Fix city's public transport system

Cape Argus: January 29, 2007
Cosatu and a commuter group have called on transport authorities to overhaul the city's "shameful" public transport system before it was too late.

They warned that time was running out, and the province had to start implementing its plans for the 2010 World Cup soon.

Rail Commuter Action Group spokesperson Leslie van Minnen, said: "The time for talking is finished. The government and Metrorail have been discussing their problems and plans for over six years … It's now the case of getting down and doing something.

"They must get the shameful public transport into order and stop talking.

"Our system is in such a dire state, it's embarrassing … especially the rail system … and it can't be improved in three years.

"It's an absolute joke to think the city or any other city is going to be ready for the event (2010).

"We've been fighting with Metrorail and the Transport Minister since 2001. Nothing has changed.

"They've installed a few CCTV cameras at some stations … have put some fencing around certain stations and more recently introduced the railway police. We appreciate that, but these are not priority issues," Van Minnen said.

"We need to improve the infrastructure first. We've got an ageing and unreliable rail system … our trains are very old, between 20 to 30 years old and they are not serviced properly because of poor management and poor maintenance.

"They don't have the political will or expertise available to improve the system to change the Third World commuter system into a respectable world class system. It will take an absolute miracle for them to change such system," he said.

Commuting is also dangerous, with frequent reports of injuries and death. The Rail Commuter Action Group is representing 51 commuters injured in railway accidents in a class action lawsuit against Metrorail, Transport Minister Jeff Radebe and other authorities.

The case is due to be heard in the Cape High Court this year.

Metrorail said its 2010 plans were on track and it was ready to implement them from next month.

However, Cosatu's provincial secretary Tony Ehrenreich described the government's promises that the city's public transport system would be ready by 2010 as "gimmick".

"We need to have a more comprehensive plan, and we must start implementing it," he said.

Ehrenreich said buses and trains, which were getting "huge subsidies" from the government, were in a very poor state.

"It's ridiculous to think that we are to link the improvement of public transport to 2010.

"We've got no public transport in the Western Cape after 8pm; the buses and taxis are in such a bad state. There have been a lot of new townships in the past few years, but nothing has been done to improve public transport in those areas.

"The only thing that we are seeing is the building and expansion of freeways to accommodate more private vehicles.

"We also hear of the airport rail link to transport visitors and the rich from the airport to their hotels in the city. People from the Cape Flats are not even going to be part of the World Cup because tickets for the matches will be too expensive anyway.

"The government is just conning people … it is deceiving people to think everything will be running smoothly during the World Cup. It's a gimmick," he said.

Denis Lillie, the project director for the 2010 Fifa World Cup at the provincial Department of Transport and Public Works, said planned projects were expected to become "live projects" as from next month.

"In principle everything is in place. We are working closely with the city, the national government and the Treasury to ensure that everything is done on time.

"In February we will have a complete overlay of where we are … we will be getting final details of every plan and then we expect to formalise the whole process afterwards."

Lillie said the consultation process, which looked at visitor numbers, was expected to be completed in two to three weeks. This would give the government an idea of how the event would impact public transport.

The city and the province were already identifying venues for park-and-ride facilities near train stations and at some educational institutions where people would leave their cars and use public transport to matches at Green Point Stadium and fan parks across the city.

The University of Cape Town and Stellenbosch University were some of the venues earmarked for parking and accommodation for visitors.

Lillie said the government was looking at getting better bus coaches before the end of 2009 to operate in the city before the World Cup. Additional trains are to be added to the rolling stock in the province.

But Lillie said not everything would disappear after 2010. "The buses, for instance, would be released back to serve local communities after the World Cup.

"We want a transport service for all residents in the city, not just our visitors. We are looking at how the Cape Flats can benefit by having fan parks closer to people.

"We are considering Philippi as one of the venues for fan parks," he said.

Metrorail spokesperson Riana Scott said R80-million had been set aside to upgrade Heideveld, Langa, Athlone and Netreg stations.

"These are expected to improve the access to the facility and also the security of the people using the trains. The professional team for revitalisation of Cape Town station has already been appointed," she said.

Meanwhile, commuters who spoke to the Cape Argus expressed frustration at the hitches involved in the daily grind of getting to and from work.

When Nowellyn van der Merwe of Heideveld, ap-proached by the Cape Argus after he had just got off an evening train home. He had been hanging outside the carriage because of overcrowding.

"I've been using trains for the last eight years and things are getting worse on the Mitchell's Plain line every day," he said.

"Trains are always late every morning, and there's no good communication from Metrorail on why they are always late.

