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SANRAL puts commuter safety and convenience first, with a single ticket solution to public transportation

Western Cape, 25 October 2022 – With a staggering number of households in South Africa, relying on public transport, imagine the convenience of each person having a single mobility account that covers trips on several modes of transport – hassle-free and user-friendly. Most importantly, there is no need to carry cash, a huge safety benefit.

This is the initiative the South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL), in conjunction with the National Department of Transport, recently revealed to the 7th South African Roads Federation (SARF) Regional Conference for Africa.

Called the Integrated Fare Management System, SANRAL Northern Region project manager Siveshni Pillay spelled out details of the innovative plan to the Cape Town gathering of African and global road experts and decision-makers.

The principle aim of the integrated ticketing solution is to eliminate the use of cash, reduce operating costs and improve fare collection efficiency.

While the country’s public transport system needs improvement, the integrated ticketing solution option will make for smoother, efficient travelling.

The safety element of travelling without carrying cash is also a huge motivating factor.

“Despite high public transport usage and reliance, there exists huge disparities in service delivery and integration between various modes of transport,” said Pillay.

The system will allow a commuter to use the same “prepaid” card to pay for a ride on a taxi, bus or train, forming an Integrated Public Transport Network.

Said Pillay: “The administration and management of cash fares, with the concomitant security issues make fare collection onerous. The National Department of Transport’s account-based ticketing solution solves this.”

The ticket value balance will be stored on the card, enabling a top-up option. The cardholder can remain anonymous or choose to register a personalised account and this system is fully auditable.

The provision of the service that can be provided by the Transaction Clearing House (TCH) is multi-layered. The first phase is the implementation of the mobility account for use on various modes of transport.

Pillay said future integration development could include fare structuring based on the different modes of transport such as flat fare, distance based etc.) and eventually the ability to charge a commuter once for a journey that uses the services from more than one transport operator.

For example, if a commuter travels by bus to a train station where she transfers to a train to complete the journey, she would only pay once for the combined journey from start to finish.

MEDIA RELEASE
West Coasters eagerly grab SANRAL’s helping hand during SMME training sessions

Western Cape, 25 October 2022 – Small-business owners in the Western Cape towns of Piketberg and Malmesbury were champing at the bit recently to seize a training offer by the South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL) aimed at helping them access opportunities within the construction industry.
SANRAL held information sessions with small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) in the two towns as part of its national training plan.

The events were well timed – many SMMES in the region are facing a losing battle to stay afloat in an economy decimated by the global COVID- 19 pandemic.

The savage consequences of COVID-19 are often compounded by a lack of business acumen, and many attendees were eager for the chance to engage with the content of the training session.
SANRAL Western Region Transformation Officer, Morné Windvogel, said: “In our previous engagements with business owners we realised that people aren’t fully equipped or compliant for SANRAL projects, specifically. We offer this training for the benefit of such businesses.”

Piketberg businesswoman Mercia Scheepers was first in line: “This is such a huge opportunity. Why would I not grab it with both hands?” She has been running Pison Hawila Construction with her husband for six years.

“During COVID-19 there was absolutely no business and we struggled. Things are a bit better now, but there is room for improvement. Upgrading skills is so important because there are many areas of our business that I just don’t have knowledge about.
“This training will definitely help me expand my business and make me better at my job.”
Not only is this training a boon for those who fit the criteria, it’s also proving to be a good starting point for people who want to venture into construction.

Roslyn Marcus, who runs a vehicle spares shop, said she has long wanted to go into the construction business. “News of this training has made me even more determined to become compliant, and when I have done so, I will make the most of this opportunity,” she said.
In Malmesbury, news of the SMME training was also met with enthusiasm. Nomakhwezi Yedwa has been a project manager at Sodwa Construction for 18 years, but feels she still has lots to learn.

“What SANRAL is offering is a chance for me to improve and equip myself with skills I don’t yet have. It will not only be good for me as an individual, but also for the company.

“If the company is run properly, it will have great benefits for the community at large. We will be able to employ more people if we can secure more work. “That’s why we need to learn things like how to tender properly,” Yedwa said.

The Swartland Local Municipality welcomed SANRAL’s initiative and encouraged those gathered to take full advantage of the opportunity. Said Hilary Balie, Swartland’s Strategic Services Manager: “We see the effects that COVID-19 has had on businesses and people in general. Lots of SMMEs are struggling. Grasp the opportunity you are being given to improve yourselves with both hands.
“I know that this is just the start of an ongoing relationship with SANRAL, so give it a go.”

