Department of Transport

Business Plan 1997/8

Contents

1. Vision and Mission of the Department
2. Policy Goals
3. How this Business Plan will be used
4. Programmes 1 and 8:
• Part 1: Management Services and Government Motor Transport
• Part 2: Financial Management

5. Programme 2: Civil Aviation
6. Programme 3: Shipping
7. Programme 4: Roads
8. Programme 5: Land Transport
9. Programme 6: Road Traffic
10. Programme 7: Research
11. Structure of the Department
12. Performance contract between the Minister and the Director-General
13. Senior Managers in the Department of Transport

1997 will be the year of delivery for the Department of Transport, and I am pleased to present the Business Plan which details what we hope to achieve for the 1997/98 financial year.

The last year was spent finalising the White Paper on Transport Policy, restructuring the Department and initiating planning work on a range of new initiatives - a year of laying the foundation on which we will build this year.

The policy that was developed has begun to redefine the role of Government in Transport; changing it from being a dominant operator, provider of infrastructure and regulator of bureaucratic detail to one which will focus on policy, strategic planning and a regulator of substance.

This change in role will require the restructuring of State assets. An initial report on how this could be done was approved, as recommendations, by Cabinet. It will further require the creation of arms-length agencies which will provide a range of services to the industry which Government monitors and regulates. This can be accomplished on a cost recovery basis, with a more direct relationship between the service providers and their clients. This aspect of our policy will lead to major public sector reforms in the Transport Sector over the coming years, and will, hopefully, give rise to a more rational allocation of powers and functions between the three levels of Government and, in general, produce a more integrated and customer orientated transport system.

The new initiatives we began last year include Spatial Development Initiatives on a regional level, such as the Maputo Corridor and, on a metropolitan level, the Wetton - Landsdown corridor in Cape Town. Both use transport to more effectively link centres of activity and to improve the integration of communities, jobs and services.

This year, both the policy and the new initiatives will begin to take shape on the ground. The strategic focus areas for this year can best be summarised as follows;

• legislation for Road Traffic and Public Transport based on the White Paper

• institutional reform in Transport, both in terms of the restructuring of State assets and the creating a number of arms-length agencies for roads, permits and maritime safety, which will make Government more effective and efficient

• concessions, contracts and Build Operate and Transfer projects to realise real public-private partnerships in delivering infrastructure and services where Government focuses on what is delivered and the private sector on how.

The purpose of the Business plan is to define the goals and specific outcomes we will strive to deliver in undertaking the range of functions we are responsible for, to make ourselves more accountable to the public, and to seek to be judged by our performance against the targets we have set ourselves.

The last section of this plan is a signed contract between myself and the Director-General of the Department, based on a set of performance targets which, in turn, places a responsibility on every member of staff to meet their performance targets. For the first time, we will have an objective basis on which to assess the work of a public service department.

Foreword by the Minister

January 1997

1. Vision and Mission of the Department

The vision for South African Transport, as defined in the White Paper, is also the vision for the National Department of Transport.

Vision

Provide safe, reliable, effective and fully integrated transport operations and infrastructure which will best meet the needs of freight and passenger customers at improving levels of service and cost in a fashion which supports Government strategies for economic and social development whilst being environmentally and economically sustainable.

Mission

To work in a transparent, accountable and responsible manner with the Provinces and the other countries in the Southern African Region, to provide an affordable, safe and sustainable national and international transport system by

• researching new technology, solutions and prospects for the improvement of standards and ways of doing things in the transport field more effectively and cost efficiently;
• planning new transport infrastructure and means of developing the country to improve mobility and the quality of life for all;
• regulating the transport system to ensure its efficiency, effectiveness, to prevent strife and create an environment of healthy competition;
• supporting the transport system through appropriate and justified subsidisation where necessary; and
• managing the transport system to ensure its upkeep so that forward planning for rehabilitation improvements and enhancements can timeously be made.