"The only thing they tell us is that trains are either being delayed or cancelled. This does not only create problems of overcrowding inside trains, but it becomes risky because people stand in between carriages just to get to work or back home.

"Windows are broken and when it rains in winter the water just comes in.

"I don't see how things will change for 2010, or at least not for local people, maybe for tourists," he said.

Deborah Carelse travels to the city daily by bus.

"The buses are literally falling apart and they break down all the time, especially the ones in Mitchell's Plain," she said.

"This delays commuters a great deal. Sometimes we have to board a bus with an open flap on its floor and … you can actually see the ground.

"It looks like all the old ones are being dumped here. They never come on time …

"The complaints department never bothers to resolve your complaints … they always promise to come back to you, but they never do," she said.

Golden Arrow did not respond to a list of questions submitted from the Cape Argus.

Read more

Battle against road deaths a failure

January 17 2007
The battle to reduce road deaths significantly was lost again over the festive season, the Committee for Active Road Safety (Cars), said on Wednesday.

Ian Auret, the chairperson of Cars, which is sponsored by the Bridgestone tyre company, said even though there was a small reduction in deaths compared to a year ago, the number of fatalities "would be unacceptable in most civilised countries".

Measures to improve road safety did not work and an effective strategy was needed, he said.

"The problem becomes quite frightening when one considers that the fatality figures recorded and reported over the festive period are not really that much different to the figures recorded every

nth of the year; we just publicise the festive season figures more dramatically."

On Wednesday, Transport Minister Jeff Radebe said 1 645 people died on the roads between December 1 and January 10, down slightly from 1 726 the year before.

Radebe said more than 13 000 people die each year on the roads.

Read more

Bicycles and bakkies may be answer for rural school transport

THE Eastern Cape Education Department says it needs R60million to provide
transport to rural pupils in the province.

The department’s finance boss, Tracy Cumming, said the current R30m pupil transport budget was insufficient to attract service providers.

The subsidy translates to R50 per pupil per month.

Cumming was responding to concerns from members of the provincial Legislature that some schools in the province were unreachable by car and that rural pupils still had to walk long distances to schools.

She said buses could not reach some schools, making bakkies the only viable mode of transport.

National transport laws have banned the use of bakkies as passenger vehicles.

It emerged that pupils at Holy Cross near Flagstaff had to write one of their exam papers late last year because officials needed a four-wheel drive vehicle to deliver question papers.

During an education oversight committee meeting last week a department official said former MEC Mkhangeli Matomela had negotiated with car maker Tata to design a bakkie to ferry pupils.

Apparently, the provincial Education Department proposed this to the national Education and Transport Departments, but neither had yet responded.

However, MPL Phaki Hobongwana advised the new MEC, Johnny Makgato, not to continue talks with Tata, saying earlier negotiations with DaimlerChrysler, begun after the infamous 2004 Amalinda bakkie accident in which six schoolchildren were killed, were at an advanced stage.

The department had sought permission from Transport Minister Jeff Radebe to pilot five converted bakkies, but it is not clear what happened to the application.

Hobongwana said while bakkies were suitable for urban pupils, the sheer number of rural school children meant that only buses were a viable solution to their transport problem.

Education committee chairperson Mahlubandile Qwase said the ongoing problem was a bad reflection and the department should tackle it this year.

Qwase said the provision of buses posed a solution to the problem.

Other MPLs suggested a massive roll out of bicycles.

Provincial transport spokesperson Ncedo Kumbaca said plans were also afoot to use horse-drawn carts as one of the solutions to the problem.

Kumbaca said buses would be made available to 166 routes in the former Transkei sometime this year.

Only Radebe could authorise the use of bakkies to ferry passengers, he said.

Radebe’s spokesperson, Sam Monareng, said the department had launched a project to provide one million bicycles over 10 years to the country’s rural schoolchildren.

Read more

Quit dithering

A 12-year-old girl was raped in a forest this week while on her way to school. The attack prompted Captain Jackson Manatha to urge parents to organise transport to take their children to school.

Clearly his motives were noble, but given the school transport crisis, Manatha’s comment would have been laughable were the issue not one in which the lives of our children are at stake.

This week alone:

• A 16-year-old schoolgirl was killed when she was flung from the back of an out-of-control bakkie taking children to school. Five other children were seriously hurt.
• Police arrested the drivers of two buses carrying over 300 children to school – more than double the allowed number certified for the vehicles.
• The very next day traffic authorities in Bizana impounded three more buses overloaded with pupils.

The latest incidents come, we are told, as the provincial Education Department scrambles to find the most suitable mode of transport for pupils, mostly from rural villages around the Eastern Cape.

