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12

November

2017

Celebrating National Disability Rights Awareness Month

November 3 was the official launch of Disability Rights Awareness Month in South Africa. The national launch took place in eThekwini in partnership with, among others, the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government and eThekwini Metro. With the focus for the launch falling on affirming the rights of young persons with intellectual disabilities, the programme focused on two organisations whose mandate is to promote, protect and uphold the rights of persons with intellectual disabilities, i.e. the Durban Coastal and Mental Health (DCMH) and Special Olympics.


3

November

2017

ENDING TRANSPORT MONTH ON A HIGH NOTE: TRUCK INSPECTIONS

EThekwini Municipality ended October Transport Month, on a high note by conducting spot heavy vehicle inspections on the busy M7 freight corridor on 31 October. This is one of many planned operations to promote road safety in the City on an ongoing basis.

The joint hour-long operation, on both the M7 east and west bound, was conducted by Metro Police officers, the Road Traffic Inspectorate (RTI) and officials from the eThekwini Transport Authority (ETA). The successful operation saw the suspension of 10 articulated trucks and 55 normal prosecutions for a range of offences including worn tyres, unlicensed drivers and vehicles and defective windscreen wipers. Three of the trucks did not have working braking systems and had to be towed to a safe place. A number of private vehicles were also pulled over to inspect their roadworthiness during the operation.

Logan Moodley, Deputy Head of the ETA, said with the suspension of the trucks, their licence discs and operator cards were removed. They would have to reregister the vehicle as well as undergo a certificate of roadworthiness test.

“This is a time consuming process for business owners. Also a licence for a heavy duty truck costs between R8 000 to R12 000. The suspension affects the productivity of the company. We want to show truck owners that we mean business about ensuring their vehicles are roadworthy. It was a job well done today,” Moodley said.

EThekwini Deputy Mayor Fawzia Peer attended the operation and praised the efforts of officers and officials.

“Today is the last day of Transport Month so it is appropriate for this operation to be held. I am glad that this operation encourages road safety and encourages road awareness.”

She said truck owners needed to be held liable if their vehicles were not roadworthy.

“I have seen some of the defects of the trucks and it is shocking. The safety of all drivers is affected and could result in innocent people losing their lives. While heavy duty vehicles play an important role in logistics and the transporting of goods, safety must be prioritised,” Councillor Peer said.

She requested that monthly updates on the number of vehicles pulled over and checked and the names those fined be submitted to her as Chairperson of the Security and Emergency Services Committee. Furthermore she said a proposal to establish a specialised task team of Metro Police officers to carry out these operations be submitted. The team will receive special training to further carry out these duties.

Daniel Harillal, also from the ETA, said the operation was conducted on the M7 freight corridor both east and west bound as it is the busiest fright corridor.

“This is not the end of our enforcement operations. It is ongoing and will be spreading to other freight corridors. Our focus is on heavy duty vehicles. We have a strategic partnership with Metro Police, RTI and the South African National Roads Agency Limited for these operations,” he said.


31

October

2017

A new era for public transport: taxi incentives programme launch

In an innovative and bold move to support mini-bus taxi operators, associations and regional taxi leadership improve their business, operations and services to commuters, the eThekwini Municipality launched Moja Cruise – its Taxi Incentives Programme (October 30).

Celebrating the role of the mini-bus taxi industry in the delivery of public transport in South Africa through the decades, pioneered out of sheer necessity during the years of apartheid, the Mayor, Cllr Zandile Gumede, invited representatives of the taxi leadership, to become involved in this new programme. “You have played a very important historical role in public transport. We acknowledge this and thank you, and we invite you to continue to do so with us, within an improved system for the City.”

“As we usher in a new era for public transport, we assure you that as government, we are walking side-by-side with you in creating solutions to the challenges that you face,” she said to the gathering of about 550 people including representatives of mini-bus taxi industry, politicians and City officials.

“We have and will continue to engage with the leadership of the industry, to develop a way in which operations can be improved and eventually incorporated within the new system.”

Cllr Gumede explained that as the growing needs for cities across the globe to become more inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable in line with the United Nation’s New Urban Agenda, the eThekwini Municipality, will be rolling out GO!Durban, its long-term public transport plan, which includes the current public transport operators.

KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Mr Mxolisi Kaunda has given provincial government’s support for the programme.

As a building block towards the new system, Moja Cruise has been created as a voluntary programme, which will begin as a pilot or test case in about four to to eight weeks time, with an expected 500 taxis initially enrolled. These taxis will be branded and easily identifiable as participants within the programme, and will include taxis from all Associations within the eThekwini Municipality. The successes and challenges of this pilot will help inform the future roll out of the programme throughout the Municipality.

Devised to improve operators’ businesses through better services to the commuters, and drivers rewarded for excellence, Moja Cruise will focus on providing an efficient, friendly and safe experience for customers.

The launch revealed some of the details of the programme, which will track vehicles and obtain feedback from the various structures like rank marshalls, associations and state-of-the-art tracking systems. Eventually commuters will be asked to rate their experiences. This will all feed into a system, which rewards the drivers and operators for excellence on a monthly basis.

Going forward, the City plans to develop public-private partnerships to support a bigger rewards programme which will help add value to the business operations of the taxis such as discounts on tyres, services and insurance, amongst others.

Preparations are in place to brief the industry ahead of the implementation of the programme towards the end of the year.


30

October

2017

Commemorating World Cities Day (31/10/2017)

The eThekwini Municipality, through it’s GO!Durban integrated public transport network, will be observing World Cities Day at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Tuesday, October 31 together with a number of national and local stakeholders.

The gathering will be attended by representatives from the Department of Human Settlements, Urban October, South African Local Government Association, UN Habitat, National Department of Human Settlements and SA Cities Network, as well as from NGO’s, community organisations and the private sector.

