One of the oft-mentioned forms of the development of children is their path through destruction.
The most curious of children are often the ones who tend to take things apart trying to learn how they work.
Sometimes their learning is an accident of their zealous interaction with objects in their immediate environment. The cost of this type of learning is the destruction of these objects.
Several thinkers like Jean Piaget and Alison Gopnik in the field of developmental psychology supported this view.
In our part of the world, the foremost scientists may as well be the grandmothers who always admonish parents who are too restrictive.
To these thinkers and practitioners of developmental psychology, the cost of the initial destruction is incomparable to the benefit of the learning and development that takes place.
The temptation to take these observations and superimpose them over the development of South Africa is impossible to resist.
Though our country set off to a great start in 1994, with Nelson Mandela at the helm riding on our euphoric response to the great break-through which was a negotiated new order, that did not last long.
Soon enough the era of destruction ensued.
The most glaring era of destruction was undoubtedly the era of Jacob Zuma.
If we persuade ourselves, possibly because of a lingering aura of optimism, we could liken the development of South Africa to an infant on a learning journey of destruction.
The period of experimentation, the sensorimotor stage in children, could be likened to our most destructive and self-sabotaging stage in our national life.
If so, then our optimism lies in the possibility of South Africa not only learning how things work, but in possibly putting things together for a vastly greater future.
A well-balanced up-to-date transport system will accelerate the economy by providing the transport of choice for passengers and cheap reliable bulk transport for businesses
Minister of transport Barbara Creecy recently published the National Rail Master Plan (NRMP) for public comment. Her attempt is to restore South Africa’s extensive railway system, which spans around 30,000km across the entire country.
We all know how this system was destroyed. It was destroyed, with many other systems, by leaders who we elected into office. We know how their “experiments”, cadre deployment, and ideology-led but poorly researched ideas held sway for too many of the last 30 years.
The result was utter destruction not only of our rail system. Our economy was seriously hobbled and our ability to exploit the vast export market was hampered.
“This plan aims to position rail as the backbone of South Africa’s logistics and transport ecosystem.
“It is not about re-inventing the past; it is about building a resilient, adaptable, dynamically scalable rail system that serves the nation’s broader economic and social goals.”
Creecy said these words explaining what the plan seeks to achieve.
Inevitably the plan mentions the two logistics players which cannot be ignored. This is the trucking industry and the taxi industry.
It is estimated that the trucking industry took more than 100-million tons of freight from rail over the last few decades. However, trucks are designed to fulfil a specific role which is to handle last-mile and high frequency routes, not long hauls.
Similarly, the taxi industry took up much of the work of the passenger train service, ferrying people to and from work, and on long journeys where the train service collapsed. However, taxis are not designed for long trips either.
The plan does not ignore the damage caused by trucks carrying heavy loads on our road system. The accidents caused by heavy trucks are also a great concern.
Similarly, the repurposing of taxis from being a last-mile mode of transport to long trips has been acknowledged. The informal nature of the industry and the endemic violence which erupts every time there is a contest about routes are worthy of attention.
That endemic violence in the industry has produced a criminal echo system that sustains that violence. The taxi industry has also contributed immensely to road fatalities due to its infamy for flouting road laws.
These two transport players have been entry points into the transport industry for many previously disadvantaged people in our society.
Creecy seems to have approached this complexity with sensitivity by seeking to partner with all transport players.
As the rail system is reformed, there is a conscious effort to include the entire transport sector in a new well designed and regulated system.
A well-balanced up-to-date transport system will accelerate the economy by providing the transport of choice for passengers and cheap reliable bulk transport for businesses.
Ultimately, the savings will be transferred to end-consumers.
Daily Dispatch
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