South Africa Vision

Gauteng MEC for Public Transport and Roads Infrastructure, Jacob Mamabolo, has emphasised the importance of securing the N3 as a Smart Freight Corridor.

“While this initiative is still at its early stage, our success to secure the N3 as a Smart Freight Corridor will serve as a benchmark and a standard for replication and expansion to other corridors,” the MEC said on Thursday.

Addressing a virtual freight workshop for participants to highlight the effects of the recent unrest and its impact on operations, Mamabolo said smart technologies for data management and security based on trust between stakeholders is critical for the initiative to grow the economy and create jobs.

The MEC joined the workshop under the theme, ‘Securing and Restoring the N3 as a Smart Freight Mobility Corridor’, as envisaged in the Growing Gauteng Together Through Smart Mobility Plan.

The plan looks at taking advantage of the province’s current standing as a gateway to Africa in order to position it as the freight and logistics hub for the country and the continent.

While the workshop was held in response to recent disruptions to freight movement along the N3, the department has been working on strengthening relations to ensure its development as a Smart Freight Corridor.

Forty key industry associations were present, marking the importance of the engagements. As its main objective, participants also engaged on practical solutions to making the N3 a safe corridor for movement of freight.

“The workshop also provided a safe platform for government and the broader industry to engage intensely to find ways to minimise risks that could lead to loss of or threat to life, food and medical security, damage to infrastructure and loss of livelihoods, as well as to build trust and confidence,” the department said.

In seeking a lasting solution, participants from the Road Freight Association, C-track (Transport and Freight Index), South African National Roads Agency, Department of Transport, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and other partners from Logistics Indicator Development Partners, GESI – Germany, also reflected on the unrest, the corridor’s status quo and the way forward.

Issues covered included the elevation of the role of the N3 in the economy of the country; the deployment of available technologies to restore the stability of the corridor; the vision of the N3 as a smart freight corridor; the importance of safety and security to along the corridor; the role of data management and sharing for effective traffic management.

The meeting identified the need for collaborative logistics by both the public and private sector.

In the short-term, the stakeholders resolved that two key outcomes need to be delivered:

• The development of a concise and detailed project plan to be ratified by the Gauteng Freight Forum in its next sitting; and

• The partnering of the industry’s vaccination drive with that of the Department of Health.

The forum was established in July 2021 with the following organisations as members:

• The Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA);

• The Road Freight Association (RFA);

• The South African Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF);

• The South African Express Parcel Association (SAEPA); and

• The Transport Forum.

Source: South African Government News Agency

As the levels of youth unemployment reach alarming levels, Deputy President David Mabuza says government will look at incentivising discouraged work-seekers and employers to address the challenge.

The Deputy President said this when he responded to oral questions during a virtual sitting of the National Council of Provinces on Thursday.

“Moving forward and working with our social partners, it will be important to find practical measures of incentivising further discouraged young work-seekers and also scaling up our incentives to employers in both the public and private sectors to employ young people to gain a foothold and the requisite experience,” he said.

Recent unemployment statistics revealed a bleak picture for young people, with 64.4% of those aged between 15 to 24 being unemployed, and 42.9% of those aged between the ages of 25 and 35 finding themselves out of work.

Addressing provincial NCOP delegates, the Deputy President said government recognises that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on efforts to create jobs, particularly for the youth and people with disabilities.

Since the advent of COVID-19 in March 2020, the share of young people under 35 years old in all employment levels has fallen from 56% before the pandemic to 50% today.

“Among the concrete measures is to ensure that there is high absorption capacity of young people and women, and set-asides in sectors such as agriculture and agro-processing, mining, tourism, the oceans economy and service industries,” Mabuza said.

At the recently held Fourth Human Resource Development Council Summit, social partners agreed on the urgent need to address the issue of young people that drop out at various points of their schooling prior to attaining their matric qualification, as they add to the tally of young people that are not in employment, education or training.

