The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the province alleges that the municipality, which is responsible for the Rustenburg Rapid Transport (RRT) project, has opted to spend another R2,6 billion to buy minibus taxis instead of rapid transit buses to ferry commuters.

The DA’s member on the Portfolio Committee on Transport, Sello Seitlholo, says the RRT project has effectively collapsed, leaving the public with little to show for the billions of rands that were invested in the project.

"The RRT was introduced as a game-changer for the city's transportation system, with the aim of connecting existing rail systems, buses, and mini-bus taxis to provide easy access to public transportation for residents," he adds.

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Seitlholo explains that, according to their knowledge, the initial budget for the RRT project was R3 billion, but the project cost is now nearly R4 billion. The R2,6 billion in question is alleged to have been used to procure a fleet of over 200 minibus taxis.

"The minibus taxis were acquired from local taxi owners at an average cost of R1,3 million per vehicle, while a minibus typically costs R1,1 million," he said.

He referred to the fact that the Auditor-General, Tsakani Maluleke, has repeatedly sounded the alarm on the wastefulness of the project in question, flagging it as such in her audit reports for the 2020/21 and 2021/22 financial years.

"Her findings were clear and damning – pointing to gross inefficiency at the municipal level, exacerbated by long procurement processes, late payments to suppliers, flawed feasibility studies, missed deadlines, unaddressed vacancies, and noncompliance with regulations for supply chain management."

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The former transport minister, Fikile Mbabula, during his 2019/20 budget speech in Parliament in July 2019, said the Mangaung Metro Municipality in the Free State and Rustenburg in North West are among the cities such as eThekwini and Mbombela that are set to carry out these projects.

This is despite recent challenges faced by the Mangaung Hauweng and Rustenburg Rapid Transport (RRT) systems. Mbalula says billions of rands have been invested in the implementation of Integrated Public Transport Networks (IPTNs) and the Taxi Recapitalisation Programme. He said that during the course of 2019, new phases of the IPTN would have come on-stream with buses operating in the said areas.

The multimillion-rand construction of the RRT system was recently temporarily ground to a halt after the concrete roof of a station collapsed. eNCA previously reported that Rustenburg has earmarked over R2 billion to revive its integrated public transport system. It was further reported that the project has been mired in controversy after the municipality ended its contract with the previous service provider due to underperformance.

OFM News