Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy
SCORE: E
The department of transport gets an E because its leadership has decided to manage chaos rather than regulate a crisis. The department might point to some wins like the turnaround of Prasa with the rail agency achieving its first clean audit in nine years and nearly doubling its passenger trips to 77 million.
It also claims to be on track to “ensuring that 250 million tonnes of freight are carried on the Transnet network by 2029”. But these don’t mean much to the everyday commuter whose life is dominated by the violence in the taxi industry.
Once again the department proved powerless against taxi associations that declared war on e-hailing companies. This year, the war escalated, resulting in the execution of e-hailing drivers and the burning of their vehicles. This lawlessness continues to riddle the country because the department has failed to pass the necessary regulations to stop the taxi association from operating in this manner.
Furthermore, findings from the auditor general flagged a material irregularity in the procurement of the vital new driving licence card machine, indicating that the department is failing both citizens and compliance.
Until Minister Creecy imposes strict discipline and enforces order on the taxi industry, the department will remain under the control of criminals in the sector.