Effective and efficient policy implementation and planning are the keys to the National Development Plan. Dr Malcolm Mitchell, professional Advisor to South African Road Federation on policy implementation within the NDP was speaking at the 33rd Annual Southern African Transport Conference at the beginning of July.
Mitchell says, “Transport, including good roads, is an important catalyst in the social and economic development of any country. The National Development Plan (NDP) which has the objective of fostering economic growth in the country will not fully succeed in meeting its aims without effective and efficient implementation of the road and transport policy facets of the plan.”
“Government’s approach to the broad goal of moving people and goods in the most effective manner, taking into account the various challenges involved in the process, is expressed in its transport policy. However, public policies do not always achieve their goals, or have the intended necessary impact. This is also valid for the transport sector in South Africa.”
In his presentation Mitchell set out the broad findings of an analysis into selected aspects of South African transport policy and its success, or otherwise, in meeting the policy goals.
The two separate aspects of transport chosen for the analysis represented two diverse facets, namely; commuter bus transport and primary roads managed by SANRAL. The initial objectives of the study were:
1) To compare the transport policy making process adopted in the primary roads and commuter bus transport sectors during the two policy periods.
2) To evaluate the impact of transport policy relating to primary roads and commuter bus transport in South Africa during two distinct ten-year periods separated by a regime change in 1994.
3) To examine the contextual forces shaping the issues, objectives and goals of these facets of land transport policy in South Africa during the two policy periods
Study Findings
The study concluded that the most important external factors which have influenced transport policy during the forty year period analysed were the following:
• Political and ideological changes
• Constitutional and institutional reform
• Changing economic and regulatory philosophy and pressures
• Spatial population distribution, mainly as a result of apartheid policies
• The interplay of social and economic development needs
• Environmental conservation constraints
• Changes in the division of responsibilities for transport between the state and the private sector
• Resource and capacity constraints.
Overall, deficiencies in the transport policy making process included:
• early enough attention was not given to identifying transport problems and issues for the transport policy agenda. It was custom to wait for a crisis situation, or severe problems to arise before they are addressed
• insufficient attention was paid to a “facts based” analysis of all policy options, nor were the possible consequences of the various proposals explored
• the funding implications of, especially commuter bus transport policy were not adequately investigated before the policy was adopted. Whilst this was a major issue in the early 1990s the new policy contained in the 1996 White Paper did not adequately explore this matter with the consequence that the problem still persisted up to the end of the second policy period.
Mitchell states, “Briefly summarised, the primary (national) roads policy objectives were met, whilst the commuter bus passenger transport policy objectives were not. The net result is a primary roads network which meets the mobility needs of the country, but the commuter bus transport does not, and in fact is a dysfunctional system.”
Study Recommendations
In conclusion, the study generated a number of recommendations:
• The need for increased attention to be paid to the bolstering of policymaking capacity amongst the bureaucracy, and for the regular monitoring of transport policy in South Africa.
• Empowerment of the central government Department of Transport with adequate expertise and experience to play a more significant role than it currently does in all transport policymaking in the country, but particularly the implementation of the policy.
• In the light of the many socio-economic changes currently taking place in South Africa the research recommended that a new transport policy study be embarked upon with the view of formulating new overall transport policy which has been rigorously derived.
• Consideration should be given to institutional reform in the transport sector in South Africa towards making it more effective and efficient.
Mitchell concludes, “Significant contextual forces in South African society have influenced transport policymaking in the country during past decades, most significantly are the country’s peculiar spatial population distribution (due to the social engineering associated with apartheid and separate development), the continual constitutional and institutional reform and the dichotomy between the needs of both social and economic development as a result of South Africa sharing characteristics of both the developed and developing worlds.”
“Overall, policy in respect of primary roads had a positive impact as it was successfully implemented. The lessons learned in this facet of transport should be embraced in other less successful facets of transport as well as in the NDP implementation.”
