Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Transport has requested a detailed update from the Departments of Transport and National Treasury on the performance of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, known as the Public Transport Network (PTN), following a decision to phase out grant funding for the programme.
The committee made the request after Transport Minister Barbara Creecy informed members last week that a decision had been taken “to wind down the grant” because it was underperforming and failing to achieve its intended objectives.
According to the Minister, the winding down process will be phased in over the next three years, while existing contractual commitments will be honoured.
Speaking on YOU FM Newshour, Portfolio Committee Chairperson Donald Selamolela urged the Departments of Transport and National Treasury to ensure that public funds are not lost again under the new consolidated grant system currently being conceptualised.
“As a committee, we conducted oversight visits to some of these projects in January, particularly infrastructure linked to the system in Msunduzi and eThekwini, to assess progress.
“The reports we received before the visits suggested there was no value for money, and we have since confirmed that this is indeed the case.
“One example is the Rustenburg Bus Rapid Transit system, Yarona. We have not received value for money, and it has now been 10 years. By this stage, the project should have delivered affordable public transport for our people, but that is not happening,” said Selamolela.
He highlighted that the challenges are not confined to a single municipality or city.
“A similar situation exists in Msunduzi, eThekwini in KwaZulu-Natal, and the City of Mangaung in Bloemfontein in the Free State, although there have been encouraging developments in Polokwane and the City of Cape Town.
“Overall, the system is not performing well in relation to the grant funding, despite billions of rand having been spent. Yet our people continue to face high transport costs,” Selamolela explained.
The committee chairperson emphasised that government can no longer afford to lose money through poorly conceived programmes.
“The Departments of Transport and National Treasury must prepare to brief the committee during the third quarter on the consultations they are undertaking regarding this matter.
“The departments must ensure that this does not happen again,” he stressed.
However, Selamolela indicated that Minister Creecy is developing an alternative solution that will place commuters and communities at the centre of the public transport system.
“Our communities and our people must be at the heart of everything we do.
“That remains our primary concern, and we have been assured that a plan will be developed before the end of the third quarter.
“We need to see projects move beyond completion and implementation to delivering tangible benefits for the people they are intended to serve,” he said.