During an education oversight committee meeting last week it emerged that former Education MEC Mkhangeli Matomela had negotiated with car maker Tata to design a bakkie to ferry pupils to school.

However, MPL Phaki Hobongwana advised new MEC, Johnny Makgato, not to continue talks with Tata, saying earlier negotiations with DaimlerChrysler were at an advanced stage.

Subsequent probing by the Dispatch revealed that the department sought permission from Transport Minister Jeff Radebe to pilot five converted bakkies – but his stance is that using bakkies as passenger vehicles for a fee is illegal.

Into this mix comes the news that plans are afoot by the provincial Transport Department to use horse-drawn carts as one of the solutions to the problem.

There is also talk of a massive roll out of bicycles. Bicycles? Imagine a Grade 1 pupil on an oversized bicycle trying to pedal up an Eastern Cape dirt track. Imagine also, the same Grade 1 trying to retain ownership of that bike.

Why is it that more than two years have passed since the ghastly 2004 Amalinda bakkie accident that claimed six lives – and still nothing tangible is on the table?

Why is it that one hand of government seems not to know what the other is doing, and the issue appears stuck in the bog of inertia that has trapped much of officialdom in our struggling province?

What are they waiting for? Another child to be raped walking to school? A catastrophe the size of a tsunami to shift them out of neutral? Or perhaps, like certain members of the Ndlambe Municipality, gifts?

Read more

Gautrain robbed us of our palace

January 12 2007
"I feel that an unjust decision was made to move us out of a palace which I made beautifully and furnished to my satisfaction."

That was how a disappointed Moosa Sayanvalla, on behalf of his mother Zohra, described the expropriation of his property in Marlboro Gardens, north of Johannesburg, to make way for the Gautrain project. He said the property was worth R5,5-million.

Sayanvalla agreed to a R1,5-million settlement in the Johannesburg High Court on Thursday.

Zohra Sayanvalla, Mahomed Ebrahim Ismail and Nazir Ahmed Loonat had made an urgent application in the High Court on Thursday to fend off the speedy expropriation of their homes.

In November, the families were notified by letter that their houses had been expropriated by the province in October and they had to vacate their premises by January 6.

The three applicants took the matter to court on December 28 but the application was postponed to January 11, 2007 as Transport Minister Jeff Radebe and Gauteng Public Transport MEC Ignatius Jacobs were not available at the time.

The applicants argued that their properties were worth between R3-million and R11-million. During proceedings, the parties reached an out-of-court agreement in which Sayanvalla would be the first to be compensated.

The applicants are to be offered interim accommodation until the end of February. The matter will go to arbitration for the final determination of compensation.

Speaking outside court, Moosa Sayanvalla said the state attorneys had conceded that they had offered them one-third of the value of their property.

The plaintiffs' lawyer, Zahir Omar, said the compensation offered to the residents was abnormally low.

Gautrain project leader Jack van der Merwe confirmed an out-of-court settlement had been reached. He said the extension on obtaining land would not affect the construction timetable or add to the project's cost.

Read more

Spoornet cancels fully-booked trains

January 19 2007 at 02:59PM

A Cape Town tourism operator is fighting mad after Spoornet cancelled three charter trains it had fully booked with German tourists for 2007.

The cancellation of the trains, which were booked as long ago as 2005, would not only seriously damage his company but also make a huge dent in South Africa's image in Europe in the face of the 2010 World Cup, said Andreas Lappe, owner of Penguin Tours.

'There was no agreement that the train would continue this year'
The special Diamond of Africa charter trains, which Lappe has been running with partners for several years, may not run this year after Spoornet officials withdrew staff and locomotives. Spoornet managers told him they did not have enough locomotives or staff to run the three trains, Lappe said.

This was confirmed by Molatwane Likhethe of Spoornet, who said the parastatal had notified the operators as early as June last year of the discontinued services.

"There was no agreement that the train would continue this year," he said.

He said they were facing challenges that included limited resources and staff shortages.

Now Lappe has turned to Transnet chief Maria Ramos and Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk in a last-ditch attempt to get the trains rolling.

"Our first train is supposed to run on March 15. The tourists have their aircraft and accommodation booked and have paid," Lappe said.

He differed with Likhethe, however, on when notice was given.

"Spoornet told me in November that they would not be running the trains, but by then we had already done all our bookings. The charter trains are very popular with the tourists and many who book are repeat visitors and who spend a lot of money to come here; and also here in South Africa."

Lappe, a former German citizen who moved to South Africa 16 years ago, said visitors from Germany were already concerned over South Africa's real interests in providing proper tourism facilities and whether the country was really capable of hosting the 2010 World Cup.

"When something like this happens, they get an answer to their question that we should not be giving them," he said.

