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DA Gauteng debates Motion on Investment in Public Transport

 

The following speeches were delivered in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature today by DA Gauteng Spokesperson on Transport, Dr Neil Campbell MPL and DA Gauteng Spokesperson on Social Development, Justus de Goede MPL, during a debate on Gauteng’s public transport investment.

Dr Neil Campbell MPL

“ANC motion far removed from the reality of commuters”

• The current bus subsidy programme is a disaster, with commuters and bus companies both unhappy. Busses are old, unreliable, and unpunctual, and routes are often not serviced;
• The Gautrain is unaffordable to most commuters, it has cost far more than was originally calculated and continues to drain the provincial treasury via subsidies;
• The freight–hubs which were to serve Gauteng are currently only draining the economy; and
• Gauteng’s Driver Licence Testing Centres are inefficient and plagued with many corrupt officials. Many road users’ service delivery complaints have gone unheard.

The full speech can be obtained here.

Justus de Goede MPL

“Public transport in Gauteng requires thorough planning and coordination to be a success”

• A lack of coordination in public transport planning between the different spheres of government in the province is crippling growth and development in the sector;
• Public-private partnerships must be sought in order to ensure the sustainability of public transport in the province;
• The creation of the Gauteng Transport Authority, which aimed to streamline uncoordinated institutional structures, was announced two years ago, but there has been virtual silence since due to the lack of political will; and
• Two recent surveys paint a very bleak picture of public perceptions of the transport system and found that commuters are actually leaving the public transport network, and have lost confidence in it.

The full speech can be obtained here.

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All quiet on the War Room front

Improved Services

In his inaugural state of the province address, Gauteng Premier David Makhura, announced the creation of a provincial Service Delivery War Room (SDWR) to improve the manner in which government rolls out services to residents.

However one year later, the finer details of this project are still unknown.

In a written reply to oral questions I put to the Premier, it would appear that while a lot of behind the scenes work has been done on this project – not much of this has been conveyed to either public representatives or to the public around Gauteng.

Inter-governmental Nature

Both MECs and Members of Mayoral Committees (MMCs) have been designated as champions of this project, but the public has yet to learn who they are and what their functions are.

Likewise, it is indicated in the Premier’s reply that officials from all three spheres of government are being deployed to War Room structures, with no specific details supplied as to where these War Rooms are to be.

Does this imply that the War Room will operate from within the identified priority wards, or is there a central coordinating point?  The reply also confirms that a large number of Community Development Workers and other officials have been trained on the War Room Case Management System, indicating a very large-scale training initiative.

However some fundamental facts remain vague:

  • Where are these War Rooms to be situated – in identified wards or a central administrative point;
  • Who is operating them and who has access to them;
  • Why has the public been kept in the dark about their existence;
  • When are they going to be fully operational; and
  • How are they to be contacted?

If the above questions cannot be answered a year from conceptualisation and formalisation of this plan – surely this will be yet again another empty promise to placate voters and not a tool to affect real change.

The DA will pursue issues around the SDWR in order to fully inform the public about this project, which seems to have been kept below the radar.

Media enquiries:

Justus de Goede MPL

DA Tshwane Constituency Head

060 558 8309

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Budget Vote Speeches: Office of the Premier

 

Speech by

John Moodey MPL

DA Gauteng Leader

“Premier needs to slay Goliath of greed, corruption and mismanagement”

Speech highlights:

  • Gauteng is plagued by the triple threat of poverty, unemployment and inequality
  • However, the threat to effective governance is corruption, maladministration and non-accountability by a severely under skilled and unprofessional public service
  • Gauteng’s citizens need a responsive government that effectively deals with health care, crime, drugs, gangsterism and youth unemployment
  • Life in townships has improved dramatically, but all those gains are lost through municipalities unable to deliver quality basic services and maintenance of infrastructure
  • Municipal service delivery will not improve by creating larger and more cumbersome metros, as other legislative means need to be exhausted before considering such steps
  • Provincial government must settle its debt to local municipalities as it drastically reduces their income and ability to deliver services
  • Households are under increasing pressure as the insistence to continue with e-tolls and above inflation increases in fuel, municipal services and electricity are driving up commodity prices.
  • While the premier has noble intentions to improve the quality of life of Gauteng’s residents, he first has to undo 21 years of slow, cumbersome and ineffective government.

The full speech can be obtained here.

