Dept sights set on drunk driving
The Department of Transport MEC, Nandi Ndalane, said the department has conducted 2 547 drunken driving operations in a bid to minimise accidents and fatalities.
LIMPOPO – During Ndalane’s table of the 2017/18 budget on Friday, he said 95 264 drivers were tested for drunk driving which led to the arrest of 1 712 people.
The total budget for the Department of Transport for the 2017/18 financial year is R1,962 billion which includes the Public Transport Operation Condition Grant amounting to more than R345 million.
Drinking and driving and driving under the influence remain one of the main contributors of road accidents and deaths in Limpopo, with most accidents happening during weekends.
The Transport Operations Programme was allocated R845 million while R539 million went to the transport regulation programme. Along with that, the department allocated R578 million towards the administration processes.
“The department contributes about 47% of the provincial revenue out of traffic functions. The estimation contribution for this financial year stands at R494 million,” Ndalane said.
She added the department will transfer R47,57 million to the Gateway Airport Authority Limited (GAAL), remarkably less than the previous allocation of R59 million for 2016/17.
Ndalane said they hope this reduction will not affect the operations at the airport. The funds are allocated to manage and maintain the operations of the Polokwane International Airport (PIA).
“In an attempt to improve the management of the airport, the department, in conjunction with GAAL, intends to register a Public Private Partnership project for the management and operations of the airport,” Ndalane explained.
R20,2 million was allocated to the department in the 2016/17 financial year for the installation of the Electronic Vehicle Trip Monitoring System (EVTMS) in 450 buses which is 50% of the fleet utilised for the subsidised bus service in the province.
The installation of the system was expected to be completed by mid-March and will be operational from 1 April. An amount of R15 million has been allocated for operations and maintenance in the 2017/18 financial year.
The department has set aside R5 million for the Limpopo Provincial Taxi Council (LPTC) in an effort to assist the taxi industry with the administration and transformation of the taxi industry in Limpopo.
Ndalane said in order to contribute to the targets set in the National Development Plan and National Youth Policy objectives, the department will implement the skills and learnership programmes in the 2017/18 financial year.
These programmes include 20 skills programmes focusing mainly in the core functions and finance areas, and two learnership programmes for unemployed youth which aim to assist lower level employees to acquire accredited qualifications.
Ndalane said the department has big responsibilities and expectations ahead of them and as such, they will roll up their sleeves and toil hard in order to insure service delivery to citizens.