"I spent a lot of money upgrading the carriages I use, despite the fact that I knew that I was not going to have the carriages forever.

"The train of 10 carriages is standing in Johannesburg and my partner and I hold the keys because we fear break-ins, but there is no locomotive.

"Since they told us they did not have locomotives, they have put three trains of their own on the schedule," Lappe said.

"I think the real reason they are doing this is they want to own the charter business."

Lappe said another charter operator, Shongololo, would also not be able to run trains this year. Rovos Rail would be able to, because it had a 20-year contract with Spoornet.

"I hope Ms Ramos and Mr Van Schalkwyk act on this. Ramos has a great reputation for efficiency," he said.

Read more

Booming car sales hobble RAF

South Africa's booming car sales have hit the Road Accident Fund hard as accidents increase and more people claim compensation.

This was according to the RAF's latest annual report, which attributed the increase in claims to an increase in motor vehicles on the roads and increased public awareness of the fund.

About 1 million new vehicles have been added to the country's roads due to an expanding domestic economy enabling more people to afford cars.

For the RAF, the boom has meant a corresponding increase in vehicles involved in accidents and people claiming compensation.

The fund settled a whopping R5,131-billion of claims last year, compared to R3,105-billion in the previous financial year.

The National Treasury gave the RAF R2,7-billion in March after it technically went bankrupt due to mismanagement, fraud and corruption.

The insolvency saw outstanding claims soar to the current 443 399 from 216 648 in 2002.

Transport Minister Jeff Radebe appointed businessman Jacob Modise as the new chief executive and a new board of directors, chaired by businesswoman Danisa Baloyi.

Modise and the new board came up with a "Rescue Plan" to turn the RAF into a financially healthy organisation. Radebe approved the plan in May.

Modise says the full results of the plan will only be realised between 2008 and 2010.

The controversial RAF Amendment Act, which limits the sum accident victims can claim from the fund to R160 000, was passed into law last year.

In the 2006 financial year, 6 500 claimants received about R1 billion for loss of earnings benefits at an average of R155 000 per claim. The loss of earnings category generally caters for the middle to higher income group.

About 2 700 claimants received about R332-million in loss of support benefits in the same period at an average of R125 000 per claim while 71 000 claimants received R355 million for medical benefits at some R5 000 per claim.

About 30 claims, 53 percent of them by foreigners, seek an average of R13,3-million each from the RAF, and this remains outstanding as the fund estimates outstanding liability on those claims at at least R5-million each.

Approximately 128 000 claimants' legal and other experts received more than R800-million - an average of R6 250 each - in payouts while the fund spent R520 million on its own legal and other experts as a result of litigation.

With transport one of the key components to the country's successful hosting of the soccer World Cup in three years' time, the RAF is gearing itself to deal with accidents that might occur during the event. A stated priority is to make tourists from outside countries understand how accident compensation works in South Africa.

The income for the RAF comes from a special levy on petrol and diesel sold. The levy was increased from 26c to 31.5c per litre last year, which resulted in an increase in income to R6,079-billion for the fund. The increase in the levy was also a result of increased consumption of fuel due to the high volume of vehicles.

However, sectors such as agriculture, forestry, sea fisheries and coastal shipping, the NSIR, rail freight and mining are granted concessions and do not pay the RAF the diesel levy.

The SA Revenue Service administers the concession as a refund, which amounted to R527-million last year.

A report of the board blames the fund's poor financial health partly on receiving the fuel levy from the treasury on a monthly basis, the escalation in the number of claims submitted, administration, human resources, investigation and litigation costs.

Auditor-general Shauket Fakie drew attention to the fact that the fund's claims continued to outstrip income from the fuel levy.

The RAF has a net deficit of R18,37-billion, indicating that the fuel levy is not sufficient to cover the money required to settle all the claims and operational expenses.

Read more

Minister fails to reach taxi scrapping target

Government's aim to scrap 10 000 old taxis by the end of the year in its multi-billion-rand taxi recapitalisation programme has not been met, the department of transport said yesterday. "The target as such is not what we intended to achieve because of procedures in the scrapping process," said Sam Monareng, the department spokesperson.

Scrapping has been launched in four provinces, the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and the Northern Cape. Jeff Radebe, the transport minister, told taxi operators in March this year that he intended to have 10 000 of the country's oldest taxis scrapped by December. The department aims to recapitalise 85% of old taxis by 2010.

Taxi operators who voluntarily have old taxis destroyed will receive a R50 000 scrapping allowance and new safety compliant vehicles are the targeted replacements. Monareng said more than 6 000 taxi operators had volunteered to scrap their taxis but the target had not yet been met. Figures were still being collated on the number of scrapped taxis and new department-approved vehicles on the road.

