Glossary iii

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY v

1. INTRODUCTION
1. Background 1
2. Commission’s mandate to undertake the project 2
3. Aim of the project 2
4. Scope of the project 2
5. Methodology 3
6. Project output 4
2. OVERVIEW OF THE TRANSPORT SECTOR
1. Historical legacy 6
2. Current state 6

2.2.1 Mandates 6

2.2.2 Organisational structure 7

2.2.3 Resources 8

2.2.4 Service delivery 9

3. Need for change 11
3. EVALUATION OF THE TRANSPORT FUNCTIONAL AREA
1. Transport functional areas 12

3.1.1 White Paper on National Transport Policy 12

3.1.2 Economic and social development 13

3.1.3 Globalisation 14

2. Structure 14
3. Interviews 15

3.3.1 Interviews with officials from the Department 15

3.3.2 Interviews with stakeholders 26

4. FINDINGS
1. Mandate analysis 34
2. Functions 35
3. Performance capacity 37
4. Organisational design 38
5. Management and communication 38
6. Accountability and risk management 40
7. Needs expressed by stakeholders 41
8. Summary of findings 42
5. ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED

5.1 Matters influencing departmental structure and establishment 43

2. Other matters in need of attention 44
3. Functions identified 45
4. Components identified 49

5.5 Restructuring options 54

5.6 Recommended option 59

6. RECOMMENDATIONS 61

ANNEXURES 62

A - Map of National Transport Execution

B - Present Structure of the Department of Transport

C - Present Post Establishment of the Department of Transport

D - Proposed Structure for the Department of Transport

E - Proposed Post Establishment for the Department of Transport

F - List of Matters to be Addressed

AARTO Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act, 1998 (Act No. 46 of 1998)

ACSA The Airports Company of South Africa: Created in terms of the Airports Company of South Africa Act, 1993 (Act No. 44 of 1993), to develop, operate and manage South Africa’s principal airports.

ASLC Air Services Licensing Council

ATNS The Air Traffic and Navigation Services Company: Created in terms of The Air Traffic and Navigation Services Company Act, 1993 (Act No. 45 of 1993), to provide safe, orderly and expeditious air traffic, navigation and associated services.

Agencies South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA);

CBRTA Cross-Border Road Transport Agency created in terms of the Cross-border Road Transport Agency Act, 1998 (Act No. 4 of 1998), to facilitate and regulate cross-border flow of road traffic.

CEO Chief Executive Officer

Commission Public Service Commission

Department National Department of Transport

DG Director-General of the Department of Transport

DPSA Department of Public Service and Administration

IASC International Air Services Council

ICAO International Civil Aviation Organisation

IT Integrated Transport or Information Technology

ITP Integrated Transport Plan

KPA Key Performance Area is an activity that is critical for the performance of the organisation. It is expressed as a result, must be measurable and must reflect top management’s strategy.

KPI Key Performance Indicator, used to measure the performance for a specific performance area

Matrix Systems A matrix model is a network of multidisciplinary interfaces between project teams and the functional components of an organisation (Ronald A Gunn, Matrix Management: Method not Magic, 1997)

MEC Member of the Executive Committee

MINCOM Ministerial Committee of Ministers of Transport

Minister Minister of Transport

MOU Memorandum of Understanding

MRCC Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre

NEPAD New Plan for African Development

NLTTA National Land Transport Transition Act, 2000 (Act No. 22 of 2000)

PFMA The Public Finance Management Act, 1999 (Act No. 1 of 1999)

RAF Road Accident Fund

RTIA Road Traffic Infringement Agency established in terms of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act, 1998 (Act No. 46 of 1998), to facilitate the adjudication of road traffic infringements and support the prosecution of offences.

RTMC Road Traffic Management Corporation created in terms of the Road Traffic Management Corporation Act, 1999 (Act No. 20 of 1999), to regulate and coordinate road traffic law enforcement.

SACAA South African Civil Aviation Authority created in terms of the South African Civil Aviation Authority Act, 1998 (Act No. 40 of 1998), to control and regulate civil aviation, in particular aviation safety and security, in the Republic.

SAMSA South African Maritime Safety Authority created in terms of the South African Maritime Safety Authority Act, 1998 (Act No. 5 of 1998), to ensure safety of life and property at sea, to prevent and combat maritime pollution and promote South Africa’s maritime interests.

SANRAL South African National Roads Agency Limited created in terms of the South African National Roads Agency Limited and National Roads Act, (Act No. 7 of 1998), to manage and control the Republic’s national roads system and develop, maintain and rehabilitate the national roads within the framework of Government policy.

SADC Southern African Development Community

SARCC South Africa Rail Commuter Corporation Limited, created in terms of the Legal Succession to the South African Transport Services Act, 1989 (Act No. 9 of 1989), to ensure that rail commuter services are provided in the public interest.

SASAR South African Search and Rescue Organisation

SLA Service Level Agreement

STORM Structured Organisation Renewal Methodology

UTF Urban Transport Fund

White Paper White Paper on National Transport Policy, 1996

Yamoussoukro Decision Yamoussoukro Decision on the Liberation Intra-Africa on Air Transport Regulation

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. Introduction

• The South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL);
• the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA);
• the Cross-Border Transport Agency (CBRTA); and
• the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA).

1. Findings

To restructure the Department it is necessary to clear up various inconsistencies in the mandates of the transport sector. This includes the confusion in concurrent national and provincial legislative competence on functions, the overlap of functions between the Department and its agencies, the revision of the legislation on agencies, and the management of international protocols and conventions/agreements. There is also serious confusion about the role of the Commissioner for Civil Aviation. The Government is mandated by international conventions and protocols on maritime transport and aviation to assume overall responsibility for regulation. The responsibility for regulating civil aviation is split between the Department (economic regulation) and SACAA (safety regulation). This leads us to question why the CEO of the SACAA (only responsible for safety regulation) is also the Commissioner for Civil Aviation. The South African Government, by signing the Chicago Convention on 4 April 1947, accepted the ICAO prescripts on civil aviation, which make the Government responsible for implementing and adhering to them.

To enable departmental officials to execute their functions, especially those in respect of regulations, proper delegation of powers is needed. Without clear mandates the Department cannot monitor the agencies effectively.

From the mandates, and taking the views of the stakeholders into consideration, it is clear that the main functions of the Department should be developing national transport policy and strategy and facilitating their implementation (mainly passenger and freight transport on land), promoting safety in the transport industry, and regulating the transport industry.

The Department does not have the human resources to perform optimally. Posts are needed in several areas, and for the jobs currently done by consultants. Post levels also need to be evaluated, as they seem too low to attract candidates with the right skills and experience. Stakeholders have indicated that the Department lacks the capacity and ability to give them guidance or assistance in technical and legal matters. In general, administrative, financial and legal capacity is required. It is necessary to build up capacity and expertise in the substructure to make provision for persons to take over when senior staff vacate their posts. With the AIDS pandemic, measures like this are of the utmost importance.

The leadership, discipline, administration and communication lines in the Department are in need of attention. Top management seems unable to develop the trusting, supportive and cohesive culture required to motivate officials, and this plays a role in the poor programme performance and ineffectiveness of the Department.

The lack of adherence to communication protocols not only creates communication problems, but it also undermines authority by creating gaps for corruption, such as approval of trips not sanctioned by the immediate supervisor. It is also not clear whether the Department has proper control and risk management in order to ensure accountability.

Stakeholders have identified three main areas in need of attention, namely technical support (including legal support), administrative matters and coordination.