2. Policy Goals and Principles

Policy Goals

The following goals for the National Department of Transport were arrived at during the process of consulting with stakeholders and role players from the transport sector, while drafting the White Paper

• support the goals of the Reconstruction and Development Programme for meeting basic needs, growing the economy, developing human resources, and democratising decision making,
• enable customers requiring transport for people or goods to access the transport system in ways which best satisfy their chosen criteria,
• improve the safety, security, reliability, quality and speed of transporting goods and people,
• improve South Africa's competitiveness and that of its transport infrastructure and operations through greater effectiveness and efficiency to better meet the needs of different customer groups, both locally and globally,
• invest in infrastructure or transport systems in ways which satisfy social, economic, or strategic investment criteria, and
• achieve the above objectives in a manner which is economically sustainable, and minimises the negative side effects.

As these goals are discussed and described in detail in the White Paper, they will not be further expanded upon in this document. In order for the reader to obtain a better perspective of the intentions behind these goals, it is recommended that a copy of the White Paper be obtained and studied in detail.

Policy Principles

It is important that certain policy principles contained in the White Paper are briefly mentioned in this business plan, as they form the background against which this document has been drafted

• the Department will, in future, concentrate on policy formulation and strategic planning more strongly than before, and will maintain a regulatory function where this is deemed to be in the National interest. As a result, the Department will need to become smaller, more expert and more focussed on national issues;
• the institutional principles followed by the Department will need to fully support the nature of our Constitution, and provide a framework for the role to be played by the lower levels of Government;
• the Department will need to play a role in inter-governmental transport matters, ranging from the national/provincial level, to the regional level, and also to world level. This work will typically involve uniform legislation where it is in the national or regional interest, agreements with foreign governments, etc.;
• the Department will play a role in the restructuring of certain state-owned transport assets;
• the Department will be directly involved in the investigation and possible creation of certain arm's-length commercial institutions, such as institutions for the provision and maintenance of a primary road network, the provision of maritime survey and safety services, and also for aviation safety;
• appropriate financing principles will be followed, depending on whether the infrastructure is "economic" in nature, can be paid for by its users and can yield measurable returns, or whether the infrastructure cannot or should not be paid for by its users but which yields social benefits; and
• the principles of regulation will be such, that government intervention will be minimised, and facilitation maximised. Regulation which is exercised should differentiate between circumstances where
• specific services are provided under contract (such as commuter transport services)
• monopolies are regulated to prevent exploitation
• competing operators are regulated to ensure fair competition
• contracts are entered into for certain conduct or behaviour

The White Paper and this Business Plan

The National Department of Transport, being the institution responsible for the process which culminated in the White Paper, is bound to implement the policy which has emerged from the process.

Elements of the policy requiring only administrative changes will be implemented as soon as possible, while those requiring major changes of practice or institution may take somewhat longer to achieve. In these cases, consultation with stakeholders will precede a planned and programmed transitional period. Those policy changes requiring legislative changes will be dealt with in a similar manner.

3. How the Business Plan will be used

The purpose of this business plan is to

• create an understanding of the scope and content of the work undertaken by the National Department of Transport and what strategic direction is being followed;
• define the mission, in support of the strategic direction beng followed, of each of the Chief Directorates within the Department;
• define the functions of each Chief Directorate, thereby showing what each Chief Directorate does in order to achieve the desired outcomes of their work;
• describe each of the Chief Directorate's activities upon which the budget has been derived;
• for each Chief Directorate, to show how the activities are supported by the many functions performed;
• show the staff cost involved in carrying out the various activities; and
• define the outcomes sought by undertaking the activities, show what the budget is for the activity, and how performance against our goals (desired outcomes) will be measured.

The individual Chief Directorates will prepare their own business plans using this document as a management guideline, going into finer detail and giving each member of staff a clear understanding of his/her role in the pursuit of our goals. At the same time, more detailed, process orientated performance measurement indicators will be worked out, against which individual staff members could be evaluated for personal performance appraisal purposes.