National treasury’s cities support programme (csp) : public transport capacity building programme for cities

Abstract

The Cities Support Programme (CSP) is a demand-driven programme within the Intergovernmental Relations (IGR) division of National Treasury (NT). The CSP was established to strengthen the partnership across sectors and spheres of government for inclusive economic growth. It provides support through a results framework, with a clear focus on: • Putting in place and managing a fiscal framework that supports urban growth and spatial transformation. • Creating an enabling environment in which cities can achieve their long-term growth strategy. • Supporting cities with the implementation of these strategies. Given CSP’s focus, projects are implemented in five different components, that is: Governance and Fiscal, Human Settlements, Public Transport, Climate Resilience and Sustainability and Economic Development. In 2017, the CSIR administered a survey across South African cities, among senior officials in the transport departments, to establish the extent to which the cities are able to perform functions in terms of the National Land Transport Act (NLTA). Based on the results most cities felt ill-equipped to prepare a basic transport plan and to comply with technical requirements of the NLTA (Act 5 of 2009). Further requests to provide reasons for lack of implementation of travel demand management plans, which are closely related to spatial transformation, 40% indicated lack of skilled human resources as the largest factor. Many more cities also indicated that they were generally unable to plan, implement and manage modal integration another critical element of spatial transformation. The purpose of the CSP’s Public Transport Capacity Building Programme is to systematically enhance the capability of cities and associated officials in transport departments to effectively internalise and implement spatial transformation imperatives in transport planning. The project seeks to support cities in creating institutional capacity within transport departments through creating leaning programmes and technical support in refining transport plans and associated implementation instruments.