Thabiso Molelekwa of the SA Taxi Council (Santaco), which supports the government process, said over 300 Santaco members had submitted vehicles in three provinces. The scrapping process launched in Bloemfontein in October showcased new minibuses including 14, 15 and 16 seaters and new midibuses with 22, 26 and 45 seats.

Alpheus Mlalazi, the National Taxi Alliance general-secretary, said the new SA Bureau of Standards certified vehicles sold for nearly double current minibus prices of R142 000. New minibuses cost between R250 000 and R300 000, he said.

While many taxis should not be on the road, the "ill-thought" process did not focus on what the taxi industry could afford, Mlalazi said. Santaco said it had also noted the increased price-tag of the new vehicles.

The council would also source cheaper vehicles that were safety compliant. The R7.7 billion recapitalisation programme aims at scrapping old taxis, introducing new and safe vehicles, industry regulation, empowerment and law enforcement. National Taxi Alliance figures were 200 000 taxis on the roads while government figures pointed to 120 000, Mlalazi said.

University of Pretoria research in 2003 found that the taxis formed 65% of all passenger trips and moved five to 10 million people a day. The industry was said to turn over R15 million daily.

Read more

Metrorail slammed for speeding trains

Human error was the "root cause" of the horror accident at the Faure level crossing near Cape Town that killed 20 farm workers last month.

So says the Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) - but it says the South African Rail Commuter Corporation (SARCC) and Metrorail also "have a shared responsibility" for the incident.

The RSR's independent investigation made a "conclusive finding" that the truck driver could be blamed for the collision that took place shortly on November 13.

The report states that the condition of the truck and overloading of the vehicle with 30 farm workers may have contributed to the accident.

But the report also strongly condemns the SARCC/Metrorail, referred to as the operator, for allowing trains to travel through an unprotected level crossing at speeds of 90km an hour.

It argued that the operator should have a shared responsibility in promoting the safety of railways and crossings.

"The current practice is that the responsibility for averting a potential level crossing lies with the road user exclusively and is not shared with the train driver.

"It is therefore our view that this practice does nothing to promote safety on our railways and the rail operator should have a shared responsibility in this regard."

Pule Mabe, national spokesperson for SARCC/Metrorail, said the recommendations of the report had been noted and respected.

But, he said, the company would wait until the findings of the SAPS before it would consider taking the recommended corrective steps. In a statement released by Metrorail shortly after the collision, the operator denied responsibility for the accident.

"The company further reacts strongly to allegations that rail signals may be at fault.

"In this regard, SARCC-Metrorail maintains that the crossing in question - and all others, for that matter - conforms fully to the statutory requirements. It must also be noted that the accident has nothing to do with commuter rail and the state of our infrastructure.

"It is an accident at a level crossing on a road leading to a private property. The level crossings meet all legal standards which require drivers and passengers as well as pedestrians to take extra care when approaching railway crossing."

This was challenged by the RSR's findings and the regulator has ordered that the speed at the Faure level crossing must be reduced to 40km with immediate effect, pending a risk assessment on the site .

It was also suggested that the "high-risk" Faure level crossing may be removed completely.

The SARCC/Metrorail risk assessment must extend to all unprotected level crossings nationally and an action plan of interventions has to be submitted to the RSR.

Mabe said yesterday that while SARCC/Metrorail accepted "some responsibility" for the accident, it was still busy with its own investigation.

Farm workers in the Faure area complained after the accident that trains seldom whistled when they sped through the crossings.

The RSR report says there are no special procedures in place for train drivers when approaching such a level crossing. The driver is only allowed to apply emergency brakes when there is an obstruction across the tracks, and by this stage it is often too late to stop the train.

The regulator has directed SARCC/Metrorail to launch an intensive speed-monitoring programme that will include speed awareness programmes. Drivers will be trained to sound their sirens when approaching all level crossings.

The SARCC/Metrorail has also been ordered to adapt all coaches with equipment that will improve the audibility of trains in poor weather conditions.

Of the RSR report, Mabe said: "We will seek to continue improving safety. We will find a way to integrated this report into the work we are already doing." He said SARCC/Metrorail had contributed R200 000 to the families of those killed in the accident.

Fred Van Zyl, manager of Faure farms, was one of the first to arrive on the accident scene. He welcomed the findings of the RSR. "This is a good thing. We have a huge problem here."

He said one of the workers on his farm has lodged a complaint with Metrorail last week after she narrowly escaped being hit by a train at the same crossing.

"Again, the train did not use its siren."

Van Zyl said he hoped the SARCC/Metrorail would implement the corrective steps.

