City of Cape Town


Tolls put on ice – for now

Monday, October 24, 2011 No Comments by Zelda

The minister of Transport, Sibusiso Ndebele, has put the brakes on all work on the country’s controversial national toll roads’ project, saying there was a need for an extensive and all-inclusive consultative process with members of the public.

The minister ordered the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) to stop all toll road processes – including those in Gauteng – to make sure that all interested parties, be they groups or individuals, have their say on the project.

Work on the toll routes – the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project, the Wild Coast and the Cape Winelands Toll Highway Project has already started and is estimated to run into billions of rands.

Infrastructure is already in place along the Gauteng N1 Freeway.

Transport Department spokesman Tiyani Rikhotso said on Sunday the need to stop all processes on the tolling project temporarily had been brought about by the realisation that there was a lot of interest in the projects and people still had to give their views.

“We want to proceed with a clear conscience, we want all views to be heard, we must play our role as a government that consults and not one that pushes decisions down people’s throats,” said Rikhotso.

He said it was only right that the people from whose pockets the money to service the debt government had already incurred for the project should have a say.

Forty two electronic toll gates have been erected on Gauteng’s N1, N3, N12, N17, R21 and R24. The tolls cover a distance of about 185km.

After an outcry over the initial charges, the cabinet approved reduced toll tariffs for the Gauteng freeway improvement project and agreed that light motor vehicles would pay R0.40/km, medium vehicles R1/km, “longer” vehicles R2/km and bikers R0.24/km. Qualifying commuter taxis and buses would be exempted.

There would be a 31 percent e-tag discount, a time of day discount available, and a frequent user discount for motorbikes and light motor vehicles fitted with an e-tag.

However, amid continuing unhappiness, the Transport Department announced earlier this month that a task team had been formed to look into the issue of toll roads and would include, among others, Ndebele and Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan.

Sanral corporate communications officer Priya Pillay said: “Sanral will continue to serve the interest of the economy and focus on the creation of quality jobs and the development of our communities.”

She said they were faced with the challenge of ensuring that the arteries of the economy were well maintained and adequately funded. They hoped to find a sustainable solution under the leadership of the minister which would ensure that the appropriate financial instrument would be appropriately applied.

”We welcome the statement from the minister, which clarifies the situation and the leadership he has provided in what is a challenging situation with respect to the funding of the national road network of South Africa,” Pillay said.

In Gauteng e-tag outlets are already visible in a number of shopping malls and members of the public were expected to start registering for e-tag accounts next month. Toll collection was expected to commence in February.

Rikhotso said the temporary stoppage would not affect the other processes like the training of personnel to man the toll gates and other staff issues.

Ndebele, Rikhotso said, felt that the good road infrastructure needed by the country should not place a financial burden on the shoulders of the consumer.

Conceding that the first phase of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Plan had delivered good road infrastructure, he added that it was also an expensive exercise which had drawn sharp views from the public.

“We’re excited by the fact the Gauteng legislature has taken the initiative and has consultations around the toll issue scheduled for later this month,” Rikhotso said.

He said they were hoping to see similar processes, of consultations with individuals and formations, being started across the country.

Accusations around the lack of consultation and participation have been levelled at the government since the inception of the idea, and it has seen accusations ranging from the destruction of natural flora and fauna to the impact on poor communities adjacent to the toll zones.

In Gauteng objectors felt that the urban toll tariffs would harm consumers by increasing food prices and cause unnecessary financial strain on road users.

The Automobile Association called for all toll projects to be scrapped because of higher fuel prices, the effect of the recession on motorists’ cash flow and the high cost of collecting the money.

Although there were no timeframes yet within which the consultations would have to be completed, Rikhotso said they would be set out as soon as all parties started setting up discussions.

Pillay said that Sanral, as an implementing arm of the Department of Transport, would continue to implement the policies of government to the best of its abilities.

Credit to: Pretoria News and Independent Online

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Cape Town, Tshwane top municipalities

Thursday, June 30, 2011 No Comments by Zelda

Cape Town and Tshwane are the country’s two metropolitan municipalities to show improvements in financial management over the previous financial year, Auditor General Terence Nombembe’s report on municipalities reveals.