2. Recommendations

The Commission recommends the following:

1. Structure

• Branch: Maritime and Aviation Regulation
• Division: Maritime Regulation
• Division: Aviation Regulation
• Branch: Public Transport
• Division: Road Traffic Management
• Division: Land Transport Implementation
• Branch: Policy, Planning and Regulation
• Division: Policy and Planning
• Division: Land Transport Regulation
• Division: Corporate Support Services

3.2 Establishment

1. the departmental posts should be increased by 23 (see paragraph 5.6.2); and
2. post levels should be evaluated.

3.3 Other organisational matters

1. INTRODUCTION

1. Background

Air Traffic and Navigation Services Company Limited;

• The South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL);
• the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA);
• the Cross-Border Transport Agency (CBRTA); and
• the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA).

 1.2 Commission’s mandate to undertake the project

• promote the values and principles for public administration

• investigate, monitor and evaluate the organisation

• propose measures to ensure effective and efficient

• give advice and provide an evaluation of the extent to which the Constitutional values and principles set out in section 195, e.g. efficient, economic and effective use of resources, development-orientated public administration, and responsiveness to people’s needs; are complied with [section 196 (4)(e)].

4. Scope of the project
0. Addressing institutional limitations

• Defining "transport" and the role of the Government in this regard.
• Studying the Department’s organisational structure and identifying

• Establishing, in terms of the transport mandate (legislation and Government policies), what

• Identifying the responsibilities of the Department and accountability for the following:

• Identifying the responsibilities of the agencies with regard to -

• Considering responsibilities and accountability for national transport matters in terms of the Public Service Act, 1994, the Public Finance Management Act, 1999, and the Constitution, 1996.
• Determining how transport should be ‘operated’ -

• Determining the impact of transformation of the Department on the service delivery process by the Department and its agencies.

• Evaluating the role of the Department and its agencies in the international context, especially as regards Southern Africa (e.g. SADC and NEPAD).

1. Service delivery innovation

1.5.1 Focus of the evaluation

2. Empirical study

In order to get an overview of the transport policy, a background study was made by analyzing the annual reports of the Department of Transport and the agencies, the relevant legislation, relevant transport policy documents, relevant business plans, the budget vote of the Department, Auditor-General reports, media statements and web sites.

3. Basic toolkit

• Mandates for the execution of transport functions;
• defining of the transport functions;
• the identification of performance capacity (quantity and quality of resources);
• the organizational design for the execution of transport functions (the Department and Ministerial executing arms such as the agencies);
• management practices and communication lines;
• accountability and risk management; and
• other stakeholders in the executing of transport functions (provincial transport departments, ACSA, ATNS, etc).

2. Mandate analysis

2. Mandates are defined as –

• all legislation by Parliament;
• all regulations/instructions issued in terms of such legislation; and
• all directives and policies issued Parliament, the President, the Cabinet, the Minister of Transport, the Minister of Public Service and Administration or the National Treasury.

4. Interviews

Interviews were held with –

• departmental officials representing all the components in the Department;
• the top management of the Department;
• the head of the Ministerial office;
• the Special Advisor to the Minister, Prof. M R Rwelamira;
• representatives from the agencies; and
• the COTO members from the provincial transport departments.

4. Information analysis

The information has been analyzed in Chapter 3 and the findings are given in Chapter 4.

5. Verification of findings

5. Project output

• mandates, accountability, functions, structures and organisational design of the Department and its agencies; and
• institutional changes and strengthening the capacity of the Department in order to satisfy current national transport needs.

2. The recommendations should assist in the achievement of the following outcomes and the realisation of the basic values and principles enshrined in the Constitution:

• Effectiveness

• Efficiency and economy

• Sustainability

• The South African National Roads Agency Limited;
• The South African Civil Aviation Authority;
• The South African Maritime Safety Authority; and
• The Cross-Border Road Transport Agency.

1. Current state
0. Mandates

A wide variety of mandates relating to the transport sector fall under the auspices of the Minister of Transport. Some relate to national policy, some to the Department, and others to the agencies/regulatory bodies.

This study analyses all the mandates, but not all of them in detail, as only the main elements of the functions needed to be captured. Furthermore, not all the regulations/instructions are discussed, as their gist is already included in some of the other mandates. There is an extensive range of mandates that impact on the establishment of structures and on the way the Minister and/or the Department exercise their responsibilities, duties, and powers.

1. Organisational structure

2.2.2.1 Transport arms

1. National Department of Transport

Focuses on national policy and strategy formulation, the promotion of safety in transport and the regulation of transport matters of national interest.

2. Provincial governments/local authorities

Make the detailed policy at provincial and local authority level within the broad national reference framework set out in Schedules 4 and 5 to the Constitution.

3. Non-governmental and statutory bodies

• the Transnet Group;
• the South African Rail Commuter Corporation;
• Metrorail;
• the Airports Company of South Africa; and
• the Air Traffic and Navigation Services Company.

1. Arms-length commercial institutions

• The South African National Roads Agency Limited;
• the South African Civil Aviation Authority;
• the South African Maritime Safety Authority;
• the Cross-Border Road Transport Agency;
• the Road Accident Fund;
• the Urban Transport Fund;
• Arrive Alive;
• the Road Traffic Management Corporation; and
• the Road Traffic Infringement Agency.

1. Other regulating and advisory bodies

• the Regulating Committee for ACSA and ATNS;
• International Air Services Council;
• Air Service Licensing Council;
• South African Search and Rescue Organisation;
• Transport Appeal Tribunal; and the
• Aircraft Accident Investigation Committee

1. Global organizations

2.2.2.2 Department’s present organisational structure

The Department has been structured around the following basic functions:

• Regulation and safety
• Road traffic management
• Regulation of SANRAL and CBRTA
• Regulation of aviation affairs and SACAA
• Regulation of maritime affairs and SAMSA
• Policy and implementation
• Development of transport policy
• Land transport policy planning and implementation
• Regulation of public transport.

• Aviation regulation
• Execute statutory obligations with regard to SACAA, liaise with them and monitor them.
• Licensing of aviation operators and enforcing of compliance.
• Maintain and promote South Africa’s domestic and international aviation interests.
• Fulfill South Africa’s obligations towards the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
• Fulfill South Africa’s obligations towards the SADC.
• Maritime regulation
• Execute statutory obligations with regard to SAMSA, liaise with them and monitor them.
• Maintain and promote South Africa’s domestic and international maritime interests.
• Fulfill South Africa’s obligations towards the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
• Fulfill South Africa’s obligations towards the SADC.

• Policy and strategy

• Land transport
• Plan, advise and monitor the implementation of the National Land Transport Transition Act at the various levels of government.
• Assist, advise and monitor the tender contract system for subsidized bus services by the provincial governments.
• Manage the transfer of bus subsidies to the provincial departments and payment of the subsidies to operators by the provincial departments.
• Administer the Bus Industry Restructuring Fund (for training and retrenchments).
• Assist, advise and monitor the planning programmes on passenger transport by the provincial departments.
• Assist, advise and monitor the legalisation and democratization of the minibus-taxi industry by the provincial departments.
• Assist and advise with regard to commuter rail.
• Administer the monthly transfer payments to the SARCC.
• Administer the Urban Transport Fund.
• Road traffic management
• Execute statutory obligations with regard to SANRAL, liaise with them and monitor them.
• Execute statutory obligations with regard to CBRTA , liaise with them and monitor them.
• Develop and maintain road traffic information systems.
• Coordinate road traffic law enforcement activities nationwide.
• Develop and coordinate road traffic standards.
• Promote road traffic quality and safety.
• Maintain standards for driver's licence testing and control driving issuing centres.
• Ensure safe transportation of dangerous goods by road.
• Investigate major rail and road accidents.
• Administer the Arrive Alive Fund.
• Administer the National Overload Control Fund.
• Fulfill South Africa’s traffic management obligations towards the SADC.