Marius Fransman, MEC for Transport, said that he had not yet received the report and therefore could not comment on its findings. Jeff Radebe, Minister of Transport, still had to "apply his mind" to the report before he could respond to the findings.

Read more

Govt ire at Radebe speeding allegations

The Department of Transport is unhappy about ongoing allegations that Transport Minister Jeff Radebe’s vehicle broke the speed limit after he officially launched this year’s Arrive Alive campaign.

The campaign launch was held at Rayton and the ministerial vehicle was apparently seen speeding while taking Radebe back to Pretoria afterwards.

The apparent offence on December 5 went unpunished and the incident was reported in the Afrikaans daily Beeld.

The department commented that executive political leaders (the President, his deputy, Cabinet Ministers and Deputy Ministers) are allowed to disobey traffic signs in the execution of their duties while being escorted by VIP Unit personnel.

This is in terms of the Road Traffic Management Act.

“The Ministry continues to be disturbed by allegations that Minister Radebe’s driver drove beyond the speed limit on that day.

“No one has so far presented any evidence to corroborate these allegations, including Beeld newspaper.

“If the allegations persist we will have no choice but to consider our legal options against any party continuing to perpetrate them,” Transport Department spokesman Collen Msibi said.

Read more

IFP lays complaint against Transport minister

The Inkatha Freedom Party's chief whip Koos van der Merwe on Friday laid a complaint — under the Public Protector Act — against Transport Minister Jeff Radebe for disobeying traffic laws and causing danger to other road users as well as setting a bad example.

Van der Merwe said he was shocked to see a report that Radebe had presented a speech at a national road safety project in Pretoria where he urged motorists not to speed — and was later seen speeding at an alleged 150km/h.

Van der Merwe said: "What a scandalous example set by the Minister of Transport, who warns others not to speed and then arrogantly and contemptuously ignores his own warning. To add insult to injury, Minister Radebe's spokesperson, Collen Msibi, is quoted as saying that senior government officials may travel faster than the speed limit."

Msibi was reported as saying that qualified members of the VIP unit were authorised by law to ignore rules. Beeld newspaper reported him as saying that article 176 of the Traffic Control Act said police officials — who drove ministers — "may disregard traffic signs in the execution of their duties".

Van der Merwe said: "I am, however, advised that there is nothing in the law that grants ministers the right to disobey the laws of this land.

"To argue that ministers are transported in cars driven by others who contravene traffic rules, is of course no excuse, because the minister will certainly know when the driver is committing a crime and it is then his duty as a minister to intervene and stop the driver.

"I am therefore lodging a serious complaint against minister Radebe; and I call on the Public Protector to investigate this matter in terms of, inter alia, section 182 of the Constitution. I call on the Public Protector to investigate these complaints and to take appropriate action immediately.

"I suggest that it be made abundantly clear to ministers that they are not above the law and if they are party to contraventions of the law, they are to be criminally prosecuted. We will also inform President Mbeki of our complaint against his minister," said Van der Merwe.

Read more

Car crashes cost SA R43bn

More than 13 000 people die every year on South African roads costing the economy R43bn, Transport Minister Jeff Radebe said on Sunday.

He said economic growth contributed to the increase of accidents as the number of vehicles on the road was increasing.

"More South Africans are able to buy vehicles. Just last year alone, more than 600 000 vehicles were bought which translated to a drastic increase in our vehicle population and more drivers on our roads," said Radebe.

"These factors mean that a great number of drivers are entering our roads on a daily basis leading to a steady increase in road accidents."

He said his department had intensified its Arrive Alive campaign with deployment of 8 000 traffic officials and 193 patrol vehicles on hazardous routes countrywide.

Radebe was speaking at the closing ceremony of the 16 Days of Activism Against Women and Child Abuse campaign held at Danie Kuis Stadium in Upington.

He received a Torch of Peace from Northern Cape premier Dipuo Peters.

Peters said the 16 Days of Activism Against Women and Child Abuse campaign must be used as an organising strategy to eliminate all forms of violence and abuse against women by raising awareness about gender-based violence.

Read more

Speeding MPs will be fined

Cabinet ministers caught exceeding the speed limit will be fined, say the Johannesburg metro police.

Chief superintendent Wayne Minnaar said it was only when they travelled in cars driven and escorted by emergency personnel that they were exempt from fines.

He said: "Every person must obey the law. There is no individual above the law. If a minister speeds without an escort, he will be fined."

It was reported this week that a convoy carrying Transport Minister Jeff Radebe sped away from the launch of a traffic safety campaign at which he warned that speed caused 75% of road crashes.

