Bringing the country closer to meeting the United Nations’ target of halving global road deaths, Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy has set an ambitious goal to reduce road accident fatalities by 45% by 2029.

Speaking at the National Press Club’s roundtable discussion on the transport economy, held at Unisa SBL Midrand Campus on October 9 as part of the Transport Month launch, Creecy said the department is determined to make South African roads safer, while improving efficiency across the transport sector.

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“To ensure greater safety on our roads, and to reduce the devastating toll road accidents have on our lives, livelihoods, and the gross domestic product, we aim to reduce road accident fatalities by 45% by 2029.”

Joined by Deputy Minister Mkhuleko Hlengwa, and heads of key transport entities, including Prasa Group CEO Hishaam Emeran, SANRAL CEO Reginald Demana, Transnet Group COO Solly Letsoalo, South African Airways CEO John Lamola, and representatives from Unisa, Creecy emphasised that the prompt execution of logistics and infrastructure reforms is vital to strengthening the transport economy and managing risks in both domestic and global contexts.

Creecy revealed that since she and Hlengwa took office, they have undertaken a five-year strategic planning process to focus the department’s work across its nine branches and 16 entities.

This plan outlines six key priorities to be achieved by the end of the seventh administration in 2029.

Among these priorities, Creecy highlighted that by the end of 2029, they aim to transport 250 million tons of freight annually on the Transnet network.

Another priority is to enhance the speed of loading and unloading ships in ports, to meet the international benchmark of 30 gross crane moves per hour.

The third priority is to ensure that the passenger rail system provides safe, reliable, and affordable transport to workers and their families, aiming for 600 million passenger journeys per year by 2030.

The fourth priority focuses on increasing aviation’s contribution to tourism, economic development, and job creation, targeting 42 million passengers annually through the Airports Company South Africa network, and moving 1.2 million tons of air freight each year by the end of this political term.

“I’m pleased to report that we’ve made significant progress in achieving all of these targets in the first year.”

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Hlengwa echoed these sentiments, reaffirming the department’s commitment to improving service delivery across all areas of transport.

@caxtonjoburgnorth The Deputy Minister of Transport, Mkhuleko Hlengwa, delivers an address at the roundtable discussion on transport economy at Unisa SBL Midrand. Video: Comfort Makhanya #LocalNews #caxtonlocalmedia #trendingviralvideo #SA ♬ original sound – Caxton Joburg North

“By committing ourselves to a social compact, we are also committing to improving service delivery, from reducing the number of days it takes to renew permits and driver’s licenses, to shortening turnaround times at ports of entry.”

He added that the department is focusing on modernising transport systems through technology, ensuring efficient processing of documents, goods, and passengers.

“The improvements we are seeing across the sector are driven by enabling policy and regulatory frameworks that remove obstacles to development.”

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