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Cross-Border Road Transport Agency Presentation to the Select Committee on Public Service 23 November 201o Old Assembly Wing, Parliament Cape Town. Table of Contents. 1. Legislative Mandate. 2. RSA/Lesotho Cross-Border Passenger Operations. 3. Interface between C-BRT Act and NLTA.
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Cross-Border Road Transport Agency Presentation to the Select Committee on Public Service 23 November 201o Old Assembly Wing, Parliament Cape Town
Table of Contents 1. Legislative Mandate. 2. RSA/Lesotho Cross-Border Passenger Operations. 3. Interface between C-BRT Act and NLTA. 4. 2009/2010 Permit Statistics.
Introduction The C-BRTA was established by the Cross-border Road Transport Act 4 0f 1998 to provide for co-operative and co-ordinated provision of advice, regulation, facilitation and law enforcement in respect of cross-border road transport by the public and private sectors.
Core Functional Areas This role is carried out through the following functions: • Regulatory - responsible for the issuing and facilitation of all cross border permits. • Law Enforcement - monitors the carriers through country-wide inspections and ensures that carriers operate within the prescribed legal parameters. • Advisory - advises the Minister of Transport and the DoT on regional road transport imperatives and challenges. This function also monitors and counteracts any restrictive measures that may be implemented by other states in the SADC region. • Facilitation - ensures that consultations and partnerships with other key role players within South Africa and SADC are fostered and maintained.
The Regulatory Framework DOMESTIC LEGISLATION Cross-Border Transport Act, 4 of 1998 , as amended National Land Transport Act, 5 of 2009 National Road Traffic Act, 93 of 1996, as amended Tourism Act, 72 of 1993 Transport Deregulation Act, 80 of 1988 Multilateral Agreements Bilateral Agreements • SADC Protocol on Transport, • Communications & Meteorology • SACU Memorandum of • Understanding on Road Transport • (MoU) • Bilateral Agreements concluded between SA and; • Malawi, • Zambia, • Zimbabwe • Mozambique Facilitation of cross border transport through: A strategic private-public sector relationship A strategic alliance between transport authorities Capacity building of private and public sector
Cross-Border Road Transport Agreements • SADC Protocol on Transport Communications and Meteorology; • SACU MOU: SA, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland; • Trans-Kalahari MOU: SA, Botswana & Namibia; and • Bilateral Agreements - • Malawi, • Mozambique, • Zimbabwe, and • Zambia.
Status of Agreements • Chapter 14 of the Constitution regulates the validity and implementation of international agreements; • International agreements becomes law when enacted into law by national legislation; • These agreements are attached to the Transport Deregulation Act, 1988, and remain in force under the C-BRT Act; • Cross-border road transport is regulated differently as a result of these agreements.
Strategic Triangle • In developing a strategy for a public sector organisation, three critical elements must be brought into coherent alignment by meeting three broad tests: • Firstly, the strategy must be substantively valuable in the sense that the organisation produces things of value to overseers, clients, and beneficiaries at low cost in terms of money and authority. • Second, it must be legitimate and politically sustainable. That is, the enterprise must be able to continually attract both authority and funding from the political authorising environment to which it is ultimately accountable. • Third, it must be operationally and administratively feasible in that the authorised, valuable activities can actually be accomplished by the existing organisation with help from others who can be induced to contribute to the organisation’s goal. • These tests are powerful because they identify the necessary conditions for the production of value in the public sector.
C-BRTA Strategic Importance • The C-BRTA has a strategic role in driving the agenda of harmonising road transport operations in the SADC region. • Pivotal role in championing regional integration as contemplated in Agency’s founding address and its legislative mandate. • Strategic resource of the Minister of Transport in addressing and resolving road transport issues within SADC. • Promotion of regional trade and socio-economic integration and development. • Promotion of regulated competition i.r.o. cross-border passenger transport. • Improvement of safety, security, reliability, quality and efficiency in cross-border road transport.
Challenges • Compromised diplomatic and trade relations between RSA and Lesotho; • Non-compliance to provisions of SACU MoU on Road Transportation; • Operators failure to convert old order permits and operating licenses that purport to authorize cross-border transport to cross-border permits within the legislated timeframe (before 28 February 2009); • Impeded flow of passenger traffic: cross-border operations terminating at the ports of entry of the respective jurisdictions and passengers walking through the border posts; • Existence of illegal taxi ranking facilities located at various ports of entry as a direct outflow of the impeded flow of passenger traffic; and • Congestion which leads to compromised border control operations and security integrity.