The Consolidated General Report on the Local Government Audit Outcomes, released in Pretoria on Wednesday, showed that Cape Town was the only metro to obtain a clean audit, while Nelson Mandela Bay, Ekurhurleni, Tshwane and eThekwini all obtained audit reports that were financially unqualified, but with findings.

Cape Town received an unqualified audit report with findings in 2008/09, while Tshwane received a qualified audit report that year.

The Johannesburg metro had not finalised its audit report by January 31 2011.

The findings against most of the metros related to non-compliance with regulatory requirements or unreliable information.

The country’s two newest metros – Buffalo City (East London) and Mangaung (Bloemfontein) – did not fare as well as the more established metros.

Buffalo City deteriorated from having a qualified audited report in 2008/09 to a disclaimer in 2009/10.

The AG highlighted problems with the city’s capital assets, current assets and unauthorised, irregular or wasteful spending.

Mangaung obtained a disclaimer as it had in the previous financial year.

A disclaimer is issued when the auditor could not form an opinion on the financial statements.

This could happen where the entity being audited concealed or failed to provide relevant information, if it was involved in litigation, or if its status as a going concern was threatened.

And in the graph in the AG’s report, there was an almost solid line of red for all the concerns he had, from revenue and expenditure to unauthorised or irregular expenditure.

Only seven municipalities out of the country’s 237 received a clean audit for the 2009/10 financial year.

Credit to: Sapa and News 24

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Fearless Kader Asmal hailed

Thursday, June 23, 2011 No Comments by Zelda

Kader Asmal was a fearless fighter for freedom and human rights and his death has weakened South Africa’s democracy, political parties and civil organisations said on Wednesday after the ANC veteran’s death in Cape Town.

President Jacob Zuma said Asmal made a “sterling” contribution to the struggle for liberation and sacrificed a lot in his life to ensure the attainment of freedom and democracy.

“He will be remembered for his energy, forthrightness, efficiency and commitment to making this country a better place each day. He will also always be remembered for his passion for human rights for all.”

Asmal, 76, died on Wednesday in Constantiaberg hospital in Cape Town. He was the minister of water affairs and forestry from 1994, a member of the ANC’s national executive committee, and education minister from 1999.

Publicly rebuked

Asmal, although an ANC stalwart, never hesitated to criticise when he believed government was wrong.

He was occasionally publicly rebuked by the ANC after raising concerns about party stances he feared threatened democracy.

ID leader and Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille said Asmal had fought for democracy up until the last week of his life.

“Up until the last week of his life, he had been fighting for the rights of South Africans.”

Just  last week he voiced his strong opposition to the protection of information bill, urging all South Africans to reject the bill and warned the ANC that rushing it through parliament would destroy trust in the democratic process.

He said he had hoped the weight of public opposition to the so-called “secrecy bill” would by now have persuaded the relevant ministers and MPs “to take this appalling measure back to the drawing board”.

“Since this has not happened, my conscience will not let my silence be misunderstood. I ask all South Africans to join me in rejecting this measure in its entirety,” he said.

Worse than a farce

In 2009, Asmal described then deputy police minister Fikile Mbalula’s idea of militarising the police service as “craziness” and smacking of “low-level political decision-making”.

“The new administration is referring to the militarisation of the police,” he told the Cape Town Press Club.

“I have this former head of the youth league [Mbalula] who aspires to be secretary general of the ANC. Ha, really, I hope I won’t be alive.

“He said we must militarise the police. We spent days and days in 1991 to get away from the idea of a militarised police force. Extraordinary.

“This is a kind of craziness all of us have to take into account. It is part of that low-level political decision-making without reference to the Cabinet,” he said.

ANCYL leader Julius Malema, “tenderpreneurs”, and the National Youth Development Agency have also been the target of his criticism, with the NYDA being described as worse than a farce.

Intellectual giant

His criticism of government, however, did not deter the ANC from declaring him one of the party’s foremost intellectual giants upon news of his passing.

Spokesperson Jackson Mthembu said Asmal’s “immeasurable contribution in the liberation of South Africa” ensured that the ANC earned respect from the international community.

Tributes have also poured in from all elements of the political sphere, including opposition parties.

DA leader Helen Zille said Asmal represented the best of a generation of struggle heroes.
“Asmal was far more than a politician. He represented the best of a generation of struggle heroes who made unimaginable sacrifices to realise a democratic South Africa.”

