DA Speeches in Council 29 January 2009: Transport

SPEECH BY CLLR JUSTUS DE GOEDE

Annexure A Bus rapid transit function

Mr Speaker

Allow me to address these closely-aligned Items jointly, as each bears directly on the other.

The DA has often said in the past that the BRT proposals, which have also been adopted by Johannesburg and Cape Town, are with some reservations, a positive development. No conventional bus system in South Africa can be described as working well and the concept of a dedicated bus thoroughfare, while extremely expensive and complex to build, has been shown elsewhere to contribute to moving people rapidly and safely. Item 3 correctly identifies the problem of taking the taxi industry in particular with us, as both Cape Town and Johannesburg found out to their cost.

Having said this, I think we have to admit that the BRT system in this city – and I am fairly sure the same goes for the other Metros – will not be ready to contribute to public transport in 2010, which makes the reference on page 9 to the fact that “Tshwane’s new buses will not be delivered”, puzzling. I take it these are the standard passenger busses, not suited to the BRT. Estimates from manufacturers are that about 1 200 extra buses would be needed in SA for 2010, assuming they can be built in time ; how does our Metro tend to tackle this problem?

I know that the Mayor is allergic to the word “bus”, but I would be pleased to hear from the MMC exactly what is on the table for the extremely demanding transport program for the World Cup ; we surely don’t intend to run the present museum pieces during the tournament, even if Economic Development has requested a budget for paint to make them look more presentable.

So, mr Speaker, if BRT is no-show in 2010, what then?

Thank you

Councillor Justus de Goede (083 7332557)

SPEECH BY CLLR PETER MILLAR (DA), ward 41.

Annexure A.2. Item 1

Tshwane International Freight Airport

Member of the Portfolio Committee, City Planning and Regional Development.

In the book, Alice in Wonderland, they spoke about curioser and curioser.

In this municipality everything is curiouser and curioser.

This report about the Tshwane International Freight Airport is not just curioser, but also imaginable and quite comical.

About two years ago when the original report first served in Council, it stated the following:
This was a private initiative and the municipality would not be involved.
The only costs to the municipality would be provision of services, water, sewage, electricity, roads, etc.
The main reason for establishing this airport was that Boeing wanted to build a service centre in the southern hemisphere and this was the perfect location.
Freight would be a secondary activity to make extra money.
Wonderboom Airport would not be affected at all by the new airport.

This report starts off with some very flowery language that is reminiscent of the Wonderland that Alice lived in.

In point 2, if you believe the writer, you can imagine the six lane freeway that extends all the way all the way up Africa, through the rift valley, into Cairo. All fantasy, of cause.

The writer of the report starts to hallucinate even more when he talks about the airport creating 66 000 new jobs every year. That is just a dream.

The hallucination continues through the report.

No mention is made of Boeing and its service centre. Maybe that was an illusion in the first place.
The costs of development will be the responsibility of the municipality.
It goes so far as to say that the Municipality must expropriate the land.
Then the report reaches its height of obserdity when it says that Wonderboom Airport must close.

As you can see, this is in total contradiction to the earlier report.

Maybe this report was presented as some kind of joke for our amusement. In that case the writer has something in common with the author of Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll.

However, the author was known use opium before writing his books. I certainly hope that the writer of this report does not use opium or anything like that. I hope it was only his wild, creative, imagination that came to the fore while writing this report.

To be able to imagine that this municipality could afford buying the land when money is in such short supply, is a real gift. We are talking about hundreds of millions of rands. However, the report does not specify how much all this will cost, but does expect this almost bankrupt Council to make a decision.

I would venture to say that there are numerous other projects have priority before this type of expenditure.

This project can only become a reality with the backing of national government. We can never do it on our own. Why we are even trying, I don’t know.

We must have a serious commitment from national government before we waste any more time and effort on this unaffordable project.

Let’s have a dose of reality and realise that we do not live in the fantasy world of Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland.

All that we have got is Gwen in Wonderland by Tobogo Komane.

PETER MILLAR
DA COUNCILLOR, WARD 41
012-342-0527
082-574-4103
petermillar@polka.co.za

Speech: Council 28 Aug - Mabopane Station Report

COUNCIL MEETING 28 August 2008
Item 13 of the main agenda & Item 5 of Annexure A
Expansion of City Shopping Complex and Urban Design Framework, Mabopane Station

Speech by Councillor Peter Millar (DA), ward 41.
Member of the Portfolio Committee, City Planning and Regional Development.