1. Need for change

• improving effectiveness; and
• promoting the measurement of multi-dimensional performance (sharing of

2. EVALUATION OF THE TRANSPORT FUNCTIONAL AREA

 

1. Transport functional areas
1. White Paper on National Transport Policy

• Transport infrastructure (all modes)

• Land passenger transport

• Land freight transport

• Civil aviation

• Maritime transport

• Road traffic and safety

• Road traffic control (law enforcement);
• adjudication of traffic offences;
• enhancement of road user knowledge, skills and attitudes;
• incident management;
• road traffic engineering;
• traffic legislation;
• licensing and registration; and
• information management.

2. Economic and social development

• To reduce delays in the cross-border movement of people, goods and services;
• to reduce waiting time in ports;
• to promote economic activity and cross-border trade through improved land transport linkages; and
• to increase air passenger and freight linkages between Africa’s sub-regions.

2. Globalisation

• Branch: Regulation and Safety

• Division: Aviation and Maritime Regulation
• Branch: Policy and Operations
• Division: Passenger and Freight Transport Policy
• Division: Implementation
• Division: Strategic Support
• Division: Corporate Services
• Ministerial Secretariat
• Office of the Director-General
• Internal Audit

3.3.1 Interviews with officials from the Department

 Branch: Regulation and Safety

1. To promote traffic standards and road safety.
2. To standardise and control driver's licence testing and driver's licence testing centres.
3. To operate a national road traffic information system.
4. To promote and control the safe transportation of dangerous goods.
5. To monitor SANRAL and CBRTA.
6. To initiate special investigations into major road and rail accidents.
7. To promote South Africa’s aviation interests.
8. To regulate air transport.
9. To promote South Africa’s maritime interests.
10. To facilitate the provision of a maritime and aeronautical search and rescue service.

1. Mandates

There is an overall desire that the Minister should mandate departmental officials to monitor the agencies and to perform the necessary daily work required to execute functions across the transport sector.

2. Functions (including gaps/overlaps with other components/institutions)

• Pollution control, a function of Government, is regulated by SAMSA on an old contract negotiated by the Department and handed to SAMSA years ago.
• The approval of international ports is a function of the Department of Home Affairs, as they control the entry and exit of people to the country. They only execute one of the many functions at the airports and harbours, namely the function of passport control. However, the main function to economically determine the viability of a port and the infrastructure thereof are the responsibility of the Department of Transport, as it relates to cross-border transport.
• Investigation into aviation and maritime accidents is done by the relevant agencies. They are the monitors of the transport modes, but also serve as the investigators and reporters. The question arises as to how objective they are when an accident is due to a problem they should have picked up in their routine inspections or due to their negligence?

1. Organisational design

(i) The Branch consists of two divisions, namely Road Traffic Management (including land transport infrastructure) and Aviation and Maritime Regulation.

(ii) The structural design of the Department makes the international relations of the transport sector difficult. There is an international liaison officer, but the line functionaries and the agencies participate in bilateral agreements, for instance. It is therefore imperative that these officials and organizations work closely together to create one front for the international organizations they work with. At this stage this is not the case, and confusion is created as to who the various transport contact points are.

2. Performance capacity (quantity and quality)

(i) Several gaps in the Department's capacity inhibit effective and efficient performance. Vacancies take too long to fill, sometimes more than a year. To perform effectively the Department requires not only a sufficient number of employees, but staff with the right skills, knowledge and experience. Some of the present post levels are too low to attract staff with the technical, economic and legal skills required. Taking on staff without enough experience results in an operational level far below 100 per cent (some officials calculate performance of occupied posts as low as 65 per cent on average). The development of officials to reach an operational level of 100 per cent takes up to three years.

(ii) Due to lack of capacity the components cannot monitor other institutions properly. Compliance by aviation operators with licensing prescripts cannot be enforced, ACSA and ATNS are not regulated, and tariff monitoring, filing, evaluation and enforcement of bilateral agreement prescripts are not done. The White Paper on Airports and Airspace Management was issued in 1998, but capacity constraints made it impossible to implement.

(iii) Another shortcoming is the lack of delegations to the appropriate level of execution.

3. Stakeholders (identification, administration and relationship)

(i) Officials are of the opinion that the principle of creating agencies is sound. Some working relationships with agencies, such as road safety and aviation, are going well. As there are no structured or regular meetings between the officials and the agencies, it is not possible to monitor adherence to Government policy effectively, so agencies do not adhere to prescripts on the realignment of roads across farms, for example, which require prior approval from the Department/Minister. A major issue identified is that, if the agencies report directly to the Minister as opposed to the Department, regulation per se becomes "silent", i.e. the agencies are not regulated as policy requires.

(ii) Vague mandates and prescripts have resulted in confusion over the roles of the Department and the SACAA/Commissioner for Civil Aviation in the regulation of aviation. Some matters, like the issuing of foreign operator's permits, rest with the Department (Councils), while others, such as monitoring, investigating and reporting on safety, are the responsibility of SACAA. The role of the Commissioner is not clear and the question arises as to whether the economic regulation, including the Regulating Committee for ACSA and ATNS and the Councils for International Air Services and Air Service Licensing should be with the Commissioner. Before the creation of SACAA both safety and economic regulation fell under the Commissioner (a civil servant at the time). The other question that arises is whether or not the Commissioner should be linked directly to the safety operational body by also being its CEO. The Commissioner is responsible for the regulation and administration of civil aviation in South Africa, which is primarily governed by the Government's international treaty obligations, and as such is responsible to the Minister. There does, however, appear to be a conflict of interest as the Commissioner is also an arbitrator for safety incidents and should be independent. The Civil Aviation Authority, on the other hand, is the executor of aviation safety legislation and regulations and its CEO is responsible to the board that appointed him. These two roles can be in conflict with each other, as the SACAA monitors, investigates and reports, but the final decision lies with the Commissioner. Where an accident may be the result of a technical failure that should have been detected by SACAA inspectors, objectivity may be lost.

(iii) The Department is in the process of creating new agencies. One of these is the National Port Authority of South Africa, for which the Minister of State Enterprises will appoint the board members. The Minister of Transport will appoint a National Ports Forum to advise him on national commercial port policy and maintain the legislative and regulatory framework. The Department will monitor implementation. The sustainability and viability of such a working relationship is suspect, as the board will have to execute policy emanating from the Minister of Transport while their loyalty rests with the other Minister. Officials expressed their doubts about the effective execution of the policy.

(iv) Another agency in the process of being established, as a partnership between national, provincial and local spheres of government, to coordinate traffic law enforcement, is the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC). It will be phased in over three years and some of the Department’s staff will be transferred to it. Concern was expressed about the fact that local authorities will only participate in the RTMC on a voluntary basis. If all parties do not participate fully there will be gaps in the basic system of law enforcement.

(v) Under the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act, a Road Traffic Infringement Agency was established to collect traffic fines and handle administrative adjudication. This is mainly an administrative function, but as the Department does not have the infrastructure, experience or ability to monitor a legal process, it is unlikely to monitor it effectively.

(vi) There are no prescripts on minimum standards for building roads and ensuring safety in this regard.

(vii) The components work directly with local authorities on noise pollution at airports, search and rescue operations, road accidents and fishing matters.

 

4. Global environment

The components' capacity to address SADC matters is limited. This is part of their line function, but heavy workloads and lack of experience make it difficult to perform.

The Department is also supposed to implement the Yamoussoukro Decision on the Liberation Intra-Africa on Air Transport Regulation (the open-up of all borders for air traffic in Africa) but, due to capacity constraints, they have thus far been unable to do so.