 

Speech by

Jack Bloom

DA Gauteng Spokesperson for the Office of the Premier

“Gauteng requires total make-over”

Speech highlights:

  • A relatively small item in the Premier’s Office budget is R6 million for the continuation of Gauteng TV, a project started by former premier Nomvula Mokonyane which has already cost R6 million.
  • I said last year that it was an obvious waste of money and should be canned immediately before it cost us any more money.
  • Investigation by the Oversight Committee has proved my point, and your office is now trying to justify why any part of this project should continue.
  • This sort of thing is rife throughout the provincial government, with billions of rand wasted because of incompetence and corruption.

The full speech can be obtained here.

 

Speech by

Justus de Goede

DA Gauteng Spokesperson for the Office of the Premier

“Premier’s hard task to restore tarnished government image”

Speech Highlights:

  • Satisfaction with the Provincial government has steadily eroded to the extent that only 40% of residents are satisfied with the Provincial administration, while satisfaction at a municipal level ranged between a mere 24 % and 42%.
  • Premier Makhura will point out that his own strategy for the fifth term of the Legislature has only been running for a year and that the next GCRO survey will show improvement in the government’s performance – but trust between the administration and the governed has been badly, if not irreparably damaged, and urgently needs close attention.
  • As the gap widens between government and residents, the Premier cannot afford to make idle promises – these must be actioned or they will be nothing more than ideas of fancy.

The full speech can be obtained here.

 

Media enquiries:

John Moodey MPL

DA Gauteng Provincial Leader

082 960 3743

 

Jack Bloom MPL

DA Gauteng Spokesperson: Office of the Premier

082 333 4222

 

Justus de Goede MPL
DA Gauteng Spokesperson: Office of the Premier

060 558 8305

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Gauteng’s ineffective bus subsidy killing off public transport

Inefficiently utilised bus subsidies granted directly to Gauteng by the National Department of Transport (NDOT) have started to have a detrimental effect on bus operating companies – and ultimately bus commuters in the province.de-Goede-Justus

 

The situation, created by the Department’s system of using short-term funding, for monthly contracts and annual contracts, has made long-term planning by bus operators virtually impossible.

 

For years the DA has emphasised the point that has now created a huge problem for many of the 80 000 commuters who use buses every day.

 

Companies like PUTCO have been incurring losses and rising operating costs have now simply made operations on many routes unsustainable.

 

The Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport (GDRT)or even the municipalities should administer the subsidy grant ,  which, as international best practice has indicated , is a better targeted and much more efficient way of applying the subsidy.

 

PUTCO will be followed by other operators who cannot continue to operate at a loss.

 

NDOT and GDRT must now pay attention to representations by bus operators before a total breakdown of bus services occurs.

 

At a recent meeting of the Legislature’s Portfolio Committee on Roads and Transport, bus operators, including PUTCO, voiced their frustration about the subsidy system and called on MEC  Ismail Vadi, to add his voice to the reasonable suggestions from these important players in the transport industry.

 

Gauteng is the first province to feel the backlash from an outdated and bureaucratic system and should be at the forefront of suggesting solutions to NDOT Minister Dipuo Peters.

 

While Minister Peters spends all her time and energy attempting to force e-tolls on residents of Gauteng, pressing public transport issues fall through the cracks to the detriment of the province’s residents.

 

Media enquiries:
Justus de Goede MPL
DA Gauteng Spokesperson on Transport
060 558 8305

 

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Blockages at licencing centres should be easily removed

Following the problems experienced at licensing centres across Gauteng, Centurion in particular, the DA conducted a follow up visit to the facility.

 

Although a general improvement in efficiency and staff attitudes seems to have taken place, the biggest single disruption in the licencing procedure was experienced at the eye-test station.

 

The majority of testing machines were unmanned leading to long delays and frustration.

 

This is a simple organisational problem, not beyond the capacity of management to fix.

 

The breakdown of these facilities has negative impact on the economy as applicants often have to leave work leading to down time.

 

It is not uncommon for employers to have to give their staff up to three days off to visit the licencing centres.

 

Unpaid leave is often the norm.

 

What should be a quick routine operation turns into a frustrating and time-consuming exercise.

 

This applies equally to school learners and students who lose out on precious class and study time.

 

Inefficiency in the licencing system impacts negatively on both municipal and provincial revenues, as a large percentage of fees obtained in the licencing and testing process reverts to municipal coffers with the rest going to the Province.

 

Delays in the process inevitably slow down the revenue flow.

 

There should be an environment of trust and confidence between officials and the public, who ultimately pay their salaries.

 

The situation in a number of licencing centres unnecessarily erodes this relationship, making the corrective steps which should be taken all the more urgent.

 

Media enquiries:

Justus de Goede MPL

DA Gauteng Spokesperson on Transport

060 558 8305