Architect of democracy

Former president Thabo Mbeki called Asmal an outstanding fighter for the liberation of South Africa and one of the architects of democracy.

“All of us who knew and worked with him…could always depend on him as a steadfast fighter for the liberation and advancement of the interests of all South Africans,” he said.

IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi described Asmal’s death as weakening democracy in South Africa.

“With his death the Republic has lost one of the most vigilant custodians of our freedom and constitutional order, who never feared to speak up on matters of principle,” he said.

“One of the greatest independent thinking and outspoken minds has left us.”

Robust debates

The SA Communist Party said Asmal loved robust debates and was always in search of new ideas.

“Although we did not always agree with his ideas as the SACP, we respected his intellectual contribution in the task of reconstructing and developing our country,” spokesperson Malesela Maleka said.

Cope co-founder Mbhazima Shilowa was shocked and saddened by Asmal’s death and described him as an icon and a legend.

“Asmal was one of the very few icons and legends who still upheld the founding values and principles of the democratic movement and the liberation struggle.”

Good company

Archbishop Desmond Tutu paid tribute to how Asmal selflessly served the country.

“He served his people and his nation, without a thought of self-enrichment or aggrandisement,” he said.

“He added substance and vigour to whatever he did, from the international anti-apartheid movement, to the negotiations that gave birth to our democratic nation, and later, our Constitution; and from the cabinets in which he served under presidents Mandela and Mbeki, to the generations of academics and students he inspired, from Trinity College in Ireland to the University of the Western Cape.”

Tutu sent his condolences to Asmal’s family saying “if it is any consolation to them in this time of grief, one of the first people Kader will bump into in heaven is Albertina Sisulu. He is in good company”.

Credit to: News 24

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Bumpy road ahead for Zuma as ANC loses support

Friday, May 20, 2011 No Comments by Zelda

Jacob Zuma’s leadership of the African National Congress (ANC) was in the spotlight yesterday as his party lost support in major centres while the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) support surged.

By 10pm last night, the DA was enjoying 24,1% support countrywide, up from 15% in the previous municipal poll. Its performance in several black townships across the country suggests it is being accepted by black voters.

The DA’s support base is now about one in four South Africans, which — given that only 9,2% of South Africans are white — will go a long way in backing its claim it is being accepted by black voters.

The DA’s growth, largely at the expense of the ANC, may make Zuma’s chances of re-election as the president of the ANC difficult. The party will hold leadership elections next year.

These elections indicate that SA may be moving towards a two- party dominant system.

The National Freedom Party (NFP), launched three months ago, made inroads in Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) strongholds in KwaZulu-Natal. By last night, the NFP had gained two municipalities from the IFP, from which it broke away.

The Congress of the People (COPE) had captured 2,2% of the vote . But the African Christian Democratic Party had won only 20 seats based on the votes counted. Independent councillors won 83 seats across SA.

The ANC seemed to be suffering from a punishment vote, with its traditional black supporters voting against it.

The party’s policy head, Jeff Radebe, conceded last night that the DA was the growth party in these elections. He said the ANC needed to “go back to the drawing board to see what is happening”.

“One of the issues is that some people changed the candidates chosen by the communities,” Radebe said.

He said, however, that the DA’s growth should not be exaggerated because the ANC had retained its metros. “There have been challenges and the ANC will attend to those challenges.”

The DA increased the number of councils it controls with a clear majority, from six before the elections to 17.

The Cape metro vote was still outstanding at 10pm last night.

The number of municipalities the DA would govern is expected to increase as the party is expected to form coalitions in areas where there was no outright winner, and in hung municipalities.

It has made inroads in ANC- controlled townships. While the votes it received were insufficient to change control, they were an indication of a significant shift. The party got votes in Soweto’s middle-class Pimville and Protea South areas.

In an upset, the DA also won ward 32 in Johannesburg from the ANC. Ward 32 includes Buccleuch and part of Alexandra — an ANC stronghold, and once home to Arts and Culture Minister Paul Mashatile and Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe .

In the Eastern Cape, the DA increased its number of councillors in the Nelson Mandela Bay metro, where the ANC scraped through with 51% of the vote.

