Gauteng’s provincial ministers for transport and finance should be fired for bungling the proposed monorail between Soweto and central Johannesburg, the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the province said on Monday.
”I first called on [Gauteng Premier Mbhazima] Shilowa to fire [provincial minister of finance Paul] Mashatile and [provincial minister of transport Ignatius] Jacobs in February this year. Their bungles and contempt for the public should be tolerated no longer. They must go,” the DA’s Jack Bloom said in a statement.
The R12-billion monorail project was put on hold after Transport Minister Jeff Radebe said he had not been informed about the project and only heard about it through the media.
”How could the national transport minister be kept totally in the dark when rail is a national competence and needs approval from the Railway Safety Regulator and the South African Rail Commuter Corporation?” Bloom asked.
He said the ”fiasco demands” a response from Shilowa.
”He should fire [the two provincial ministers] who have let him down badly in disregarding the most basic consultation on a major project.”
Bloom said foreign investment should be encouraged, but it was astounding that Mashatile could sign a deal with a ”fishy” Malaysian company that still had to divulge its local and international partners.
”Is Mashatile really so naive, or are there other interests at stake?
”An inquiry is needed into who would gain from the proposed development corridor on the monorail route. I am very suspicious,” he said.
The monorail — to be built by the Malaysian investment consortium Newcyc Vision — was announced earlier this month, and was hailed as a victory for commuters between Soweto and central Johannesburg.
However, it has also received the cold shoulder from the South African National Taxi Council, who said it should be kept off taxi routes.
Gauteng monorail project derails
The Transport Ministry said on Friday that the building of the 44,7km monorail between Johannesburg and Soweto has been ”put on hold”.
It said that while the monorail proposal cannot be supported in its present form, the government is in principle not opposed to the concept of a monorail.
The Gauteng project will be suspended pending ”the necessary process, including consultation”, said Transport Ministry spokesperson Collen Msibi.
The decision followed a meeting earlier on Friday between Radebe, Paul Mashatile and Jacobs.
On May 16, the two provincial ministers signed an agreement with the Malaysian consortium on construction of the monorail, claiming it would transport 1,5-million people a day and reduce their wait for transport to just 15 minutes.
However, the new transport proposal drew criticism from, among others, the Congress of South African Trade Unions, the South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union and taxi operators.
At the time of the announcement, Radebe said the first he had heard of the monorail was in the media. He accused the Gauteng government of not consulting, discussing or seeking the national Transport Department’s approval for the project, adding it went against the Cabinet-approved national rail plan. — Sapa