5. Management practices and communication

1. Branch: Transport Policy and Land Transport Operations

1. To develop, monitor and evaluate passenger and freight transport policies and strategies.
2. To facilitate, promote and implement land transport (taxi, bus, rail and freight) policies and strategies with the National Land Transport Transitional Act (NLTTA) as one of the main focus areas.
3. To administer the Urban Transport Fund and the Bus Industry Restructuring Fund.

1. Mandates

(i) The main mandate for the work in this component is the NLTTA, which provides for the transformation and restructuring of the national land transport system.

(ii) At the time of the investigation, there was no MOU to guide the monitoring of the SARCC. There were meetings at top management level to ensure close cooperation and a good working relationship, but while nearly R2 billion is transferred to the SARCC annually, there is no real monitoring mechanism. An MOU has since been formalized.

2. Functions (including gaps and overlaps with other components/institutions)

1. Performance capacity (quantity and quality)

(i) One of the major tasks of the component is to monitor transfer payments to SARCC, and the bus subsidies to the provincial departments and the UTF. Capacity is limited and managers have to execute this duty themselves, but because of their heavy workload, it is not executed effectively or efficiently, and the situation may lead to uncontrolled and unacceptable practices.

(ii) Another problem that goes hand-in-hand with the low number of production staff is that managers attend many outside meetings and subsequently are not in the office to perform production work. Work is then rushed through, and not done properly or not done at all. The resulting inefficient performance of the component may be detrimental to the transport users at the end of the day.

(iii) Various gaps exist in the component's capacity. There is limited capacity to address the rail mode. There is no staff to handle the implementation of the freight policies and strategies. Furthermore, at this stage, there is no coordination between the freight industry, the provincial departments, the CBRTA or the SADC. Coordination is urgently needed to ensure that the rail mode is transformed and managed according to national policy. As the Department is the national representative of South Africa on the SADC for transport matters, it needs to coordinate all activities in this regard.

(iv) A document, An Approach to Long Term National Roads Plan for South Africa, was developed in conjunction with the relevant Ministers. At the time of the investigation the Department had no capacity to handle the further development and implementation of this plan.

(v) Consultants are used extensively in policy and strategy development (according to Policy officials up to 60 per cent of this work is outsourced). Existing line staff are not fully utilized in policy development and only feature on the periphery of some of the projects. This means that there is no continuity in the projects or implementation when the consultants’ contracts expire.

(vi) The type of academic knowledge required in the component was also studied. The general feeling was that the skills basis of departmental staff should be in economic, engineering and legal fields. A transport economist or statistician is needed to establish and interpret a passenger transport database.

2. Stakeholders (identification, administration and relationship)

(i) A new agency, the Rail Safety Regulator, is being developed. This agency will monitor and manage rail safety risks. This covers regulations, standards and accidents.

(ii) The implementation of the NLTTA requirements on transport planning and development need extensive liaison and coordination with the provincial departments and the local authorities. Other stakeholders with whom regular contact is made are the Department of Public Enterprises, Transnet and its affiliates, the SARCC, CBRTA and the passenger and freight industry.

3. Global environment

In respect of passenger transport, an SADC Protocol on Transport, Communication and Meteorology is working well. Owing to capacity problems in the Department, however, there is limited or no coordination with SADC members on freight matters.

4. Management practices and communication

(i) Some managers stated that Key Performance Areas (KPAs) or Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and/or job descriptions had not been determined for some posts in the Department. This affects the performance of staff, as they have no target to attain in any specified time. Through discussions with staff it was ascertained that the majority of posts did have KPAs, KPIs and job descriptions, but they are badly managed and communication in this regard is poor.

(ii) Minutes of the management meetings are not circulated regularly, so staff do not always know what is happening in the Department. In fact, great concern was expressed about the lack of communication between components, as well as between managers and staff.

(iii) The turnaround time of submissions to top management tends to be long, probably because managers attend a lot of meetings outside the office. Documentation sometimes gets lost at managerial level. To address the problem, the Department is in the process implementing a tracking system for submissions.

5. Rural development

1. Division: Corporate Services

1. The management of resources.
2. The provision of communication services.
3. The execution of financial administration.
4. The provision of legal services.
5. The provision of information technology services.
6. The management of Government motor transport in both national and provincial departments.

1. Accountability and risk management.

(i) Section 38 of the PFMA says that the accounting officer must ensure that the department has and maintains effective, efficient and transparent systems of financial and risk management and internal control. No risk management framework, however, which describes all the high level policies, strategies, processes and responsibilities required for the development of risk management practices, existed at the time of the investigation.

(ii) There is an Audit Committee as required by Treasury Regulations. There is also an Internal Audit component that provides an advisory service to management on internal control systems and operations with a view to improving accountability and overall performance within the Department. However, it did not submit an internal audit report for the period 2000/2001.

2. Performance capacity

(i) Capacity building in the Department is a pressing need. At one stage 40 per cent of posts were vacant. The Department cannot recruit enough specialized skills to fill the posts. To speed up the process the Department is of the opinion that it requires a special budget for capacity building.

(ii) In the recruitment process it was also found that the people with the correct skills and experience could not be persuaded to deal with the agencies. The post levels are too low and the remuneration packages therefore not attractive enough. These post levels must be revised.

(iii) The Department is very dependent on consultants to perform its tasks. The general opinion is that it is too dependent. Officials are of the opinion that some tasks, like the development of IT strategy, could be done in-house. It was also stated that while both equipment and staff are available for IT, consultants are used for the administration systems, and both are therefore under-utilised.

3. Management practices and communication

1. Director-General (Mr S. Msikinya)

1. Mandates

When developing policy the Department should not only take the technical side into consideration, but also take cognizance of the social and developmental side of transport. At present they are mostly concentrating on the technical side.

2. Functions

(i) In the national transport picture the Department should have overall control. This means that it should monitor the transport functions performed by all agencies, commercial enterprises, provincial departments and local authorities.

(ii) The most popular mode of transport is surface transport. The tendency in the Department is to concentrate on road safety, instead of looking at the overall picture of road transport as it should.

(iii) There are two functional areas that are currently not being attended to. First, with regard to research and development, no data is being gathered on transport statistics. In order to plan effectively for future development in the transport sector it is imperative that a database be created and the data analyzed to determine trends and priorities. Secondly, the environmental impact (ecological and social) of transport should be studied actively so that transport policy and strategy can be adjusted where necessary.

(iv) There are two aspects of aviation that concern the Department, namely aviation safety and the economic regulation of aviation. The Commissioner for Civil Aviation is supposed to manage these. Unfortunately, the Commissioner's role is not very clear at the moment and should be clarified. The CEO of SACAA is, according to legislation, also the Commissioner. The economic regulation function is actually performed by the Department as it is closely linked to international conventions and protocols. The DG is therefore of the opinion that the Commissioner for Civil Aviation should officially reside with the Department. SACAA could still execute the safety function.

(v) The DG is a member of the board of the Road Accident Fund. He sees this as inconsistent with the way the agency boards are functioning as he is not a member of any of them. In any case, he is of the opinion that all board members should have some financial background to make a contribution to its functioning.

 

3. Organisational design

• Branch: Policy, Strategy and Implementation (focusing on public transport);
• Branch: Regulation (focusing on the regulation of all other modes of

transport); and

• Branch: Corporate Support Services.

1. Performance capacity

• Roads;
• accident investigation and research;
• rail; and
• maritime.

1. Stakeholders

(i) Clear direction is needed from Government on the control and monitoring of agencies. Some of the agencies think they do not have to adhere to Government’s goals and policies. Legislation needs to be revised to enhance the monitoring and control of agencies. The lack of proper monitoring makes the possibility of corruption in the agencies high.

