Address by President Cyril Ramaphosa at the inaugural National Transport Conference, Gallagher Estate, Johannesburg

Minister of Transport, Ms Barbara Creecy, 
Deputy Ministers from SADC
Premier of Gauteng, Mr Panyaza Lesufi,
Ministers from SADC,
Leaders of business and labour,
Distinguished Guests,
Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen, 

It is my honour to address this inaugural National Transport Conference. 

Transport is vital to our economy and our people. 

When are transport arteries are blocked or inefficient, growth stalls, costs rise and opportunity diminishes. When they flow freely, the country thrives. 

An effective transport and logistics system is not merely about moving goods and people. It is about unlocking opportunity, restoring competitiveness, reducing inequality and enabling inclusive growth. 

The transport sector is integral to our effort to make economic growth work for everyone.

It is essential for getting goods from our factories and minerals from our mines to markets here and abroad.

By the same measure, it is vital for the development of our rural areas, enabling farmers to get their produce to market and communities to access services.

In a country where the majority of its people was deliberately removed and settled far from economic opportunities, an effective, affordable and safe transport system is essential to narrow those distances.

To take people to opportunity, and to take opportunity to people.

This conference is taking place amid significant changes.

The geopolitical environment is shifting rapidly. Old trade routes are being redrawn and supply chains reconfigured. 

Other countries on our continent are investing aggressively in their own rail and port infrastructure, creating both competition and opportunity. 

It creates competition for our rail and port operations, but it also opens up great opportunities for trade, investment and cooperation throughout our region and across the content.

The defining challenge of our time – climate change – is reshaping both infrastructure and operations. 

In recent years, we have seen the damage that extreme weather events – such as floods – causes to rail, road and port infrastructure.

We have seen how it can disrupt the flow of goods and commuter travel.

We need infrastructure that is resilient and sustainable. Our operational capabilities need to be agile and adaptable.

Through the Medium Term Development Plan, Government has placed logistics reform at the heart of our economic recovery strategy. 

A critical imbalance exists in our freight network: approximately 69 percent of all freight moves by road. 

This places immense strain on our road network and contributes to poor road safety. 

Inefficiencies in logistics are estimated to cost our economy close to R1 billion a day. 

That is a cost we should not – and need not - bear. 

The cornerstone of our reform programme is the National Rail Policy of 2022, complemented by the National Freight Logistics Roadmap of 2023. 

Together, these policies seek to re-establish rail as the backbone of our logistics network.

They seek to bring in new investment from private operators while keeping strategic infrastructure – our rail lines and ports – in public ownership, as assets that belong to all the people of South Africa. 

Through the establishment of the Transnet Rail Infrastructure Manager, open access to the rail network has become a reality. 

To date, train slots covering 24 million tonnes a year have been conditionally awarded to 11 train operating companies. We expect the first private operator to commence operations in April 2027. 

We have set an ambitious target of moving 250 million tonnes of freight by rail by 2029. 

In the past financial year, 160 million tonnes of freight were moved by rail, an increase of 5.5 percent on the previous year.

Transnet’s revenue in 2024-2025 rose to R82 billion, which is nearly 8 percent higher than the year before. 

To decrease backlogs and increase port volumes, Transnet has embarked on an extensive upgrading and maintenance programme. 

Building on the experience of our response to the energy crisis, the National Logistics Crisis Committee has brought together a range of government departments and agencies and mobilised expert support to drive the recovery of our logistics capabilities.

Through this work we have seen breakthrough projects on the coal and iron ore corridors to improve operational performance, improved communication between Transnet and its customers, and a significant reduction in security incidents on the rail network.

These are early signs of recovery. They tell us that the interventions are working. 

Passenger rail is also essential for inclusive growth. 

An effective passenger rail system connects communities and provides dignity to working-class South Africans. 

The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa – PRASA – has revived 37 of 40 priority passenger rail corridors and introduced more than 300 locally-manufactured train sets. 

We are targeting 116 million passenger journeys this financial year, on our way to 600 million trips by 2029. 

Reliable passenger rail lowers commuting costs and improves access to work, education and healthcare. 

We have launched a new Request for Information to attract private investment in rapid regional rail, rolling stock and depot modernisation. 

Road transport remains indispensable. 

The trucking industry will continue to play a vital role in our logistics supply chains. 

The taxi industry, which carries of 80 percent of South Africans who use public transport, is one of the largest black-owned sectors in the economy. 

The economics of the industry has an impact on the sustainability of public transport, driver behaviour and road safety. 

We are working with taxi associations and financial institutions to de-risk the industry and provide accessible finance to taxi owners and drivers.

Transport must be as inclusive as possible. No one must be left behind.

The Department of Transport issued the Action Plan for Universally Accessible Transport in November 2024, outlining the measures we must take to ensure better transport services for persons with disabilities. 

Our rapid transit bus services are designed with accessibility in mind. The new PRASA trains have dedicated areas in their carriages for those who are wheelchair-bound.

Through the South African National Roads Agency – SANRAL – government manages over 31,000 kilometres of national roads, carrying 70 percent of long-distance freight. 

Major projects – from the Moloto Road upgrade to the Msikaba and Mtentu bridges in the Eastern Cape – have improved safety and connectivity while creating over 35,000 job opportunities and supporting more than 2,000 SMMEs. 

Our roads, which are arteries of growth and development, are far too often places of destruction, injury and death.

More than 12,000 people die on our roads each year. 

Through strategic interventions and deployment of the National Traffic Police on prioritised national routes, we have begun to see a decrease in our number of road accident deaths.

During the latest festive season, the country recorded the fewest number of crashes in five years. 

We aim to at least halve road deaths by 2030. 

As a trading nation, over 90 percent of our trade by volume moves by sea. 

The current conflict in the Middle East has placed a spotlight on our ports and their strategic value. 

When major shipping routes are disrupted, South Africa has an opportunity to position itself as an alternative hub. 

Our ports must be geared to handle any eventuality at short notice and to respond to a geopolitical environment that is becoming more unpredictable. 

Coastal shipping will be critical to advancing the African Continental Free Trade Area and promote regional integration. 

So too will air transport. 

The AU’s Single African Air Transport Market envisions a deregulated and liberalised airspace that allows for improved connectivity between African states. 

A flight that should take four hours should not take eighteen. 

Together with our continental partners we are pursuing the vision of bringing African cities closer together and making travel between them cheaper and easier. 

The aviation sector is crucial to our efforts to drive tourism as an enabler of growth and job creation. 

In closing, this inaugural National Transport Conference must mark a turning point in South African transport. 

A modern, efficient and inclusive transport system will lower the cost of doing business, attract investment, create jobs and improve household incomes.

It will strengthen regional integration and make our economy more competitive. 

To build the partnership that this vision requires, I propose that we consider establishing a permanent Transport Council.

Modelled on our experience with the Energy Council, this would bring together government, the private sector, and all passenger and logistics service providers across land, air and sea. 

Just as collaboration transformed our energy response, cross-sector collaboration of this kind will enable further stabilisation and inclusive growth in transport. 

Let us seize this moment and place transport at the centre of our country’s growth path. 

With these words, I thank you for your attendance and declare the National Transport Conference officially open. 

I thank you.