The ANC has 61 seats out of 120 in the metro. That means that if only one ANC councillor is absent from a council meeting, the party will not be able to pass bylaws without opposition support.

In Port Elizabeth’s Walmer township, the DA also registered an increased number of votes.

In the Transkei, the DA won wards in Mthatha, Port St Johns and Lusikisiki. Most significantly, it won a ward in Nguza Hill (Flagstaff), the rural town controversially put on the map by Co- operative Governance Minister Sicelo Shiceka when he diverted its only tarred road to the house he is building for his mother.

In East London the DA took two wards from the ANC — including Gompo Town (Duncan Village) and Southernwood, both of which have few white voters.

Political analyst Mcebisi Ndletyana said the DA was seen as a white-dominated party, and its performance at the polls this week could possibly “shake that monkey out of its bag”.

The official opposition increased its grip on the Western Cape by winning 13 municipalities outright. By using its record in the handful of municipalities and single metro it controlled before the poll, the DA succeeded in making service delivery — and not race — the central theme of its election campaign.

A key result for the DA was its retention of control of the Midvaal council in Gauteng, with an increased majority — after the ANC threw everything into winning the municipality back.

It was expected the DA’s majority in Cape Town would be reduced, but DA insiders were confident the party would win the metro outright. The alliance between the DA and the Independent Democrats (ID) also appeared to have worked, with the DA retaining its areas and ID strongholds. Clearly the DA and ID marriage, with Patricia de Lille as the mayoral candidate, attracted large parts of the coloured vote.

Many of these voters would have been mindful of the declaration by then labour director-general Jimmy Manyi (now chief government spokesman) that there was an overconcentration of coloureds in the Western Cape and the subsequent accusation by ANC heavyweight Trevor Manuel that Manyi was a racist in the mould of Hendrik Verwoerd.

The DA also wrested several municipalities in the province from the ANC: Breede River, Saldanha Bay, Knysna and George — which would not have been possible without support from all races. James Selfe, chairman of the DA’s federal executive, said a significant number of wards had been won from the ANC across SA, and this could not have been achieved without black support, which had more than trebled since the previous election.

Facing defeat in the Cape Town ANC mayoral race, ANC candidate Tony Ehrenreich last night said he believed the ANC’s score would grow as counting continued on the Cape Flats, but conceded the party had failed to win coloured voters away from the DA.

“I don’t think we were going to be able to turn around traditional support to other parties so quickly,” he said, adding that people were still voting according to “apartheid faultlines” in the province.

“Coloured areas voted for the DA.

“So that should tell you that the people feel scared and more secure with people who had traditionally given coloureds a better deal.”

He conceded government spokesman Jimmy Manyi’s controversial comments that there was “an oversupply of coloureds” in the Western Cape, may have harmed the ANC’s chances.

Ehrenreich said he did not regret refusing to run a campaign that targeted specific race groups.

“I’m not going to be pandering to that type of racial division.”

Credit to: Business Day and Sapa

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WCape only province to get full infrastructure grant

Thursday, April 7, 2011 No Comments by Zelda

The Western Cape is the only province to receive its full 100 percent provincial infrastructure grant from the National Treasury for 2010/11.

It was deeply significant that Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan had allocated the Western Cape its full grant allotment under the Division of Revenue Act (DORA), DA federal executive chairman James Selfe told a media briefing at Parliament on Thursday.

At the same time, Gordhan terminated allocations to all eight ANC-run provinces, penalising them for their failure to plan for and spend their infrastructure grants properly.

The decision was gazetted earlier this week.

“The move constitutes yet further evidence that, where the DA governs, it delivers for all and to a better standard than the ANC,” Selfe said.

“In particular, it shows that the DA delivers to the poor, because the infrastructure grants in question are dedicated for education, health, roads and agriculture.”

While this bore testimony to the DA’s good stewardship of public funds and its ability to deliver infrastructure-led economic growth, it was a tragedy for residents of other provinces who were desperate for infrastructure development, maintenance and service delivery.

“Their governments have let them down, and there is no excuse for it,” Selfe said.

While the Western Cape would receive 100 percent of its R795 million allocation for infrastructure spending, provinces like the Free State and Mpumalanga would only receive 55 percent, the Northern Cape 54 percent and Gauteng 70 percent.

The Eastern Cape, which was supposed to receive a much needed R2 billion, was denied a massive R500 million.