(ii) Mr Msikinya indicated that resistance might be experienced from some of the local authorities to the creation of the new agency, RTMC, as it will affect their independence and authority. To proceed with incorporating the RTMC it might be necessary for a call to re-evaluate the Constitutional prescripts on the assignment of functions that include traffic officers. Negotiations are being conducted with the relevant trade unions about the staff that might be affected in the creation of the agency.

2. Global environment

A coordination element on the technical side is needed for SADC participation. The Department is considering creating the post of Director: Projects in the Director-General’s Office. The incumbent would work with the International Liaison Officer in this regard.

 

3. Management practices and communication

The DG is aware that problems are being experienced with delays and the disappearance of submissions and other documentation. A consultant developed a document management system and this is starting to take off.

4. Accountability and risk management

3.3.2 Interviews with stakeholders

3.3.2.1 Agencies

1. The agencies are responsible for performing functions and services previously provided by the Department. These agencies receive their mandate through legislation that outlines their responsibilities and functions, and also Government policies. SAMSA and SACAA’s roles are basic safety regulation, while SANRAL is responsible for maintaining a national road infrastructure. CBRTA facilitates and regulates the cross-border flow of traffic (including law enforcement). It operates in a commercial environment, with Government (represented by the Minister of Transport) being the shareholder. They are funded by levies, tariffs, subsidies or transfer payments as provided for in the relevant legislation.

• What they expected from the Minister and the Department.
• Whether there were any overlaps/gaps in the activities performed by the agencies and the Department.
• Whether the Department performed any activity that fell within their sphere of responsibility.
• Whether there were any mechanisms for coordination/communication with other transport stakeholders such as Transnet, the Department, ACSA or ATNS.

1. Legal matters

• The agencies are of the opinion that some of the legislation is outdated and in urgent need of revision to be in line with current Government policy and operational requirements. They feel that the legislation was rushed through, leaving gaps, and that all relevant legislation should therefore be revised.
• The Department does not have the capacity to provide legal support and legal advice on transport legislation, regulations, international agreements, etc, when required.
• There are delays at the Department in the handling of legislation revised by the agencies. Some documents have been with the Department for eighteen months without receiving attention. The bottleneck could be due to the lack of staff capacity and experience in both the legal and the functional components.
• Two of the agencies, SAMSA and SACAA, issue shipping and aviation safety permits to their clients for their operations after performing an investigation (policing function). If one of their customers is involved in an accident/incident, SAMSA/SACAA does the investigation afterwards to determine the reason for the accident/incident. This means they are performing both a policing and a judicial function. In a situation where an accident might be found to be due to their negligence they may not be objective.

2. Policy and strategy matters

• The Department does not consult sufficiently with the agencies about policies and strategies that might affect them or to which they might be able to contribute. They would like to participate more in the development and implementation of policies.
• The agencies are not receiving strategic direction on national priorities such as rural development initiatives, NEPAD, etc. If all the transport arms need to be in line with the Government’s aims on transport, the agencies should be able to ensure that their strategic planning is also aligned with national policies.
• The agencies are of the opinion that the Department does not have the staff capacity or experience to advise them on either technical or policy matters.
• Some agencies write policies and regulations on behalf of the Department, although this is the Department's function.
• The present policies of the Government are not disclosed to the agencies and so they cannot include it in their planning.
• The role of promoting South African business is a grey area as there is no policy in this regard.
• The roles of policy makers, licensors and executors of policy have not been defined.

2. Coordination and communication matters

• The coordination arrangements between the agencies and the Ministry/ Department are unstructured or, for the most part, non-existent.
• The agencies do not always know whom to contact at the Department about specific matters. This makes it difficult for the agencies to be efficient and effective in their daily operations. They are of the opinion that, for operational purposes, regular contact between the relevant functionaries is necessary.
• Communication lines between the Ministry/Department and the agencies are weak. For example, communication on international affairs may come from line functionaries, the Ministry or the Department's International Liaison Officer. This confuses the agencies, as they never know which person is actually dealing with these matters, or whom to contact in this regard.
• The agencies are of the opinion that the Department is not aware of what the roles of the agencies are or what they are actually doing.
• The role of the agencies with regard to international contact, with the ICAO, IMO and SADC, for example, is not clear enough. The margins of their responsibilities are either not defined or the Department disregards existing arrangements leaving the agencies uncertain of how to act in this regard.
• The view of the Ministry and the Department on the direct or indirect involvement of the agencies with Southern African and African initiatives such as SADC and NEPAD is not known. Their view is that if they were kept informed in this regard they would be better able to play their role in Government initiatives.
• Because the roles of the Minister, the Department, the board and the CEO are not clear, the agencies are of the opinion that the Minister, the officials of the Department and the board members tend to interfere with the daily operations of the agencies.

2. Board matters

• The process for the appointment of board members is not applied as prescribed. Stakeholders are not always consulted and declarations are not published as prescribed. Slow administration by the Department in this regard is also delaying the process.
• The CEOs would like to be consulted about appointments as they know the industry and can advise the Minister in this regard.
• The appointment letters of new board members should spell out their duties and responsibilities clearly. This is necessary because the roles of the chairperson, board members, CEO and management in the execution of policy are not always clear.
• As the board members' letters of appointment do not set out their full responsibilities clearly, they are not properly mandated by the Minister, and therefore sometimes interfere with top management’s day-to-day running of the agencies.

2. Matters relating to service/support on behalf of the Government

• The agencies deliver service on behalf of the Government and this is captured in agreements with the Minister/Department. However, they are not always formalised. The work is not properly quantified and the actual cost is not recovered from the Department. The existing service agreements need to be revised, and then reviewed on a regular basis.
• The agencies also coordinate service contracts/agreements between the Government and other suppliers/service providers for the execution of certain tasks (such as cleaning up oil pollution). According to the agencies, these contracts are out of date and must be renegotiated to reflect changed circumstances. This process, however, is slow and in need of urgent attention.
• The Minister and the Department sometimes request additional support from the agencies. Such requests include participation by the agencies in international meetings and legal advice from the agencies (where available). This is not one of their normal functions and the agencies have not provided in their budgets for such additional cost. As they are run on a commercial service basis, this support costs them time and money, which should paid for by the Ministry/Department. Provision for this additional cost should be formalised in the agreements with the Minister/Department.

2. Functional matters

• There are areas of clear interrelationship in the aviation function that challenge the institutional separation of the Department and SACAA, such as foreign operator's permits, the domestic licensing of operators, noise pollution policy and international airports policy. The licensing boards cannot issue permits and licenses before approval has been obtained from the SACAA on safety aspects. The CEO of the SACAA is of the opinion that these functions should rest with him in his capacity of Commissioner for Civil Aviation.
• Other matters raised as possible overlapping functional areas are matters such as international agreements, SADC Protocol and agreements, and promotional objectives. The roles of the different role players must be clarified.

1. What do the provincial departments expect from the Minister and the Department?
2. Are there any overlaps/gaps in the activities performed by the provincial departments and the Department?
3. Does the Department perform any activity that falls within the sphere of responsibility of the provincial departments?
4. Are there any mechanisms for coordination/communication with other transport stakeholders such as Transnet, ACSA, SANRA and SACAA?

1. Legislation and policy

(i) There is no clear guidance on legislation and policy from the Department to ensure uniformity in the provinces. The RTMC also creates confusion at provincial and local levels. The provinces are of the opinion that there are possible gaps in this legislation that must be identified and addressed before the creation of the RTMC is finalized. One such gap is traffic law enforcement. It is intended that national, provincial and local law enforcement should all be under the umbrella of the RTMC, but local authorities are not compelled to join the RTMC. Some of them have already indicated that they would like to remain outside the RTMC, which would mean that law enforcement would be fragmented. A related issue is the creation of Metro Police by the mega-cities. The Metro Police will also deal with traffic law enforcement and local authorities may not want to abandon their newly created bodies.