Initial Normalisation Interventions • Amendment of the Cross-Border Road Transport Act. • Amendment of National Land Transport Transition Act and alignment of National Land Transport Act. • Upliftment of moratorium against the issuance of cross-border passenger permits. • Various stakeholder engagements. • Ministerial intervention. • SACU intervention sought by Lesotho.
Current Normalisation Interventions • Presidential commitment during recent Presidential State Visit to Lesotho; • Ministers of Transport decision to normalise passenger operations by implementing road transport legislation and agreements; • Ministerial directive to normalise cross-border passenger transport operations; • Visit by General Cele to inspect security situation at various borders; • Formation of a task team consisting of senior road transport officials, i.e. NDoT; C-BRTA, SARS, FreeTrans, Registrar’s of Public Transport, BCOCC, Ministry of Transport: Lesotho, etc.; • Inspection in loco at Van Rooyen’s Gate and Maseru Bridge; • Removal of illegal ranking facilities at Van Rooyen’s Gate border.
Task Team Draft Recommendations • Minister of Transport to engage Free State MEC at MINMEC level; • NDoT to engage at Free State HoD at COTO level; • Free State Department of Public works to identify suitable land for relocation of illegal ranking facilities; • Free State Government and local municipalities to cease the erection of ranking facilities in close proximity of border posts; • On-going engagement with all affected parties to ensure normalised passenger operations; • Increased law enforcement around the RSA/Lesotho borders.
Interface: Cross-Border Road Transport Act & National Land Transport Act
Cross-Border Road Transport (1) • “cross-border road transport means the transport of passengers and their personal effects or freight for reward or in the course of an industry, trade or business, to or from the Republic, crossing or intending to cross its borders into the territory of another state or in transit across the Republic or the territory of another state with a vehicle on a public road” • “reward means any reward or compensation whether monetary or otherwise received in terms of a contract concluded for the hiring of a vehicle and a driver or the hiring of a vehicle and the separate hiring of a driver’’
Cross-Border Road Transport (2) • All permits and operating licences issued by the National Transport Commission, local road transportation boards and operating licensing boards in terms of the Road Transportation Act, the National Land Transport Transition Act, or provincial legislation contemplated in the definition of ‘replacing provincial law’ in section 1 of the NLTA, which authorise or purport to authorise cross-border road transport and with a validity period exceeding 12 months, lapse within six months after the entry into force of section 25 of the Cross-Border Road Transport Amendment Act, 2008: Provided that the holder of such a permit or operating licence may apply to the Regulatory Committee for the granting of a permit in terms of this Act.’’
Section 75 of NLTA (1) • S75(1): “Where on trips involving cross-border road transport an operator both picks up and drops off passengers within the Republic, either on the outward or return journey, that operator must be in possession of the necessary operating licence as required by this Act for the vehicle, in addition to any permit required by the Cross-Border Act”; • S75 (2): “No one may drop off passengers at or near an international border, where it is clear that such passengers intend to cross the border into another state, and no one may pick up passengers at or near such a border where it is clear that those passengers come from another state having crossed such border into the Republic, unless that person is the holder of the necessary permit required by the Cross-Border Act”
Section 75 of NLTA (2) • S75(3): “In any prosecution in terms of this Act, where an operator has picked up or dropped off passengers within two kilometres of any international border post, that operator will be presumed to be undertaking cross-border road transport, unless the operator proves the contrary in the prescribed manner”; • S75 (4): “Where the regulatory committee defined in section 1 of the Cross-Border Act is considering an application for a permit where ranks or terminals in the Republic will be used, that committee must allow relevant planning authorities the opportunity, in the prescribed manner, to comment on the use of those facilities.”
Regulatory Interface • Public transport facilities concurrent competency of provincial and local government – Schedule 4 of Constitution; • Drop-off or pick-up of passengers within 2km radius from port of entry deemed cross-border operation – S75 of NLTA; • Cross-border transport: transportation of passengers or goods crossing or intending to cross the border into territory of another state; • Bilateral and multilateral agreements defines cross-border road transport as cross-border road transport for reward having point A in country of departure and point B in country of destination;
2009/2010 Permit Statistics
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