Attention broadcasters: English audio clip attached
The DA in the Western Cape congratulates the Provincial Department of Transport on another year of sterling service delivery, and for achieving its 10th consecutive unqualified audit opinion with no findings for the 2021/22 financial year. The results contained in this report prove beyond any doubt that the department’s policies are working, and are making meaningful change in people’s lives.
Despite various challenges brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, the department remained efficient, innovative, at the forefront of service delivery excellence and introduced a number of ground-breaking developments during the reported financial period. These include:
- Spending 98.8% of the allocated budget;
- Introducing the first active electric bus in South Africa in collaboration with Golden Arrow Bus Services;
- Performing the award-winning relocation of the iconic Ashton Arch Bridge in collaboration with Aecom and H&I to its new and final location after years of rigorous planning, design, and construction – a first for South Africa; and
- Through infrastructural development of pavements, bicycle lanes, traffic calming strategies, and safe crossings, the Department’s Provincial Sustainable Transport Program continued to assist municipalities in enhancing public transportation.
MPP Ricardo Mackenzie says, “I am delighted to have witnessed the work of the Provincial Department of Transport and Public Works. In the reported financial period, the Standing Committee on Transport played a significant role in performing oversight and ensuring that the Department was held to account. In return, the Department was cooperative and transparent.
While there is always room for improvement, the Department has done an outstanding job of supporting public transportation while ensuring that as many residents of the Western Cape have access to transport services as possible. The Blue Dot taxi project in particular had a significant impact on improving commuter and road safety as well as passenger safety. What is needed now is for the National Department of Transport to come to the table, fulfil its mandate, and back policies which have been proven to work on a national scale.
The past 12 months have also seen the Provincial Department of Transport go outside of its mandate to assist in the resuscitation of rail services in the Western Cape, stepping up to address taxi violence flare-ups and providing support and protection to Intercape following acts of violence and intimidation against its property.
The DA in the Western Cape commends the Provincial Department for its outstanding achievements, and calls on national government to follow their example, especially in light of the current situation around the Blue Dot Programme. The Western Cape has created a universally-acclaimed blueprint for the professionalisation of a vital part of our nation’s transport infrastructure, and it is high time that national government brings these successes to the rest of the nation.”