(ii) There are also two road traffic acts (The ‘old’ Road Traffic Act and the ‘new’ National Road Traffic Act) that run simultaneously, which is sometimes confusing. They relate to the same transgressions but have different applications. Provincial and local law enforcers need a central reference point to clarify uncertainties about what is in force at the time.

(iii) The Department seems to take unilateral decisions on certain legislation, but especially on policy matters. The axle-load regulation was changed to increase the load factor by about 20 per cent. This leads to increased deterioration of roads as all roads are built to bear the previously agreed axle-load. Furthermore, an agreement was reached in SADC that SADC countries could use 4-axle vehicles for cross-border transport. The problem is that the maximum loads cannot be controlled now, as the provincial weighbridges can only handle 3-axle vehicles. This leads to further deterioration of the roads. The provinces responsible for the provincial roads were not consulted about any of this. They are of the opinion that, owing to the overburdening of roads, legislation/policy is needed for a change from road transport to rail transport.

(iv) There are also matters seen by the provincial departments as shortcomings/gaps in the NLTTA that need to be addressed. With bus tenders, for example, there is no leeway on planning for changes during the financial year. Under-utilised routes cannot be changed if the commuter demand drops. There is no provision for funding new requirements, like transport planning programmes, or coordination requirements in this regard.

(v) Various legislation and policies require that provincial departments monitor actions by local authorities. They do not know how to do this or what their mandates are. They indicated that they are in need of guidance in this matter.

(vi) The provincial departments are of the opinion that, for the concurrent functions with local authorities, there is a role for the Department as they are a policy and regulation department and not an operational department that has enforcement functions.

(vii) The provincial departments are unanimous that there is a need at the Department for capacity to advise on and assist them with the interpretation of legislation and policies.

2. Projects/campaigns

The Department does not always consult with the provincial departments when they embark on a project/campaign. A good example of this is the Shova Lula National Bicycle Transport Demonstration Programme. This project is aimed at the rural and township users of transport. The provincial and local authorities should be working together on this programme to ensure that the existing infrastructure can handle the transport requirements and ensure the safety of the cyclists. For all rural development initiatives there should be consultation with the lower levels of government.

3. Training/skills development

The provincial departments (and most likely the local authorities) need training and skills development in the various areas of transport implementation. Legislation requires that they implement certain transport-related tasks. For this they need policy and strategic planning competency, among other things. To implement the Road to Safety: 2001 to 2005 strategy the lower levels of government needs capacity building.

4. Information systems

(i) There is no correlation between the monies the municipalities say they have paid for traffic offences and what the Department's system says they have paid. The local authorities have approached the provincial governments, but they are unable to supply answers.

(ii) Information is not coordinated because agencies operate in isolation and the provincial departments have no access to their information, for example the data that CBRTA has on the transport of passengers. To plan provincial transport infrastructure it is essential for them to have such information, but unfortunately there are no working relationships between the agencies and the provincial departments.

5. Communication/coordination with other role players (rail, ports, roads and CBRTA)

(i) The various official role players have a big influence on the transport infrastructure in the provinces (ports, railways, airports, national roads and spatial development initiatives). It is not only their operations that affect peripheral organisations, but also the fact that their databases/information systems do not "talk" to each other. This affects provincial and local planning.

(ii) Portnet's decision to double the Durban container depot and expand the Richards Bay harbour influences infrastructure provided by Durban Metro, Richards Bay municipality and the provincial transport department. Decisions on toll roads have a big influence on the peripheral roads, where there is an increase in traffic with a subsequent increase in road accidents/incidents, which the provincial departments have not made provision to control. The relevant MEC for transport is the public figure being held responsible by the community for all transport-related developments. One of these is black empowerment and employment related to the building of roads (like the clearance of new road sites by local communities). SANRAL undertakes corridor development projects without consulting either the provincial governments or the communities. The communities hold the MEC responsible for not consulting them or utilising their labour.

(iii) The direct communication between the megacities and the Department creates a vacuum in planning and communication in the provinces. There should be a structured forum for communication and coordination between all organisations involved in the provision and regulation of the transport modes.

6. Funding basis

(i) Various national initiatives such as the NLTTA have a major impact on the funding capacity of the provincial departments. There is, for instance, the unfunded prescript on the planning requirements for public transport. It is a big undertaking at local level and its estimated cost is about R5 million per annum. The estimated cost for the establishment of one of the new transport authorities is R4 million. The administration of the bus subsidy contracts is also a major responsibility for which some of the provincial departments do not have the capacity or skills.

(ii) The provincial officials are of the opinion that resources, from national level, should be allocated according to pressures on certain road corridors. National priorities, such as weighbridges, need specific allocations.

7. The provincial officials see the Department's functions as policy, regulation and advice (consulting, guidance and empowerment). Actual operations and enforcement should be left to the appropriate levels of execution.

3.3.2.3 Other stakeholders

2. FINDINGS

The findings of this report are based on the need to identify the gaps in the present structure of the Department that influence service delivery as required by Government transport policy.

 

1. Mandate analysis

The Department has a wide variety of mandates. The following has been found in this regard:

1. Concurrent national and provincial legislative competence

The Department has a wide variety of legislation applicable to it. What complicates the execution of the mandates is that some of it covers functions that are concurrent national and provincial legislative competencies (such as public transport, road traffic regulation and airports other than international and national airports). There is confusion in the provinces on concurrent responsibilities. Guidelines in this respect are needed.

2. Split of transport roles and responsibilities between Minister of Transport and Minister of Public Enterprises (commercial enterprises)

The Minister of Transport is responsible for the execution of the Government’s transport policy and gives the agencies strategic direction. However, some organizations that execute transport functions are commercial enterprises and they report to the Minister of Public Enterprises. On the rail side the Minister of Public Enterprises is responsible for the commercial rail enterprises (Spoornet), i.e. long-distance rail passenger services, rail freight services, the Blue Train, the coal transport line (Richards Bay) and the iron ore line (Sishen - Saldanha). The Minister of Transport is responsible for commuter rail transport, Metrorail and the SARCC, i.e. subsidized transport. This means that the responsibility for rail transport is split and cannot be handled holistically by a Minister with overall responsibility.

This matter complicates the effective execution of transport policy (e.g. Spoornet closing rails in rural areas that are not financially viable without taking the social and developmental implications into account).

3. Overlap of functions between the Department and the agencies

There are overlaps between the functions of the agencies and the Department. Such overlaps may be significant, e.g. accident investigation. One example of serious overlapping is the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), currently run by the SA Air Force at Silver Mine in the Cape. The rescue coordinator is stationed at SAMSA and the electronic emergency equipment is monitored 24 hours a day by Telkom. The equipment belongs to the Department and there is a section at the Department that facilitates the provision of the search and rescue service.

There are also smaller matters such as publications on aeronautical information. All areas of responsibility should be clearly defined.

4. Difficulties in the enforcement of agency legislation/performance agreements

When the agencies were created, no proper monitoring and evaluation or daily working agreements were entered into. Legislation, MOUs and performance agreements are suppose to regulate the working arrangements between the Department and the agencies, but these are not set out properly in order to ensure full cooperation. This not only hampers the Department in the execution of its functions, but limits the alignment of the planning process and the execution of Government transport policy. In the end, Government targets for delivery on transport matters, especially regarding rural development, are not attained. The Department has no authority to deal with transport matters that are supposed to be handled by the agencies. (Note: The Road Traffic Management Corporation Act may also have limitations as regards general monitoring.)