Convoy 'has no speed limit'

Minnaar said such cavalcades had to speed to prevent their charges becoming "sitting ducks. We have to ensure the safety and security of the individual. That is paramount.

"Now to be able to ensure the person is safe and secure, we have to move the person quickly along the freeway."

Minnaar said there were also certain "manoeuvres" officers performed along the way.

There was "no limit" to how fast a convoy could travel, nor was there any ideal speed - as long as the person being escorted was safe.

The law said that emergency personnel - including the South Afrian Police Service, metro police, ambulance, fire and civil defence personnel - were exempt from traffic violations while executing their duties.

Read more

Wrangle could delay new airport

A looming legal battle over a tender worth billions of rands looks set to delay the construction of the King Shaka International Airport at La Mercy, following accusations that one bidder's confidential information was given to its rival.

Building of the airport, bedevilled by delays and controversy for years, was meant to start in March, to be completed in time for the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

A Section 21 company, Dube TradePort, had been set up by the KwaZulu-Natal government to facilitate the airport's development, but there have been questions raised about why Durban International Airport is being upgraded. To cut through the red tape, Transport Minister Jeff Radebe stepped in to fast-track the project to be ready by 2010.

While the preferred bidder is due to be announced on Thursday, a series of communications detailing accusations and counter-accusations of improprieties has now culminated in letters threatening legal action.

Shortcomings
The short-listed bidders in the Request for Proposal - the Indiza Group Consortium, headed by Grinaker-LTA, and Ilembe consortium, led by Group Five and Wilson Bailey Holmes - were announced by Premier S'bu Ndebele in September.

Although Grinaker-LTA and Group Five are at opposing sides of the La Mercy bid, both companies were part of a consortium which vied for the bid to develop the N2 Wild Coast toll road.

After an initial go-ahead by the Department of Environmental Affairs, the project was sent back to the drawing board after it was found that a non-executive director of Group Five, Rufus Maruma, founded the company which did the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the N2 development.

On November 24 Indiza was informed that, because of alleged non-compliance with essential minimum requirements, its bid would not go forward for a detailed evaluation.

According to letters, the Indiza Group claims details of its bid had been provided to its competitor, and that its bid had not been properly considered.

Tender rules
In documents in the possession of the Sunday Tribune, the Indiza consortium, in correspondence with Dube TradePort, claimed, "We consider that there has been a serious breach of procedure by Dube TradePort, which has prejudiced our position and the process of fair adjudication."

In a letter dated November 10, Dube TradePort informed Indiza it had several concerns regarding its bid and advised the consortium it fell short of "substantial and material compliance" with the project's minimum requirements.

It listed the shortcomings, including performance guarantees and BEE-preferential procurement policies, and invited Indiza to make representations on whether the bid "should be rejected for non-compliance or not".

The letter also informed Indiza that, as Illembe had an interest in its decision on whether it wanted to pull out of the bid, it (Illembe) would be invited to make presentations on the same sections of the proposal.

A letter to the Ilembe Consortium, outlining areas of concern regarding Indiza's bid, was attached. In the letter, dated November 13, the project leader was informed "a concern has arisen that the bid submitted by the other bidding consortium may be substantially and materially non-compliant in a number of respects".

The letter said that due to confidentiality clauses it could not send a detailed copy of the communications to Indiza without its permission, but supplied a summary "in general terms" for Illembe to make a representations on the issues.

It mentioned paragraphs in the Request for Proposal document relating to Indiza's submission that had appeared to fail, and set them out "in order to permit (Ilembe) to address representations" to meet certain minimum requirements.

The Indiza Group expressed to Dube TradePort that they were seriously concerned that, contrary to a non-closure agreement, it had "unilaterally decided to provide our competitor with details of our bid".

"We strongly disagree with your actions that are tantamount to involving Ilembe in the adjudication of our bid. We believe that this is prejudicial to the future owners of the airport, Acsa (Airports Company of South Africa) and the province, as we submitted a value for money, technically competent proposal."

Dube TradePort's response denied the company had acted contrary to the non-disclosure agreement. The document also remonstrated with Indiza that its representatives had been in contact with members of the evaluation committee, and that it was not permitted.

Meanwhile, Dube TradePort had also taken legal advice, and, in a letter this week from Von Klemperers Attorneys, accused the Grinaker-LTA Indiza group of adopting the "extraordinary course of deliberately submitting a non-compliant bid". The contention that the purposeful non-compliance was to gain unfair advantage over any rivals, was rejected in a responding lawyers letter, as "absurd".

The Dube TradePort lawyers' letter said the development of the airport was of national and international importance. It said that the project had to be completed for the World Cup in 2010, making decisions on preferred bids unalterable.