The initiative is a three-year programme, with the main focus being on educating and bringing out the full potential of businesses.
SANRAL aims to train 48 000 people countrywide and the SMME training will be offered on a first-come-first-served basis.

To qualify for the training, applicants need to meet the following criteria:
• Be a registered company;
• Have a Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) grading of 1-4CE;
• Be tax compliant;
• Must be 50% black-owned and
• Registered on the central supplier database (CSD)

Trainees will undergo 15 days of intensive tutoring, followed by assessments. They will receive CETA-approved certificates. Business owners will also be able to nominate an employee to attend.

MEDIA RELEASE

SANRAL welcomes appointment of CEO

Pretoria, 20 October 2022 – The SANRAL Board is pleased to announce that Cabinet has approved – after recommendation of the Board to the Transport Minister, Mr Fikile Mbalula – the appointment of Mr Reginald Lavhelesani Demana as the CEO of the national roads entity. The appointment is subject to standard clearance and verification procedures.

Mr Demana is currently a Divisional Executive at the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa SOC Limited (IDC), a state-owned development finance institution, where he is responsible for a portfolio that covers mining, metals, infrastructure and energy. Mr Demana is a trained engineer and has more than 20 years’ working experience, including in investment banking which should stand SANRAL in good stead given its participation in the bond market. During this time, he played a leading role in numerous major transformational transactions in the sector.

His scale of expertise includes mergers and acquisitions, structuring of BEE deals, capital raising and general strategic corporate finance. He was previously the CEO of a JSE Main Board listed coal mining and trading company.

Mr Demana began his professional working career as a mining engineering trainee with Anglo American Platinum and then as a mine health and safety inspector with the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (formerly Department of Minerals and Energy).

He holds a BSc. in Mining Engineering from Wits University and a MSc. in Mining Engineering (with distinction) from Exeter University in the United Kingdom.

The board believes that, given his impressive educational qualifications, experience in senior strategic positions and the lead roles he has played in corporate finance in general, Mr Demana will contribute towards the stabilisation of the roads’ agency finances (particularly the toll portfolio) and that he will continue to implement the company’s mandate to plan, build and maintain the national road network with the excellence associated with SANRAL.

“The Board wishes to thank Ms Lehlohonolo Memeza, the Acting CEO, who has so diligently carried the baton since the departure of the former CEO in 2021. Her efforts to steer the ship on all levels and the support she has received from all her SANRAL colleagues are highly appreciated. She has done us proud as our interim CEO and will continue in her current role until Mr Demana assumes responsibility. As soon as formal communication is received from the Minister of Transport, the Board will finalise all processes relating to the appointment,” the Board Chairperson Mr Themba Mhambi said.

MEDIA RELEASE
The psychology of road crashes unpacked at SARF Regional Conference

Western Cape, 19 October 2022 – Road accidents happen. Iris Winks knows this more than most, seen as how she spends her days trying to understand their psychology in the hope that the brakes can be slammed on South Africa’s deadly road death tolls.

Winks, chair of the SA Roads Federation Western Region and first woman to be an accredited Road Safety Audit Team Leader by the Washington-based International Road Federation (IRF), believes the only way to effectively design roads to decrease accidents is
to understand the particular challenges and the idiosyncratic interaction between roads and the communities that use them.
Addressing the 7th South African Roads Federation (SARF) Regional Conference for Africa, which started in Cape Town on Tuesday, Winks said: “South Africa is an interesting country. It is one of the few where, within one country, every area has its own challenges and
problems.”

She cited the differences between rural and city roads and their respective commuter needs – but went on to say it also meant understanding the differences between provinces: from the Eastern Cape, where the high levels of road use intersect with the poor infrastructure that is a result of the province’s particular political and economic legacy, to the hilly terrain of KwaZulu Natal where roads bear high volumes of trucks from South Africa’s economic powerhouse, Johannesburg, bound for the busy Durban harbour.

One person who can bear testament to this is motorist Khanyisa Mngxekeza, who survived a horror collision with a cow that had strayed into the middle of Buffalo Pass, the treacherous, but scenic route which snakes through the Umtiza Nature Reserve in the Eastern Cape.
Mngxekeza was on her way home after dropping off a friend at the King Phalo Airport when the incident occurred. “It could have been worse but, because I wasn’t speeding, I escaped unharmed.

