Open letter to the Minister of Transport

Nick Porée, managing director of Nick Porée and Associates (NP&A) and FOCUS columnist, has written this open letter to Barbara Creecy, South Africa’s Minister of Transport. It will resonate with many of our readers…

In 2026, it will be 40 years since the National Transport Policy Study (1986), which resolved the logistics impasse of the time by enabling the private sector to transport approximately 85% of freight by road – albeit without effective regulation. Policy inertia has since led to a new national logistics crisis, driven by the collapse of the rail and ports systems, alongside the negative externalities of an under-regulated road freight industry.

Over four decades of engagement as professional transport consultants to the Department of Transport (DoT), my associates and I have consistently advocated for the changes required to achieve internationally recognised modal best practice. Despite extensive research and reporting – including the National Transport Policy Study (NTPS), National Transport Master Plan (NATMAP), National Freight Logistics Strategy (NFLS), Road Freight Strategy (RFS), Harrismith Hub, Durban Logistics and KwaZulu-Natal Road Safety Review – as well as consultations with SADC, COMESA, TradeMark East Africa (TMEA), UNECA and the World Bank Group, implementation has remained limited. We therefore submit the following key issues for consideration in informing an actionable reform programme.

Road freight

South Africa, like most countries on the continent, has a road freight industry that dominates the logistics sector. The recommendations of the Road Freight Quality System (RFQS) in the 1980s were not implemented, resulting in an industry regulated primarily through traffic legislation, rather than comprehensive commercial transport quality controls – contrary to international best practice.

The Road Freight Strategy – developed by the DoT and approved by Cabinet in 2017 – sought to address these shortcomings but has yet to be implemented. Similarly, the SADC-Tripartite Transport and Transit Facilitation Programme (TTTFP) and the Transport Registers and Information Platform and Systems (TRIPS), which were intended to deliver comparable reforms, deviated from their core objectives into a largely traffic-focused process across 27 countries. After expending €20 million over eight years, the initiative stalled.

These transport reform recommendations are endorsed by the World Bank and supported by the International Road Transport Union (IRU), the European Union and Regional Economic Communities (RECs).

For South Africa, reform actions should include:
a) Operator qualification, registration and monitoring through a National Competent Authority.
b) Professionalisation of heavy goods vehicle driver training, including qualifications and oversight.
c) Restructuring of vehicle condition inspection, monitoring and reporting (Certificate of Roadworthiness).
d) Development of effective transport managerial and industrial technical training in collaboration with industry.
e) Modernisation of load control systems and technologies to international standards.
f) Updating the National Road Traffic Act with professional input from industry.

Rail freight

From a private-sector perspective, rail freight (and passenger rail) must be reformed to allow genuine commercial competition on a national network managed by an independent regulatory authority. Recapitalisation of Transnet Freight Rail alone represents a buffering exercise, rather than a sustainable strategy to address historical debt or to enable the rapid mobilisation of private Train Operating Companies (TOCs).

Current processes do not appear likely to deliver efficiency improvements beyond recent performance levels, given continued monopoly protection and limited competition. Engagement mechanisms with the private sector lack sufficient openness and transparency, which will constrain uptake until the DoT assumes effective control of the Transnet Rail Infrastructure Manager (TRIM) and enables true commercial open access for TOCs.

Ports

Efforts to improve ports policy since the National Ports Act of 2005 were largely constrained by State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) resistance until the partial restructuring of Durban’s Pier 2 in 2025. From a private-sector perspective, restoring high-performance maritime logistics requires addressing a 30-year backlog in investment and innovation.

Beyond terminal management, infrastructure and system upgrades, this will require substantial investment in city and national road access, rail restructuring and upgrades; repurposing Transnet property to attract private investment; privatising competitive terminals; and restructuring ports governance to include cities, industry and provinces.

Such a complex process would benefit from the establishment of a Special Purpose Commission (SPC) to coordinate integrated planning and implementation across government and the private sector. Comparable port redevelopments have been successfully implemented in Melbourne, Sydney, Dar es Salaam, Maputo, Tanger-Med and elsewhere.

Borders

South Africa’s international border posts have traditionally been managed by Customs and are now administered by the Border Management Agency (BMA), with an increased focus on immigration. The DoT is represented through the Cross-Border Road Transport Agency (CBRTA), which administers the costly and ineffective SADC bilateral permit system.

In 2015, SADC and the Tripartite structures accepted recommendations to replace this system with an operator registration and monitoring framework based on freight transport quality. However, implementation did not follow. The inefficiencies in current systems, infrastructure and cross-border processes cost the industry billions of rand annually, divert cargo to competing ports and corridors and constrain South Africa’s trade potential under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

There is an urgent need for the DoT to play a coordinating role in road freight corridor development – particularly at Beit Bridge and other key routes – drawing on the successful experience of the East African Community region.

Road safety

South Africa’s road fatality rate is estimated at 22 to 26/100,000 people (approximately 12,000 fatalities per annum), depending on data sources. The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), the primary institution mandated to address road safety, operates on an annual budget of approximately R1.6 billion across six programmes:

• Road Safety Marketing (R26.1 million)
• Training of Traffic Personnel (R160.2 million)
• Law Enforcement (R277.6 million)
• Traffic Intelligence (R23.1 million)
• Road Traffic Information and Technology (R293.8 million)
• Support Services (R796.9 million)

Approximately 85% of this R1.6 billion expenditure supports a staff complement of around 450 personnel, including R44 million allocated to executive costs. Despite this, the RTMC has not delivered a sustained reduction in road fatalities over its 20-year existence.

International experience demonstrates that effective road safety outcomes depend on the integrated application of the “five Es”: Education, Engineering, Evaluation, Enforcement and Emergency Care. Several of these elements remain partially or wholly absent in South Africa. Rather than supplanting capable provincial systems with agencies, the DoT should modernise and coordinate existing centres of excellence – such as eThekwini – through strong in-house professional capacity.

Other key areas of need

These include:

• Road Accident Fund (RAF): Digitalisation to combat corruption.
• Transport Education and Training Authority (TETA): Effective managerial and technical education.
• Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA): The development of commercialised, competitive services.
• Road Funding: Policy, models and implementation.
• Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS): Training and systems upgrades.
• Department of Transport: Restructuring of the department and its agencies to improve accountability.

The current challenges facing South Africa’s transport system stem primarily from institutional inertia and implementation gaps, rather than a lack of information or analysis. We remain available and willing to contribute constructively to efforts to restore and modernise the national freight logistics system in support of a resilient and competitive economy.