All legislation and agreements between the Minister and the agencies need urgent revision, as they are outdated and inadequate. Where no MOUs or performance agreements exist, these must be drawn up. The Minister should also mandate/delegate departmental officials to monitor, ensure contract compliance (output to agreed standards, quality, quantity, timeliness, etc.) and coordinate the agencies. If this is not done, the agencies will remain unmanageable and uncontrolled from Government’s side. It must be remembered that the prime responsibility for the agencies rests with the Minister and not with the Department.

5. International protocols and conventions/agreements

The Government is mandated by international conventions and protocols for the overall responsibility for maritime and aviation safety and economic regulation. The responsibility for civil aviation is split between the Department (economic regulation) and SACAA (safety regulation). It is therefore not clear why the CEO of the SACAA (responsible only for safety regulation) is also the Commissioner for Civil Aviation. The role of the Commissioner for Civil Aviation is not properly spelled out in legislation. The South African Government, by signing the Chicago Convention on 4 April 1947, accepted the ICAO prescripts on civil aviation, which make the Government responsible for their implementation and ensuring compliance.

4.1.6 Unfunded mandates

The national Government produces mandates that are difficult to implement, as they are unfunded. Government policy and strategy are shifting to focus on public transport. This is reflected in the NLTTA which, for instance, requires that Integrated Transport Plans be developed and implemented. Provincial departments do not have the capacity (people or funds) to effect this requirement. Furthermore, the bus subsidy contract negotiated by the Department on behalf of the provincial governments, is now the responsibility of the provincial governments. The subsidies are negotiated by and transferred from the Department. The problem is that the contracts include escalation clauses and National Treasury is not willing to include all the extra costs in the subsidy vote. Other projects that have arisen from the shift in focus to public transport and for which funds are needed are the creation of a stable environment in the taxi industry to launch the recapitalisation programme for the industry, and modal transfer facilities.

The provincial departments are also expected to monitor adherence to public transport prescripts by the local authorities. They do not have the human resources or financial capacity for this either.

All national policies/strategies should be costed when funding models are developed. This will ensure that they are economically feasible.

 

2. Functions

The following was found in respect of the functions:

4.2.1 Role and responsibility of the Department

There seems to be a lack of clarity in the Department about its role and responsibilities. The Department’s top management endorses this opinion. The Department is therefore unable to perform its functions efficiently and effectively. In the execution of functions the mandates, capacity, etc. need to be kept in mind. The Department must monitor all transport arms, including the provincial departments. Stakeholders see the Department's functions as policy, regulation and consulting.

The fact that none of the working relationships with the agencies are formalized or legalized in agreements affects the coordination, policy, planning and execution of mutual interests and Government’s transport policy negatively. The gaps between the Department (policy) and the agencies (execution) are too great, and neither party always knows what is going on. The macro role of the Department is to create a transport framework against which the performance of the agencies is measured. For this structured coordination and liaison with stakeholders are needed.

At present the Department is also enforcing legislation and regulations. As it is a policy development and regulating organisation, the operation of law enforcement should be left to the executing arms with the infrastructure and capacity in the transport sector. In any case, the present capacity for law enforcement in the Department is very low and ineffective. The Department should concentrate on policy and advisory functions.

4.2.2 Functions derived from policy

The White Paper on National Transport Policy (1996) spells out the Government’s belief that transport is one of the priority areas for socio-economic development. The Department has not implemented the White Paper in totality. This is maybe because the White Paper seems to be more of a three-year plan for implementation. However, the strategic framework for the transport sector, Moving South Africa – The Action Agenda, published in May 1999, is a "policy" document that integrates all parts of transport into a common vision and plan for action in the long term. The Action Agenda intended the Department to determine national objectives, develop strategy, facilitate implementation and give strategic direction to all role players in the transport industry. This included monitoring and sharing information. It incorporated the prioritized national strategies for rural development, tourism and meeting the needs of people with disabilities. Unfortunately, the Cabinet has never accepted this "policy" as the basis for national transport policy.

4.2.3 Regulation of stakeholders

The Minister/Department should provide strategic direction to stakeholders in the transport sector. This is not done, so the planning process is not always aligned optimally to ensure efficient and effective transport policy execution.

Looking at the mandates, it seems that some of the functions that should be executed by the Department are not executed by them but by the agencies or other organizations. In other cases there are overlaps. Some examples are the investigation into aircraft accidents, overall safety oversight and ports policy.

Though the Department annually transfers about R2 billion to the SARCC, no provision is made in the functions of the Department to monitor it (an MOU has meanwhile been signed). Furthermore, no serious provision is made for the monitoring of the Road Accident Fund, which may be necessary judging by the bad financial position the Fund is in. The regulation/monitoring of ACSA and ATNS from the view of compliance with aviation prescripts is also not performed.

The roles of the Department, the SACAA and the Commissioner for Civil Aviation in the regulation of aviation need to be clarified. This will clear the conflict in functions as well as filling gaps that may exist in the execution of required functions.

4.2.4 Functioning in the global environment

Owing to their knowledge and the developed administrative infrastructure in South Africa the involvement by departmental officials in SADC sub-sectoral committees is taking an increasing amount of time. Furthermore, the role of certain officials in international liaison should be taken cognizance of when detailing functions. The functions of the International Liaison Officer in conjunction with the line officials should be clarified.

3. Performance capacity

4.3.1 Post establishment

There is no or limited capacity in the Department -

• for the development of transport infrastructure;
• to set road building standards or to monitor them;
• to deal with the rail mode;
• to execute rural planning;
• to monitor ACSA and ATNS (there is a separate regulating committee to regulate tariffs);
• to implement the Yamoussoukro Decision on a New African Transport Policy;
• administer the UTF; and
• for economic and financial regulation.

2. Post levels

Some post levels are too low to attract the right level of persons. The high vacancy rate at lower levels is an indication of this problem.

3. Skills, knowledge and experience

4.3.4 Use of consultants

5. The needs of the stakeholders

The stakeholders see the Department as lacking the capacity to give them guidance and assistance in technical and legal matters. The agencies are supposed to be the "operational arms" of the Department. This means that the Department should have the capacity to give strategic direction to the agencies and ensure that there is alignment in the planning process.

6. Enablement

4.3.7 Provision for future development

1. Organisational design

4.4.1 Focus

4.4.2 Lack of capacity

3. Needs of the transport stakeholders

The Department cannot be effectively restructured without taking cognizance of the views and needs of the transport stakeholders expressed above.

4. Additional functions

1. Management and communication

The leadership, discipline, administration and communication lines in the Department are in need of attention.

4.5.1 Leadership

The performance capacity of the Department was influenced not only by the high vacancy rate at management and official level, but also by the fact that during the past four years the post of DG has been vacant for over 18 months. This has affected the leadership in the Department dramatically.

During a strategic planning workshop (by the executive management only) in September 2001, the lack of clarity on the role and responsibilities of the Department was identified as a major constraint in the Department. This view by the leadership should urgently be addressed as it influences the whole operation of the Department.

It seems that the management does not meet regularly to discuss matters regarding the management of the Department. Furthermore, there are no performance agreements for the DG or his two Deputy DGs. The other managers have outdated performance agreements. No KPAs and KPIs have been set for the posts in the Department.

The inability of top management to create a trusting, supportive and cohesive culture, which is important for developing positive perceptions and motivating officials, plays a role in the poor programme performance and effectiveness of the Department.

The CEOs of the agencies and the DG do not meet as regularly as required to solve and promote transport matters. They seem to operate in their own compartments. The DG, as accounting officer, is responsible for transferring funds to the agencies. They report to the Minister and the accounting officer’s role is lost in the process.

4.5.2 Discipline

The Commission experienced a sense of disorganization in the Department. Staff seem to be in meetings all the time, and never in their offices. A large number of staff work after hours to cope with their workload.