According to the master schedule of the developers, the Airports Company of South Africa and Dube TradePort, construction is due to start in March next year. This is pending the approval of the environmental impact assessment report by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism.

According to Kay Naidoo, an attorney specialising in tenders and contracts, speaking in general terms on tender process, there were certain rules to be followed and clauses of confidentiality within the process.

Naidoo said if a developer communicated with one of the bidders, the same information was shared with the other bidding parties.

After the closing date of the tender, valid bidders may be informed about areas where they fell short and will have a set amount of days to rectify shortcomings.

The parties involved said they could not comment on the issue.

Joanne Winter, from Dube TradePort's Procurement office said, "Unfortunately, it is our policy not to comment on the process or on individual bid submissions at this stage, and certain matters fall within a confidentiality clause contained in the Request for Proposal."

Read more

Transnet to reveal business case for Ngqura port

Transnet is expected to soon release its business case to get the port of Ngqura fully operational, a project that will cost more than double the initial estimates.

Transnet CEO Maria Ramos recently disclosed that the R3,8bn price tag for the port was almost double the original budget, which would put the overrun at about R2bn. The cost overrun has largely been due to delays in getting the project off the ground.

Replying to a question in Parliament by Democratic Alliance MP Eddie Trent, Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin said yesterday the business case for the port had been submitted to the Transnet board of directors for consideration.

Transnet spokesman John Dludlu said final details of the business case would not be released until Erwin had approved the plan and signed off the detailed budget. The business case was expected to determine such details as the time frames for the final commissioning of the port, the number of cranes to be purchased and the number of berths for ships, among others.

“Once all the requisite approvals are in place, we will disclose the relevant details,” Dludlu said.

The basic infrastructure for the port such as the breakwater has been completed, but little else.

Trent found it problematic that the business case for making the port operational was only now being considered, as it should have been included in the original feasibility study. “I can’t believe that they are only deciding about this now. It is just unbelievable.

“The business community needs to be informed as to what is happening and when the port will come on stream,” Trent said.

Read more

Gautrain beneficiaries condemned

The South African Communist Party has added its voice in condemning government ministers who will benefit from the Gautrain Project.

The SACP was "deeply disturbed and outraged" at the fact that these ministers were personal beneficiaries from the project, which constitutes a "very grave conflict of interests", the group said in a statement on Tuesday.

"Of even more serious concern to us is the fact that some of the government ministers are both decision-makers and beneficiaries in this wasteful Gautrain project."

The SACP's statement follows Cosatu's outrage at press reports on Sunday suggesting that numerous government ministers, including Deputy Health Minister Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, Education Minister Naledi Pandor, Home Affairs Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and the Speaker in the National Assembly Baleka Mbete stood to gain from the Gautrain.

The SACP warned against what it called 'parasitic capitalism' — where individuals use their positions to access resources for personal benefit, at the same time impacting on the workers and the poor in the country.

It said that the allegations now raise questions as to the legitimacy of the project, which may have more to do with the interests of those who are going to benefit than with the necessity and rationality of the project.

"Nothing short of a credible investigation and explanation from cabinet will satisfy the millions of our people that occupation of government positions are not being used for private personal benefit," the group said.

Read more

Outrage at ANC links to Gautrain

THE Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) was outraged by reports that two cabinet ministers and National Assembly speaker Baleka Mbete had shares in the consortium that is building the Gautrain, a Cosatu spokesman said yesterday.

“The reports reinforced the belief expressed at Cosatu’s recent congress that a worryingly growing number of African National Congress (ANC) and government leaders had a personal self-enrichment culture,” spokesman Patrick Craven said.

He was responding to a report in the Sunday Times that Home Affairs Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and Education Minister Naledi Pandor were part of the shareholding structure of the Bombela consortium, which won the R23bn Gautrain bid.

Unless the ministers, Mbete and the “long list of ANC officials” implicated in the report refuted these allegations, greed and selfishness had clearly overtaken the culture of service for the people, Craven said in a statement.

The Sunday Times reported that the ministers confirmed they had taken part in cabinet meetings at which the Gautrain project was discussed and approved last December — against the advice of Parliament’s portfolio committee on transport.

The newspaper said Mapisa-Nqakula and Mbete had shares in Dyambu Holdings, while Pandor was involved in Black Management Forum Investments (BMFI).

Mapisa-Nqakula’s spokesman was quoted as saying that when the minister had sat in cabinet meetings, she was unaware that Dyambu was part of the Bombela consortium.

Pandor denied her shareholding in BMFI constituted a conflict of interest. “I am an ordinary shareholder and not involved in decision making in BMFI,” the minister said.

Read more