ECONOMIC REGULATION OF TRANSPORT ACT: AMENDMENT BILL TABLED

The National Assembly’s Transport Committee has tabled an Economic Regulation of Transport Amendment Bill in Parliament, with the aim of correcting date-specific errors in the Act’s schedule. This is noting that:

  • the Act:
    • joined the statute books in June 2024, and
    • is not yet in force, and that
  • the Bill concerned was:
    • tabled in 2020, and
    • passed by Parliament in February 2024.

Once operationalised, the Act will establish two parallel independent but integrated regulatory agencies dealing with road, rail, port and aviation services:

  • a Transport Economic Regulator responsible for:
    • stakeholder education
    • research
    • price control approval
    • access request approval
    • investigating complaints, and
    • enforcement, and
  • a Transport Economic Council as an adjudicative entity.

According to a memorandum on the 2020 Bill’s objects, this is expected to facilitate ‘effective and efficient’ service delivery across a more ‘productive’ transport sector, thus promoting ‘economic growth and welfare’. With that in mind, the Act’s operationalisation could well be fundamental to addressing ongoing port and rail inefficiencies.

Published by SA Legal Academy Policy Watch

Follow us on X @SALegalAcademy (you can also join us on LinkedIn and Facebook)

There are not comments for this article at the moment, check back later.
You must be logged in to add a comment, log in now.
Need Help ?

Explore Smarty