In total, ANC-run provinces would be denied R2.47 billion in infrastructure grants during this financial year because of maladministration, financial mismanagement and poor planning.

This was 22 percent of the R11.3 billion overall allocation from the Treasury, and was the equivalent of the funds needed to build about 30,000 RDP houses, he said.

National Treasury allocated provincial infrastructure grants to finance construction, maintenance, upgrading and rehabilitation of new and existing infrastructure in education, health, roads and agriculture.

At R11.3 billion in 2010/11, it was by far the largest of the six types of Treasury grants allocated to supplement programmes funded from provincial budgets.

Gordhan blocked funding to the eight ANC-run provinces in terms of section 17 of the Division of Revenue Act.

This provision of the Act could only be invoked in two conditions.

Either on the grounds of persistent and material non-compliance with national legislation and the conditions under which allocations were made, or on the basis that the Treasury anticipated that an administration would substantially under-spend on that programme or allocation in the financial year.

Selfe said proper spending of infrastructure funds was crucial because infrastructure development and maintenance created jobs, provided the platform for people to start businesses and created the confidence that companies needed to invest.

“The roll-out and maintenance of infrastructure provides the foundation upon which provincial and local government service delivery can take place.

“It also provides the means by which young people can travel to school, entrepreneurs can start businesses, companies can transport goods and residents can enjoy high standards of living.”

Last year, DA-run municipalities also far outperformed non-DA run municipalities in spending their municipal infrastructure grants (MIGs).

During the 2009/10 financial year, 272 municipalities were given MIGs totalling R8.739 billion.

Of this, only R6.575 billion, or 75 percent, was spent, leaving a massive R2.164 billion unspent.

These leftover billions could have provided more than 25,000 RDP houses to shelter more than 125,000 people.

“The 13 DA-run municipalities, along with the Cape Town metro, were allocated a total of R452 million, of which we spent R446 million, a 99 percent rate of expenditure.

“Indeed, 12 of our 13 municipalities (93 percent) spent 100 percent of their MIGs, while only 34 percent of non-DA municipalities spent their full allotment,” Selfe said.

Credit to: Times Live

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Municipalities failed to spend R2bn

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Taxis back on the road

Wednesday, March 16, 2011 No Comments by Zelda

Taxis in the Western Cape should be running as normal by noon following ministerial intervention that led to the suspension of their strike.

SA National Taxi Council (Santaco) secretary general Philip Taaibosch said: “The strike has officially been suspended from yesterday [Tuesday] late afternoon. I’m sure that by [noon] all the taxis will be on the road.”

Around 12,000 operators went on strike on Monday because they were fed up with their vehicles being impounded and licensing delays.

Taaibosch said the Minister of Transport intervened and following an urgent meeting on Tuesday, the interested parties agreed that a task team would be set up to resolve the issues they raised, within 30 days.

“We had a very fruitful meeting with the transport minister yesterday and his intervention has worked tremendously for the Western Cape and particularly in Cape Town,” he said.

Transport Minister Sbu Ndebele said: “As the minister of transport, it is my responsibility to ensure that public transport services are available at all times.”

The operators’ main issues were that vehicles were being impounded for going off their route, regardless of whether this was to avoid roadworks or gridlock to get their customers to their destinations and to work on time.

Operating licences were also taking too long to be processed and Taaibosch suggested that some municipalities might be doing this because they had their own public transport systems which they wanted to protect.

Operators supported the enforcement of safety measures, but questioned why they were not given the option of being able to have their taxis towed back to their owners for necessary repairs, as is usual with private vehicles, instead of being impounded.

Those at Tuesday’s meeting agreed that impounded vehicles would be released to their owners on proof of ownership.

“The release is not affecting the law at all, the law should at all times take its course,” said Taaibosch.

“It’s not about safety issues — the public is getting misled. Safety issues might be part of the problem, but it’s not completely that way. The majority of the taxis impounded are not old.”

Congress of SA Trade Unions provincial secretary Tony Ehrenreich said Cosatu became involved because it was concerned about the impact the strike was having on the federation’s members’ work commute.

Ehrenreich, who is the ANC’s mayoral candidate for the City of Cape Town, said: “We are concerned that the strike was crippling our members and the fight is between government and taxi bosses and the government [provincial and local] does not care that there is no transport for workers.”