“However, the car was written off. The worst part was that, after the crash, I had to drive about 10km before I found a safe place to call for help,” she said. Fortunately, Buffalo Pass is set to be refurbished soon as part of Operation Vala Zonke, an ambitious new project initiated by the national Department of Transport to deal with potholes across the country. The initiative is being driven by the South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL), as an agency of the transport department. SANRAL is working closely with provincial and municipal roads departments.

Winks illustrated the importance of designing for particular contexts by using an example from Botswana. A project initiated in 2016 by Maatla Otsogile has helped reduce the fatalities on roads in seven small villages through simple interventions such as the application of illuminating tape on donkey carts and signage on the roads alerting motorists to their presence.

According to Otsogile, donkey carts are a common mode of transport in many villages. “They’re used for transporting students to school, and others use them to reach the farms where they work, and to transport goods and materials,” explained Otsogile.
However, as the number of motor vehicles increased, so had the number of collisions between cars and donkey carts. The latter were neither registered nor regulated, and there was no infrastructure such as separate lanes or roads to support their use.
The carts were also not equipped with brakes, lights and bells to signal their presence.

Otsogile’s own experience of being startled by a cart while driving on a country road one night led to his establishment of the Society for Road Safety Ambassadors, an affiliate of the Global Alliance of Road Safety Ambassadors, which is a member of the UN Road Safety
Association. Through these partnerships the interventions of the Society for Road Safety Ambassadors from rural villages in Botswana has been made available for replication in other parts of the world.

Otsogile pointed out that alcoholism, speeding and the presence of domestic and wild animals on the roads are all dangers on the roads, and while the project is based in small villages, these are intersected by a major road used by trucks transporting goods.
Addressing the challenges require a multi-sectoral approach including infrastructure improvement and education to effect behavioural changes

MEDIA RELEASE
Potholes in the spotlight at SARF Regional Conference

Western Cape, 18 October 2022 – South Africa has a whopping 25 million potholes in its countrywide roads network, compared to 15 million five years ago.

The main reason for this is inadequate maintenance, which results in a vicious cycle that creates even deeper holes in the pockets of the administering authorities. It currently costs between R700 and R1 500 per square metre to fix one pothole, depending on its size. The lack of maintenance increases the repair costs by 18 times if a full rehabilitation of a road is deemed necessary.

These eye-watering facts and figures were revealed at the 7th South African Roads Federation (SARF) Regional Conference for Africa which started in Cape Town on Tuesday. Leading road experts and decision-makers from across the continent and the globe are sharing their knowledge at the gathering, which firmly puts the spotlight on Africa.

In August, the national Department of Transport launched Operation Vala Zonke, a national campaign aimed at eradicating potholes across the country, with the South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL) as the implementing agency.The initiative has reported significant success in most provinces in just 10 weeks. As figures come in, Johannesburg has already fixed and filled an impressive 112 699 potholes, North West Province 28 578, Limpopo Province 25 431 and the Free State has 16 540 fewer potholes, thanks to Operation Vala Zonke.

Former SARF president, Mutshutshu Nxumalo, said while our road network was one of the country’s greatest assets, a mere 5% was allocated to it from the national fiscus. “SANRAL is doing good work, but they can’t do it on their own. There is an imbalance between the understanding of what needs to be achieved and the political will. We have legislation but the wrong leadership,” Nxumalo said.

He said the fallout from inadequate road maintenance was “far-reaching and disastrous” – putting public safety at risk, causing the destruction of transport routes, disrupting movement of goods, negatively impacting tourism and resulting in major claims from the Road Accident Fund.

“Our roads go through their lifespan without maintenance which eventually leads to bigger problems. Our potholes, specifically, are caused by a delay in the response to fixing them timeously,” Nxumalo said.

Professor Philip Paige-Green, of the Tshwane University’s Engineering Department, said there was much more to the issue than just filling potholes. “There was a study released by the CSIR in 2010 that details the approach we should be taking to deal with potholes. But little of what was proposed has been implemented on our provincial, urban and district roads. It’s simple, if they aren’t fixed properly, they won’t last.”

He cited an example of a road on which potholes were fixed for decades, but they kept recurring.

“What no one seemed to notice is that there was lush green grass right next to the road, which meant there was a water source. This is not rocket science, it should be clear to understand that any filling of potholes here wouldn’t work without taking care of the water source,” he said.

The roads conference runs until Thursday.