Highway rank loses out on TV
SPORTS fanatics who relied on watching matches on a big television screen installed more than 10 years ago at Mdantsane’s Highway taxi rank are upset at its removal with no communication from Buffalo City Metro.
The public TV screen was erected before the 2010 Fifa World Cup as part of renovations at the busy central business district (CBD) and as a buildup to the tournament.
Taxi operators and hawkers who work at the rank expressed unhappiness and said that as stakeholders BCM did not bother to inform them of the “abrupt” removal.
Speaking to the Saturday Dispatch yesterday, hawker Sandisile Mgangxela said that when he asked those who were removing it, they said BCM had refused to pay for the continuous operation of the TV.
“In the three years that I have been working here as a hawker we have been enjoying live soccer games especially during the weekends here.”
Mdantsane, East London and District Taxi Association (Melta) transport officer Mboniswa Rhasi said it took days to remove the screen and most of the taxi operators were in the dark as to why the screen was being removed.
The TV was installed and leased by Primedia Outdoor, but the company declined to comment and referred questions to BCM yesterday.
BCM spokesman Samkelo Ngwenya said: “There’s no such a thing that the municipality was paying for the TV screen but it’s the other way round. The service provider was paying the municipality to have the TV at the rank.”
Ngwenya said Primedia’s contract with BCM ended last year.
He said a new tender was advertised by BCM for the operation and a new service provider to provide a TV screen was appointed in May 2017 for a period of three years.
The new company’s commencement date was August 1. However, the new screen is still not up.
“The new service provider has indicated that they will be putting a new TV screen at the beginning of September and they will be paying rentals to the municipality for the lease of municipal land at the rank and not the municipality paying them.
“We are also exploring a possibility of getting them a better site,” Ngwenya said. — mamelag@dispatch.