the Committee’s financial and human resource requirements. 

(h) Land use and Integrated Planning 

• Facilitate, integrate and promote rail and land use planning. 
• Facilitate a strategy to attract high-density development around railway stations. 
• Consider, review, advise on, and guide commercial developments in and around 
• railway stations. 
• Assist and/or facilitate development of rail corridors and right of ways. 
• Monitor and facilitate inclusion of all rail aspects in PLTF, IDPs, PTPs and ITP’s As indicated earlier, the following organogram provides an overview of the various institutions and structures and their relative interaction with each other in relation to transport provision 

Issues of Concern 

The Eastern Cape Provincial Land Transport Framework (February 2002) sets out specific strategies to address a number of concerns, namely:  

Greater inter-government coordination and planning 

• Forming improved delivery based relationships with deep rural local municipalities in the planning and implementation of transport projects. 
• Improved policy provisions to ensure institutional coordination. 

Additional concerns relate to the establishment of Transport Authorities and its potential to improve institutional and stakeholders relations in the delivery of transport infrastructure and service provision.