In all the years that I have been in this Council, many reports have been submitted that contain wonderful ideas.

So many of them remain just good ideas. In spite of all the hype, promises and expectations, they are never implemented. They lie on some musty, dusty shelf and will probably be destroyed when and if Munitoria is every imploded. The rebuilding of Munitoria is another example of good ideas still waiting to happen.

Much effort and time has been put into the framework for the Mabopane Station and not without good cause. Further development and upgrading of this area has become necessary for upliftment of the region.

There is so much more potential there and this has been spotted by the Council, Intersite, Metrorail, the owners of Central City shopping centre and the entrepreneurs making a living in the precincts and surrounding areas of the station.

Central City shopping centre its self is an amazing place. It looks good; it’s clean, well maintained and thriving. This proves there is a demand for this type of facility in spite of all we have been told that this would never work. It can compete with the best shopping centres in more affluent areas of our City and the rest of the country. There is a good mix of tenants from small boutiques to national chain stores, banks and various service providers. Therefore, it is a good idea to encourage Central City to expand and for the Council to sell them the extra land required.

Intersite, the property subsidiary of Transnet, has committed its self to large and expensive extensions and renovations to the station. They will be providing much better facilities for train passengers and hawkers.

While Central City and Intersite are doing such a good job, the Council must not forget its responsibility.

Over and above building all the new services, roads, taxi ranks, etc., the Council must make sure that proper maintenance is done and that sufficient money is allocated in the budget for this in the future. All too often, Council facilities fall into disrepair very quickly due to lack of maintenance and management. The excuse is always the lack of provision in the budget.

Another good idea that never seems to be implemented is a ring fence budget. It is time to implement this other good idea and give the development a further boost. It will ensure money for maintenance into the future.

Also, hawkers must be pressured to keep their areas clean and tidy. They must not block walkways and the free flow of pedestrians and train passengers.

Further, taxis must learn to use the expensive facilities provided for them correctly. They must realise for once and for all that they are not a law unto themselves. Strict law enforcement will have to be implemented to make sure the area does not degenerate into a messy free-for-all, as so often happens.

Let us get on with this development as quickly as possible now. Let it not become just a good idea that has been forgotten about and end up on a dusty, musty shelf.

PETER MILLAR
DA COUNCILLOR, WARD 41
012-342-0527
082-574-4103
petermillar@polka.co.za

Council was Warned about Blazing Building

Press Statement Released by Peter Millar, Councillor for ward 41.

There was a fire today (14/05/08) at 381 Pretoria Road, Silverton. A large part of the buildings were badly damaged.

A factory building was erected on this property more than two years ago. It is a residential area. The property is zoned for residential use and has never been rezoned. No plans for the building were ever submitted to or approved by the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality. No occupation certificate was ever issued.

The building had been occupied and used as a manufacturing and repair facility. It created noise and caused other types of pollution. It loomed over the residential properties surrounding the building and had an unsightly façade.

In spite of numerous complaints to the Municipality by the residents and myself, nothing was done. In fact, the Municipality continued supplying water and electricity. The Municipality may not supply services to buildings that do not have approved building plans and occupation certificates.

The City Planning Department (Mr Martin van Niekerk, 012-358-4570, 082-494-7986) was fully aware of the problem and made numerous promises to take action. This type of business and/or building is not provided for in the town planning scheme, the development framework for the area or the Integrated Development Plan.

Due to inefficiencies, procrastinations and dereliction of duty, this problem was allowed to perpetuate. I discussed the particular problem of this property with the Mayor during a meeting with her in February 2007.

Not only was this building a problem to the residents of the area, but also posed a danger to the workers in the building, as we have now seen.

I am grateful that there were no serious casualties during the fire.

Now that the building has largely been destroyed, I hope the Municipality will make sure that the ruins are finally demolished and the illegal activities are stopped on the property.

This was certainly poetic justice.

PETER MILLAR
COUNCILLOR, WARD 41
TSHWANE METROPOLITAN MUNICIPALITY
012-342-0527
082-574-4103
petermillar@polka.co.za