Unionisation in the taxi industry is relatively low compared to other transport sectors, but some taxi workers have joined Cosatu.

The Bus Rapid Transit system is also expected to be included in the task team’s deliberations.

The task team includes representatives of national, provincial and local government, Santaco and Cosatu.

According to Western Cape public safety MEC Albert Fritz one person died and several others were injured during the strike. At least 23 people were arrested in incidents which included stoning and a bus being set alight.

Credit to: Times Live

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Taxi strike continues

Tuesday, March 15, 2011 No Comments by Zelda

Violence continued overnight in Cape Town’s minibus taxi strike when a bus was set alight and cars stoned, the city’s traffic department said on Tuesday.

The bus driver was injured and admitted to hospital, said spokesperson Kylie Hatton.

Protests turned violent in Mfuleni and Nyanga on Monday morning. Fifteen people were arrested in Mfuleni for public violence where a Golden Arrow bus was stoned.

Taxi commuters were left stranded in Cape Town when Santaco members embarked on a strike to protest against the red tape and “sloppiness” around the issuing of operating licences by the provincial government, and to protest against “draconian” traffic laws.

Santaco secretary general Philip Taaibosch said authorities regularly impounded taxis without good reason.

He said the strike would continue until the Western Cape provincial government addressed key complaints from the taxi industry.

He said more than 120 taxis had been impounded and some were at risk of being repossessed because owners were unable to pay instalments.

A meeting was scheduled with Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele for midday on Tuesday in an attempt to reach an agreement.

Meanwhile Cosatu in Western Cape has threatened to sue the DA.

MEC for transport and public works Robin Carlisle said Santaco’s decision to strike was unnecessary, and that taxi leaders had told him that certain executives in Santaco were “manipulating the industry”.

But both Cosatu and the SACP slammed Carlisle, accusing him of lying about contingency plans to help stranded commuters.

“There are no additional trains, neither are there additional buses. The government has an obligation to ensure the provision of public transport because they placed people’s housing so far from work opportunities,” said Cosatu’s Tony Ehrenreich.

He said Cosatu would lodge a complaint with the Human Rights Commission about the “failure of the DA to secure the transport safety of commuters”.

“We will use the findings of the Human Rights Commission to lodge a class action against the DA for losses suffered by our people,” he said.

Ehrenreich called on the DA “to send to the townships the new Integrated Rapid Transport buses which take very few people to the airport and back”.

SACP Cape Town secretary Benson ka Ngqentsu said the party would hold talks with Santaco and the city’s officials to try and end the strike.

“Taxi associations must direct their anger at the authorities, in particular Carlisle. Children are brutally affected…. We cannot afford for education to be affected,” ka Ngqentsu said.

Credit to: News24and The Sowetan

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Cape Town taxis on strike

Monday, March 14, 2011 1 Comment by Zelda

Minibus taxi commuters were left stranded in Cape Town on Monday morning as members of the SA National Taxi Council (Santaco) started striking to protest against the provincial government.

From midnight on Sunday, there will be no taxis on the roads of Cape Town, says Santaco provincial spokesman Mvuyisile Mente. Photo courtesy of Reuters.

“There’s a lot of unhappiness amongst my members in the Western Cape,” said Santaco secretary general Philip Taaibosch.

“It is the only province in South Africa where you find that taxi operators are harassed in such a big way,” he told Sapa.

Drivers belonging to Santaco are protesting the impounding of vehicles, alleged fraud by law enforcement and the implementation of the MyCiTi bus service.

He said authorities regularly impounded taxis without good reason.

He said he had requested his colleagues in the Western Cape to try and set up a meeting with transport and public works MEC Robin Carlisle to discuss Santaco’s concerns.

The strike will end once “the provincial leadership had decided that their issues had been addressed”, said Taaibosch.

The City of Cape Town said it was aware of at least four areas that experienced incidents of violence related to the taxi strike. These include Nyanga, Crossroads, Bloekombos and the Eisleben, Klipfontein and Lansdowne areas.

Not all drivers are participating in the strike as some taxis were seen in parts of Cape Town.

In the 15 minutes it took Eyewitness News to drive from the city centre to the Borcherds Quarry offramp, only three minibus taxis could be counted in the BMT lane.