“We further agreed that our response should be comprehensive enough to ensure that we equip young people with skills that are relevant, and will close the prevalent gap of skills required and those available in the labour market.

“We are optimistic that through our coordination of the Human Resource Development Council, we will be able to find workable, long-term solutions to the skills gap and youth unemployment through convergences in the deployment of resources to achieve better outcomes.

“The importance of pragmatic public-private partnerships cannot be emphasised enough to empower and capacitate young people, for whom economic emancipation remains a deferred dream,” said Mabuza.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Deputy President David Mabuza has called on all sectors of the economy to rethink the project of nation building and social cohesion to quell racial tensions, and build an inclusive economy in light of the recent incidents of civil unrest, especially in Phoenix in KwaZulu-Natal.

The Deputy President was responding to oral questions in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on Thursday.

Winnie Ngwenya, the ANC’s NCOP delegate from Gauteng, had asked whether the Moral Regeneration Movement, of which the Deputy President is a patron, has played any role in assisting government to quell racial tensions that were stoked by the brutal and senseless killings of 36 people during the recent public violence, looting destruction of property in KwaZulu-Natal.

“The unfortunate events significantly reversed the progress we had made against racism.

“They challenged all of us to rethink the project of nation building and inclusive economic growth to be fully reflective of the aspirations contained in our Constitution.

“For as long as the majority is feeling excluded from economic opportunities and shared growth, the journey towards a cohesive society will be steeper and harder to climb,” he said.

The Deputy President said it is incumbent upon all the leaders of society, working across political lines, to lead and address decisively the root causes of the unrests and find shared sustainable solutions to ensure this dark period in the country’s history is never repeated.

“For its part, the Moral Regeneration Movement and the Social Cohesion Advocates have done considerable work in dispelling racial tensions, especially in KwaZulu-Natal.

“Various organisations and civil society have also been on the ground right from the beginning of the social unrest, visiting and engaging communities in affected areas like Phoenix, Chatsworth, Verulam, uMlazi and Greater Pietermaritzburg.”

The Deputy President said it was encouraging to note the work that has been led by the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal in showing solidarity with the affected families and communities in the province who lost their loved ones during the unrest.

The KwaZulu-Natal provincial government, in partnership with the South African Police Service, has facilitated engagements with the affected communities, and community leaders through the establishment of District Rapid Response Task Teams.

Further to this, the teams have developed interventions for all districts, and are monitored on a weekly basis at provincial level.

“To further strengthen the work of the Moral Regeneration Movement in the province, the Premier has established a Social Cohesion and Moral Regeneration Council to coordinate interventions, and provide meaningful support to affected families and communities within the province.

“We are advised that the work of this council will include the establishment of Peace Committee Forums, whose main objective will be to maintain peace and work towards reconciliation by involving community leaders from areas such as Bhambayi, Zwelisha, Amaoti, Inanda and Phoenix.”

The Deputy President said the Minister of Police, together with the KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Safety and Community Liaison and the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner have, on a number of occasions visited Phoenix and the surrounding areas to engage communities and identify the culprits who were involved in perpetrating violence.

“We are pleased to report that to date over, 35 suspects have been arrested, and the police are working with the community to improve safety and security, which proves that as a nation, we are a resilient people, who are open to deep societal introspection in order to find healing.”

The Deputy President said there was a need to deal decisively with the scourge of racism as it is not in the interest of all South Africans.

“That is why we are encouraged by the swift intervention of the Commission of Religious and Linguistic Rights, which is conducting hearings in the affected areas of KwaZulu-Natal.

“This contributes a great deal in facilitating a resolution to the friction and conflict between and within cultural, religious, and linguistic communities in our country, thus promoting peace, tolerance and national unity.

“All these initiatives can only succeed if we stay united as a people and find sustainable solutions to challenges of economic exclusion and inequality in our country.” –

Source: South African Government News Agency