​By King Mthombeni
As part of the 2021 October Transport Month, the Department of Roads and Transport took part in the Smarter Mobility Africa event, a highly sought-after digital event that include conversations around walking and cycling, public transport, electric vehicles and mobility as a service. 
The three-day event aims to inspire and transform mobility across the continent. 
Remarking on the partnership with the event, Gauteng MEC for Public Transport and Roads Infrastructure Jacob Mamabolo said "this is now three years that we have been part of Smart Mobility Africa and we hope and looking forward to more future events. I would like to commit that as the Department, we will be a reliable and dependable partner moving forward because it is really an important platform to engage on critical matters relating to smart mobility".
"As a province, we have already adopted our road maps towards 2030 that we call "Growing Gauteng Together Through Smart Mobility", in that sense we as a Department are already engaging  theoretical and contextual  issues pertaining to smart mobility" he added.
The Smart Mobility Africa summit brings together thought leaders from business and government to consolidate efforts to transition to electric and smarter mobility. The summit shines a light on solutions brought forward by organisations to stimulate the future of mobility. It also creates highly effective networking and match making opportunities to ensure that the most relevant stakeholders are connected.
Speaking at the summit, Smart Mobility Africa Chairman Mr Ben Pullen praised the Department for having "worked together for more than 3 years and your department is continuously going above and beyond to build a successful summit and campaign with us". 
He added that the organization was "proud of what has been achieved over the last 3 years, to connect, inform, and transform mobility. But we have only just got started, and we look forward to building on the great work. We look forward to the idea of being part of a steering committee with the Department.  
​"We are very much pleased that as the Department we are in all respects fully part of the global smart mobility" said the MEC in his remarks.