The offramp has become a makeshift bus stop with many Golden Arrow buses crammed onto a small piece of ground. There was a growing queue of anxious and frustrated passengers waiting to board buses.

Traffic officers are keeping a close eye on the area following sporadic incidents of violence and intimidation.

City spokesperson Kylie Hatton said they are watching all areas.

“The City of Cape Town’s law enforcement officers and the South African Police Services (Saps) will have an increased law enforcement presence on all of our major transport routes and major transport interchanges. Areas that are being particularly monitored are the Mfuleni crossroads areas,” she said.

Meanwhile, the taxi strike has left the Bellville taxi rank empty.
On Friday the Western Cape Congress of SA Trade Unions boss Tony Ehrenreich condemned the planned Cape Town taxi strike and said local government was lying about having contingency plans in place for commuters.

Ehrenreich, who has been nominated by Cosatu to run for mayor of Cape Town, urged taxi drivers to block the city centre rather than prejudice their passengers.

“The taxi bosses have a right to protest but they must direct the protest at the government who is the cause of the problem so taxis must go and block the city centre, not prejudice commuters who can do nothing to solve their problems.”

Credit to: Sapa, News 24, Independent Online and Eyewitness News

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Zuma confident about ANC-win in Cape Town

Monday, March 14, 2011 No Comments by Zelda

President Jacob Zuma is confident that the ANC can win back the city of Cape Town in the local government elections on May 18.

ANC supporters at the party's provincial elections campaign at the Dal-Josafat stadium in Paarl on Sunday. Photo courtesy of Times Live.

Zuma launched the ANC’s provincial elections campaign at the Dal-Josafat stadium in Paarl yesterday.

Addressing a rally of more than 15000 people, Zuma said the ANC factions in the province must put their differences aside.

“We must unite to defeat the Democratic Alliance in the Western Cape,” the ANC president said.

“We must take back the Cape Town metro as a first step in taking back the Western Cape in the next national election. I am confident we are ready to do so,” Zuma told the crowd.

“The ANC is something bigger than people think.”

Zuma said the ANC remained committed to delivering water, electricity, sanitation and to “formalising” informal settlements.

The ANC’s top six officials will today visit Cape Town to hold talks with the province’s former leaders: Mcebisi Skwatsha, Lynne Brown and Max Ozinsky.

The three were nominated for leadership positions at the elective conference last month, but pulled out of the race after the ANC Youth League, which has no democratically elected provincial leadership structure, was allowed to send voting delegates to the congress.

The youth league had earlier indicated that its delegates would vote for the opposing slate, led by Deputy International Relations Minister Marius Fransman and the league’s Songezo Mjongile.

About 200 Skwatsha supporters protested about this outside the conference, but delegates at the conference agreed that since the youth league still had branches, it should be allowed to vote.

Speaking at that provincial conference, Zuma hit out at the former leaders, saying that the ANC in the province was so plagued by factionalism that it spent all its time fighting itself.

But the ANC’s top six are likely to hold out an olive branch to the Skwatsha grouping today, to try and win back supporters to back their campaign for local elections.

The DA will this morning announce their mayoral candidate for Cape Town, widely expected to be Patricia de Lille.

Credit to: Times Live

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‘Councillors, pay your traffic fines or else…’

Sunday, December 12, 2010 No Comments by Zelda

Cape Town city spokesperson Dirk Smit warned on Friday that city councillors faced disciplinary hearings if they did not obey summonses to appear in court for traffic fines.

He said he had “untested” information that there were currently 19 warrants of arrest issued for councillors, four of which were for one councillor and two for another.

Smit said he had asked the city’s executive director for safety and security to check if his information was correct.

In a letter sent to all councillors on Friday, Smit said by not obeying summonses the councillors “will cause great embarrassment for the council.

“Such action will not be tolerated and it will leave council with no alternative other than to discipline such councillors,” he said.

“I urgently call on all councillors to ‘get their houses in order’ and to attend to such outstanding traffic fines immediately.”

He said that procedure when a person did not appear in the traffic court was to issue a warrant of arrest for contempt of court, but to hold it over for 14 days.

He would act “early next year” if the individuals had not sorted out the issue of the warrants.

Credit to: Sapa and News 24

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