Some thoughts on requirements for capacity building

Abstract

Paper presented at the 30th Annual Southern African Transport Conference 11-14 July 2011 "Africa on the Move", CSIR International Convention Centre, Pretoria, South Africa.

Oil depletion, global warming and rising fuel prices have made the South African Government realise that it has to move to a low carbon economy. Government realises that there are knowledge and skills shortages that need to be addressed to be able to make the transition to a low carbon transportation system. This paper explores low carbon transportation and the knowledge and skills needed to enhance existing systems. It makes some detailed suggestions in this regard. However, as the paper draws to its conclusions it becomes clear that a holistic vision of the future transportation system is needed, before knowledge and skills training can be upgraded in a meaningful way. It is recommended that South Africa 'piggy backs' on international researchlexperience and identifies the transferability of findings. This will guarantee that South African investments will have the maximum impact with minimal risk.