Shock at poor condition
GAUTENG MEC for public transport and roads infrastructure, Jacob Mamabolo, has expressed shock at the state of some taxi ranks in the city.
Following a site visit to two ranks in the Joburg CBD this week, Mamabolo called for urgent intervention over the conditions in these ranks.
The MEC said he would be convening an urgent meeting with all city members of the mayoral committees for transport in the province to discuss the state of decay at the taxi ranks.
This follows his visit to the Bree and Noord streets ranks where he said he was “shocked by the level of filth, stench and complete neglect of both facilities”.
Mamabolo, accompanied by taxi representatives from SA National Taxi Council and the Gauteng National Taxi Alliance, said he believes the arrangement where the provincial government builds and hands over facilities to the municipalities is not yielding desired results. He added that a new approach is needed that will form the basis for consultations with the MMCs and other role-players.
“I firmly believe that a bold, forward-looking and constructive approach is needed to resolve these issues. These facilities can be exploited to derive economic opportunities to benefit communities,” Mamabolo said.
He expressed his dismay at the state of the two facilities as they serve as the infrastructure support for a major player in public transport – minibus taxi sector – that carries the majority of commuters.
“This taxi industry is critical in the province’s public transport system as it carries 70% of commuters. The condition of these facilities is totally unacceptable and cannot be tolerated,” he added, saying the two ranks are a safety hazard to the lives of commuters and operators.
“The condition of the ranks shows that the facilities have been neglected for years. This is demonstrated by the conditions we observed including lack of proper maintenance,” Mamabolo said.
The MEC indicated that in the quest to position Gauteng as a region of smart mobility, and to facilitate the transformation and integration of all transport modes, these facilities need to be maintained to acceptable standards.
Mamabolo said: We need a complete overhaul of the way taxi ranks are managed. The state of these facilities shows how we have neglected the taxi industry including its infrastructure. We… have a crisis on our doorstep.
“Government’s intention to corporatise the taxi industry and all the strides we have made so far, will not come to fruition if we fail to maintain our critical infrastructure.
“Our plans are to provide a safe, efficient, seamless and affordable public transport system.
“This can only materialise when critical infrastructure is taken care of,” he said.
ANNA COX
WHILE THE City of Joburg has declared war on illegal outdoor signage and has given advertisers a deadline to declare their signs – legal or illegal – a company called Office Place has been accused of placing illegal signs on hundreds of street poles, including overhead bridges and pavements.
This is taking place in the cities of Joburg and Ekurhuleni. The commercial property specialists company has gone as far as digging holes in pavements to erect wooden structures to support their advertisements.
Metrowatch has tried for a week to get a comment from the company with no response.
The city, in September, pledged to remove all illegal signs and will – from the end of this month – release figures of how many advertisers responded to the call for legalisation of their signs. The city recently stated that 90% of signs are illegal.
The Johannesburg Property Company (JPC) said advertisers would “heed the full might of the law”.
The JPC executive manager of client business operations Fanis Sarianos said the city has become aware of the heightened efforts by unscrupulous media owners of erecting advertising signs on both public and private land without council approval as required in terms of the 2009 outdoor advertising by-laws.
“Removal of illegal signs without a court order will become a norm after notifying the owners,” he said.
The implementation of the new by-laws was suspended two years ago, through a court order which resulted in advertisers being given a 36-month period to allow for a transition into the new phase pending finalisation of the litigation.
The city, he warned, would no longer stand back and allow any unscrupulous media owners to undermine its legitimacy as a statutory institution to regulate the sector.
What has also become apparent is that these illegally-erected advertising structures are not branded so owners cannot be identified.
In recent cases, trees were destroyed on Main Street, Maboneng, to advertise a beer. After a huge outcry, the advertiser said they were only renting the space, but agreed to plant 50 trees in the area to replace the damaged ones.
Uber Eats also came under fire when trees were pruned on Oxford Road, Illovo, for an advert.
The company, reacting on Facebook, said: “... we are saddened and shocked, as a company that has made a recent commitment towards becoming more sustainable with our partners, this is unacceptable.
“We are in contact with our media agency around this and the permits on the site, and once we have further details we will ensure to take the necessary actions and ensure this doesn’t happen again.
“We will offset this error by committing to a planting day with our long-term partners Greenpop. While this is a small step, we will ensure we do better in future for our planet and the impact of food delivery in South Africa,” Samantha Fuller, head of Uber communications, stated on Facebook.