Limpopo Leader - University of Limpopo
Limpopo Leader - University of Limpopo
Limpopo Leader - University of Limpopo
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Getting from A to B in SAWHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE?Imagine a frequent rail service speeding on widegaugetrack between Polokwane and Marble Hall.The route runs through some <strong>of</strong> the most denselypopulated parts <strong>of</strong> south-central <strong>Limpopo</strong>. A pictureemerges <strong>of</strong> a transportation system that willradically improve the developmental options forwell over a million people.The Bigger PicturetTHERE ARE BIG TRANSPORTATION PLANS FOR 21STCENTURY SOUTH AFRICA. First <strong>of</strong>f, there’s NATMAP2050. This is the national transport master plan thatbegan in 2005 and is scheduled to run to the middle<strong>of</strong> the 21st century. Then there’s the Public TransportStrategy and Action Plan 2007 – 2020, the result <strong>of</strong>extensive consultation with all stakeholders culminatingin the Transport Indaba held in Soweto in October2006 and approved by cabinet several months later.But what do these plans contain, and what are theimplications for <strong>Limpopo</strong> province? Polly Boshielo, theprovince’s general manager <strong>of</strong> public transport and agraduate <strong>of</strong> the Turfloop Postgraduate School <strong>of</strong><strong>Leader</strong>ship’s MBA programme, provides some <strong>of</strong> theanswers.NATMAP 2050, she says, is concerned with examining,determining and crystallising the relationshipsbetween various areas (whether industrial, urban,agricultural, etc) in the country and the transportationrequirements emanating from area-specific needs.‘The interaction between land use in the variousareas and the evolution <strong>of</strong> an integrated transportationplan is a fundamental planning consideration,’Boshielo points out. ‘The way in which transportationmaster plan unfolds must facilitate sustainablesocio-economic growth and should help to promotecoherent and integrated development planning acrossthe country.’NATMAP 2050 will focus on major nationaltransportation networks and macro planning. To dothis effectively a central land-use and transportationdatabank will be maintained. A few <strong>of</strong> the principlesthat will guide the planning process are:• To <strong>of</strong>fer a central transportation vision into whichprovinces can fit their own transportation plans.P A G E 8