Karen Harverson speaks to Transport Minister Mac Maharaj on the links to=20 sub-Saharan continent=20
The South African government has proposed to the Southern African=20 Development Community (SADC) that the trunk roads leading into other=20 sub-Saharan countries be upgraded. =D2It would be financed by the imposition of a cross-border tariff which=20 would be used to rehabilitate segments of trunk roads where needed,=D3=20 Transport Minister Mac Maharaj told the Mail and Guardian. He said a second inter-departmental initiative was the Maputo corridor=20 project to link South Africa with Mozambique. =D2Transport is an important component of the corridor. We are undertaking=
the upgrading of the N4 road up to the Komatipoort border.=D3 Maharaj said the 122 kilometre road between Rosanna Garcia just over the=20 border in Mozambique to Maputo was in bad shape and the department=20 planned to reduce the road length to 86km and rebuild it. =D2We=D5re also looking to improve rail infrastructure and rehabilitation o= f the=20 Maputo harbour in Mozambique which could cost in the region of R12- million,=D3 he said. Maharaj was part of a delegation to Mozambique two weeks ago to visit=20 the Maputo harbour to assess how it could be upgraded. =D2We are considering a plan which is both ambitious and concrete to=20 develop road, rail and harbour links, the economy, industrial development=
and tourism between the two countries.=D3 He said both the local and international private sectors as well as financi=
institutions such as the World Bank and other governments would be=20 approached to finance the project. Speaking at a meeting to promote September as Transport Month, Maharaj=20 said South Africa urgently needed an integrated policy to unite the=20 fragmented transport industry. =D2Transport has been identified by government as one of the five priority=
areas within the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP).=D3 The role of the Transport Ministry was to develop an holistic programme to=
combine the different modes of transport in a manner which would=20 eliminate unnecessary costs and improve the low level of service. =D2Integrated planning is needed, horizontally between the different modes =
transport, and vertically between different levels of government.=D3 Various projects already under way include a task team on the taxi=20 industry, a 10-year programme for the management and funding of national=20 roads, and a human resource strategy. Maharaj said he expected a white paper on transport policy to be completed=
by the first quarter of 1996. The two most crucial issues facing the transport industry were the=20 development of policies on freight traffic and a proper public passenger=20
=D2A policy on freight traffic will impact directly on the economy in our=
efforts to make South African goods competitive on the world markets.=D3 The relationship between rail, road and shipping needed to be examined to=
identify where costs could be reduced.