Transport Minister Dipuo Peters has urged members of the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) and similar platforms to provide government with suggestions on ways to improve transport infrastructure ahead of the remodelling and imminent launch of the National Transport Master Plan (Natmap).

Addressing the Sacci 2013 yearly convention at Gallagher Conference Centre, in Midrand, earlier this month, she said the Department of Transport (DoT) was redeveloping Natmap, originally initiated in 2009, and that the master plan would respond to the needs of not only the department but also industry as a whole.

The approval of the master plan had previously been delayed, as it had to be realigned with government’s National Development Plan (NDP).

In addition to addressing public transport issues, the revised Natmap would review policy issues and issues related to economic projections. It would also inform strategy on aviation and maritime transport and would seek ways of taking advantage of South Africa’s geographic strategic position as a potential transshipment hub for other African countries.

“We want your input. What is it that we can do together for the benefit of our economy?” she asked delegates.

With this in mind, the department called on stakeholders in the various sectors that have high transport demands, such as the mining industry, to participate in the implementation of Natmap by providing government with relevant information to help inform the plan.

“Let us respond to the needs of our industries and let us be informed by [business’s] investment potential.” Peters added that government did not want to implement a new strategy without industry’s support, only to be informed at a later stage that its goals were not “informed by reality”.

She said the DoT was keen to know what industrial sectors needed with regard to the transport of goods and related services, as well as what their projections were for future investment and economic growth strategies.

“We are, therefore, appealing to you for partnerships so that you can provide information for government ,” she told delegates, adding that government did not want to “plan in a vacuum”.

Peters further mentioned that the country’s endeavour to build a nonracial, nonsexist and democratic South Africa called on all stakeholders to work together to protect the environment while exploiting the country’s resources.

“It is in the same context that [the DoT] envisages the transportation of coal by rail, taking it away from road transport. This is a part of the national freight and logistics strategy.”

However, the Minister cited the freight industry’s argument that it takes longer to transport goods by rail and argued that such views were the ones government needed to hear to determine where South Africa’s transport infrastructure development should be in 2050.

“We need to ensure that generations to come see that we did not rest on our laurels,” she said.

Concluding her address, Peters loosely referred to the much-contested implementation of e-tolling in Gauteng under the auspices of the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral).

She conceded that government’s decision to implement e-tolling in 1998 – when Sanral was formed – “was not kept alive during construction”, adding that the DoT needed to “talk to the people in the language they understand best”, indicating that government would try to communicate simply to keep the public informed of new developments.

Peters further mentioned that government had not driven home the fact that it would not impose e-tolling tariffs on public transport and that it needed to properly communicate that there were alternative methods of transport for people living in Gauteng.

She added that 60% of commuters in Gauteng used taxis as their primary method of transport.

The Minister appealed to delegates to understand the context under which this particular project was being implemented.

“Sacci knows too well that, without their unwavering support, we are not going to make it,” she said, further urging stakeholders to provide workable solutions for the development of roads that would embrace the ‘user pays’ principle, as indicated in the NDP.

In a comment that was taken up as controversial by the mainstream media, Peters compared the ‘user pays’ principle with paying for using a public toilet, arguing that the fee is used to maintain public amenities.

“Would you pay [to use a] dirty toilet?” she asked delegates.