Santaco & AA welcome Creecy’s appointment as transport minister

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday announced the appointment of Creecy as the minister of transport and the IFP's Mkhuleko Hlengwa as deputy minister. 

"We look forward to building a strong working relationship with them. As a key stakeholder in the transport industry, we are eager to collaborate on initiatives that promote the growth and development of the sector," Santaco said in a statement.

"We wish Minister Creecy and Deputy Minister Hlengwa success in their new roles and pledge our support in their efforts to improve the transport landscape in South Africa.”

Creecy, who served as minister of forestry, fisheries and the environment in the previous administration, succeeded Sindisiwe Chikunga in the transport portfolio. 

Meanwhile, the Automobile Association of South Africa (AA) has called on Creecy to engage civil society to better understand the transport and mobility challenges facing millions of South Africans.

"The association notes that transport intersects all other departments and, as such, is crucial to the economic development of the country," said the AA's Layton Beard. 

"Its success must, therefore, be prioritised by the new minister and the entire cabinet. The AA says the need for an improved transport model in South Africa must be high on the agenda, as should efforts to improve road safety.”

Beard said Creecy must introduce measures to improve law enforcement on the country’s roads and address the problems at Driving License Testing Centres. 

“Public transport in South Africa remains fractured and largely inadequate, and the need to create safe, reliable, affordable, and sustainable public transport should be a major focus for the new minister. 

"Addressing the country’s rail crisis must also feature strongly moving forward as this creates downstream issues on the country’s road network.” 

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