The impression created is that staff are undisciplined. Officials are either late for appointments or are not in their offices for appointments confirmed the previous day. Requests for information are ignored. The Department has no Service Delivery Improvement Plan as required in terms of the Public Service Regulations. They do have a management plan for 2000, but it is outdated and does not really address service delivery matters.

4.5.3 Communication

Communication protocols between the Ministry, the top management and other officials are not always adhered to. Sometimes the nature of the work being done requires that immediate action be taken, and as the response from the Department is generally too slow, the Ministry cuts corners in the communication lines. This is not an acceptable practice as it undermines authority and leads to staff bypassing supervisors who do not necessarily agree with proposals (e.g. trips).

The communication process for international liaison is not working well. The line functionaries and agencies are not always consulted or included in discussions. This affects the efficiency of performance on the international front.

The lack of communication with the provincial departments is a major issue raised by them. The operation of the coordinating body, COTO, is unstructured and ineffective. This influences the effectiveness and efficiency of the national policy and strategy on the ground and, ultimately, affects the development of communities.

4.5.4 Administration

The internal flow of information and submissions to top management is slow and documents sometimes get lost. An information control system has recently been developed, but it is not functioning optimally. The administrative process for filling vacant posts needs to be revised to ensure that it can be done more expeditiously.

2. Accountability and risk management

4.6.1 Control

Accountability is intended to ensure -

• compliance with laws and regulations;
• the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of operations;
• reliable financial information;
• the safeguarding of assets and resources; and
• the prevention, detection and correction of irregularities.

2. Internal audit

The Department has an Audit Committee as required by the Treasury Regulations. There is also an Internal Audit component, but during the period 2000/01 they did not produce any report on activities audited. It is impossible for management to control irregularities if no auditing is done.

3. Risk management

1. Needs expressed by stakeholders

The needs expressed by stakeholders can be summarised under three main headings, namely technical matters, administrative matters and the need for coordination. These are the main gaps, according to the stakeholders, in the organisation of the Department and are in need of attention.

0. Technical matters

The Department should strengthen its structure

so that it can provide its stakeholders with support in

technical matters. This includes provision for proper

guidance on transport policy and legal matters. The

stakeholders also need support in the training and

development of officials and systems.

On the legislative side, various Acts that apply to the agencies and provincial departments are in need of revision, as they are outdated and not compatible with current needs. Furthermore, there is urgent need for a national rural development policy and strategy to coordinate the actions of the Department, the provincial departments, the agencies and the commercial enterprises with regard to transport.

There was also concern regarding the reliability and interaction between the various transport information systems. As the Department has the national responsibility for transport and its systems, they should attend to this.

4.7.2 Administrative matters

In strengthening the Department’s structure, provision for administrative functions should also receive attention. It was mentioned that the various systems do not cooperate, which is essential for management and coordination of the various functions. The Department should have the in-house capacity to ensure that this basic resource for the execution of functions is operating without a hitch.

Another function that should be the Department’s responsibility, is the administration needed to meet requirements relating to the agencies, for example matters such as the appointment of board members.

The Department issues guidelines on the salaries of law enforcement officers. Treasury however, generally does not support these guidelines, so the provincial departments have no funds to implement them. They then loose the officers to other institutions, like municipalities, which can afford higher salaries.

4.7.3 Coordination matters

In the structure of the Department provision should be made for the role of a functional coordinator.

COTO and other coordination instruments should be more structured and controlled, as the stakeholders identified many shortcomings in this regard. Furthermore, different transport functions fall under different departments in different provinces, which means not all of the relevant provincial departmental heads are members of COTO and that officials report to different Ministers. These limitations should be addressed in a structured manner to ensure that all role players are included in the national transport process.

Communication between the transport stakeholders needs to be facilitated. At present the communication between the agencies, commercial enterprises and provincial departments rests on individual skills and personal relationships. Structured communication is needed as, in most instances, these role players function in corridors and do not communicate with each other. This means that the execution of transport functions is uncoordinated and not necessarily effective, efficient or economical.

 

2. Summary of findings

2. ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED

• Matters that do not influence the structure or establishment but require attention; and
• Options for the restructuring of the Department.

1. Matters influencing the structure and establishment

The matters identified during the investigation that need to be taken into account during the restructuring of the Department can be divided into two main categories. First, there are the institutional gaps and limitations that affect the Department's role. Secondly, there are the areas of responsibility that need to be catered for in the structure.

0. Gaps and limitations

There are some overlaps between the functions of the agencies and the Department, e.g. accident investigation, policy development and the drafting of regulations. This is mainly due to the lack of expert capacity to execute these functions. Another limiting factor in the performance of functions by the Department is the difficulties being experienced in enforcing the agency legislation and performance agreements. These need to be revised urgently if departmental functions are to be executed efficiently and effectively.

Provision must be made in the structure for those activities that fall into the vacuums created by the limited capacity in the various components. These include rural development policy and the implementation of the Yamoussoukro Decision and the White Paper on National Policy on Airports and Airspace Management.

Another limitation in the structure is the level of execution of certain tasks. Owing to the low levels of certain posts it is difficult to fill them with suitable people, so they remain vacant. The use of consultants is not contributing to the performance of the Department, as it is only a temporary means of filling the gaps. The post establishment must make provision for growth and development in the Department. Furthermore, the scarcity of skills and experience will remain a problem area for the Department for some time, as it can only be solved in the long term. This problem has to be taken into account in the organisational design. The direct and more frequent involvement of line functionaries in policy development is therefore crucial for sustainable policy and strategy development.

Another shortcoming in the organisational design that needs to be addressed is the control over the use of the transfer payments. Some control is executed, but it may not be adequate.

1. Areas of responsibility

The Department has no provision for the following functions:

• The development of transport infrastructure;
• the setting and monitoring of road building standards;
• dealing with the rail mode;
• the execution of rural planning;
• the implementation of the Yamoussoukro Decision;
• the administration of the UTF; and
• economic and financial regulation.

1. Other matters in need of attention

There are other matters that do not influence the structure or establishment directly, but need to be attended to. These matters can be divided into managerial and functional matters.

0. Management matters

• The setting of appropriate delegations;
• the provision for future developments such as the creation of the RTMC;
• the sharpening of discipline in the Department;
• the management of the flow of information;
• the development of risk and control procedures; and
• the proper administration of agency matters like the appointment of board members.

1. Functional matters

1. Assumptions

Transport modes Departmental

 Role players

Policy/Strategy Capacity

Regulation

1. The three basic functions of the Department are policy, regulation and support (implementation). These functions must be aligned with national policy, the transport planning process and the execution of transport functions in general. They must therefore be viewed holistically. Furthermore, the Department must address the gaps and limitations identified in paragraph 5.1.1. The Department has no execution (operating) functions. The following can be said about the three basic functions:

• Policy: The national transport objectives should be determined with regard to the Government's overall policy. This would mean prioritizing national policies/strategies such as rural development. From this the national transport strategies should be determined.
• Regulation: The regulation of the transport modes should be seen in a broader context than merely economic regulation. As part of the regulation, the facilitation of strategies specific to the regulated institutions, their direction and their functioning in the global environment should be included. The role and responsibility of the Government (Department) with regard to international protocols and conventions should be taken into account here.
• Support: This is mainly the implementation of the land transport policy as set out in the NLTTA. This is important for the economy, especially for local and rural development. The Department needs to assist the provincial departments with the implementation of standards and strategies in this regard.

1. The limited skills in the Department are a major issue and should be taken into account during the restructuring process. For this reason a fully-fledged policy component and fully staffed line components are not seen as a viable option at this stage. Capacity has to be built and meanwhile the line components should give full technical support and cooperation in the development of policies and strategies.
2. In structuring the Department the areas of responsibility mentioned in 5.1.2 must also be taken into account.