SA’s crumbling roads infrastructure needs more private sector investment if it is not to disintegrate further, Reginald Demana, CEO of the SA National Roads Agency (Sanral), said on Friday.
He told a motor industry conference that the government does not have enough money for upkeep so it needs outside help.
Existing toll concessions on national roads, managed and maintained by private companies, are examples of how public-private partnerships can work. He suggested future concessions could include street lights and CCTV traffic cameras.
The idea brought a sharp retort from Gavin Kelly, CEO of the Road Freight Association. Why should the private sector chip in even more for services its taxes are already supposed to be paying for? He acknowledged that existing concessions are beneficial — “We may complain of endless maintenance work on the N3 to Durban but at least there is maintenance”. But he said over-reliance on the private sector is not helpful.
Still, there are benefits. With private concessionaires, at least people know where the money is going. “There is so much mismanagement and poor financial control” in government transport projects, he said.
Lwazi Mboyi, CEO of the Cross-Border Road Transport Agency, said the problem of lousy roads is particularly acute in Mpumalanga and Limpopo. Super-heavy trucks carrying minerals from the Democratic Republic of Congo and other countries to SA ports routinely use minor roads in the two provinces so drivers can pocket the toll fees.
Kelly said: “We allow heavy trucks on roads that aren’t designed for them.”
The roads discussion was a rare detour from the main topic of the three-day conference organised by motor industry association Naamsa: the urgent need for a new-energy vehicle (NEV) policy to help motor companies plan their products and investments. The government should have published an NEV white paper in 2021 but has missed a series of deadlines since then.
Clear direction
Now, the industry has been told to expect a policy outline in finance minister Enoch Godongwana’s November 1 midterm budget speech, maybe even accompanied by the elusive white paper. However, having had their hopes dashed so often in the past two years, most executives said they are taking nothing for granted.
Ford Africa president Neale Hill said: “We hope for very clear direction from Mr Godongwana. We need clarity. The more we delay, the further back in the queue we will move when parent companies allocate investments.”
There is a particular fear that if the policy is not published and under way before next May’s scheduled national election, it could be delayed indefinitely if there is a coalition government.
That idea is unthinkable. While most of the world sprints towards an automotive future in which traditional internal combustion engines (ICE) give way to electric vehicles (EV) and other forms of emissions-free propulsion, SA has barely left the starting blocks. More than two-thirds of vehicles built in SA are exported, most to countries that will ban ICE technology in the next decade.
While some smaller markets will remain wedded to ICE for some years, the local industry cannot afford to lose so many exports. But before they make the investment transition to EVs and power sources, companies need a clear policy.
Billy Tom, Naamsa president and MD of Isuzu SA, said: “We can no longer afford to procrastinate on technology changes.” Naamsa CEO Mike Mabasa agreed: “While the government works at a snail’s pace to create a policy, other governments around the world already have their EV plans in place.”
Volkswagen SA MD Martina Biene said: “Companies will have to fundamentally reshape their business culture [for EVs]. Industry will have to change its operating model. We need to change now. We need pronouncements from government on intentions to ensure alignment with the rest of the world. Companies must know where they stand in their investment cycles.”
Even deputy president Paul Mashatile weighed in. In his keynote speech on Friday, he said the switch to EV technology is inevitable.
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