The 31st October was declared World Cities Day by the United Nations in 2013, in an endeavour to encourage the international community’s interest in global urbanization – its issues, challenges and the opportunities that it holds in terms of contributing to sustainable urban development around the world.

Then in 2016, the Third United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) in Qito, Ecuador, opened discussions on urban challenges and issues, concluding with the adoption of the New Urban Agenda (NUA). This is an action blueprint aimed at making cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. This Agenda will guide collective efforts around urbanization for the next 20 years, and lay the “groundwork for policies and approaches that will extend, and impact, far into the future and sets a global standard for sustainable urban development. It will help us rethink how we plan, manage and live in cities. The New Urban Agenda is a roadmap for building cities that can serve as engines of prosperity and centres of cultural and social well-being while protecting the environment. The Agenda also provides guidance for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and provides the underpinning for actions to address climate change.”[1]
The World Cities Day observation in Durban, provides a springboard for the draft Implementation Framework to be shared with South Africa’s urban and human settlements role-players and stakeholders, creating a platform for discussion and inputs.

This year the theme for World Cities Day is “Innovative Governance, Open Cities” – with the eThekwini Municipality adopting a theme of “Better City, Better Life – Connected Cities for the People”. This is in line with the development of the improved public transport network, GO!Durban, within the City – heralding a new connected City where citizens will have reasonable access to safe, efficient and affordable public transport. This in turns drives home the City’s vision to be Africa’s most caring and liveable City by 2030.

“Going forward to address the requirements of the NUA, South Africa is to create an Implementation Framework that ensures urbanization challenges and opportunities are tackled collectively,” says eThekwini Municipal Mayor, Cllr Zandile Gumede. “We look forward to gathering with our peers to see how we will take a collective approach, recognizing that the development of our urban spaces within a context of human settlements is linked to the economic and social development of the country as a whole.”

“It is for this reason that GO!Durban, our well-planned new public transport network, forms the backbone of the City’s plans to create a “inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable” environment for our citizens in line with the New Urban Agenda. The vision is that public transport will network and connect people and places that have been historically disconnected as well as unlock areas for economic growth and development, and at the same time creating spaces and environments that are clean, safe and inviting for all.”

In the New Urban Agenda, leaders have committed to provide basic services for all citizens; ensure that all citizens have access to equal opportunities and face no discrimination; promote measures that support cleaner cities; strengthen resilience in cities to reduce the risk and the impact of disasters; take action to address climate change by reducing their greenhouse gas emissions; fully respect the rights of refugees, migrants and internally displaced persons regardless of their migration status; improve connectivity and support innovative and green initiatives; promote safe, accessible and green public spaces.

The observation event takes place at the Moses Mabhida Stadium, Mixed Use Zone on October 31, 2017.
[1] http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2016/10/newurbanagenda/


29

October

2017

GO!Durban Pilot Station: Testing Universal Access

The Universal Access at the prototype station at the intersection of Regent Street and Qashana Khuzwayo Road in New Germany, for GO!Durban, the eThekwini Municipality’s improved public transport network, was recently tested.

GO!Durban stations are currently being built along the first route running from Pinetown to KwaMashu, and these stations will be what is globally known as “universal access” compliant. This means that people with disabilities such as those with hearing or visual impairments as well as in wheelchairs and including the elderly, people with babies in prams, or with bicycles have ease of access into the stations and buses.

The pavements leading into the stations and walkways within the stations leading into the control entrances will have tactile paving indicating where to walk. Voice prompts as well as visual prompts within the station and on buses will also be a feature. Wider access points will also mean easier travel for those in wheelchairs, or those with prams.

The control access points within the station comprising turnstiles and a Glastile wide gate for those with disabilities, especially those in wheelchairs and pushing prams were recently tested by two people in wheelchairs.

Technicians and experts were on hand to obtain feedback from them and test the timings to ensure ease of access.


9

October

2017

Parking bays and traffic flow completed in New Germany area

The rehabilitation of the parking and traffic flow servicing the area along Qashana Khuzawyo Road, between the Escomb Road and Blase Road intersections in New Germany, is now complete. Parking and traffic here has, for some time, been disrupted due to the widening of Qashana Khuzwayo Road to make way for the dedicated bus lane running in the median, and the construction of the pilot station for GO!Durban (the City’s new integrated rapid public transport network (IRPTN)). The new system’s first route from Pinetown to KwaMashu is earmarked for completion in 2018.

According to the eThekwini Transport Authority (ETA), the new configured parking plan allows for an easier flow of traffic with angled parking bays and provision made for more efficient loading areas for this busy shopping and business hub.

Thami Manyathi, Head of the ETA, says that the new GO!Durban system with the new station at Regent Street, will result in increased foot traffic, bringing critical mass to this area and the promise of economic spin-off for these businesses.


9

October

2017

eThekwini Mayor unveils state-of-the-art taxi rank

(07/10/17)

As part of the City’s Transport Month initiatives, Mayor, Cllr. Zandile Gumede, unveiled the new Cartwright Taxi Rank. The state-of-the-art rank is situated alongside Charlotte Maxeke Street. Speaking at the official opening, the Mayor said that the rank would give our commuters back their dignity.

The taxi rank boasts modern design with dedicated ablutions for people with disabilities, baby changing facilities, vehicle washing stalls which will house small business vendors.

The entire rank is secured by fencing with lockable sliding gates and tarred floors.

During the construction, over R600 000 was spent on sub-contractors to ensure the SMME development and local economic development was in line with radical economic transformation principles.

Job opportunities for local people were created to ensure local economic empowerment and job creation.

“Rank users and the public at large need to safeguard this rank and all other municipal public facilities from vandalism. The City is incurring billions of rands in debt to fix and repair vandalised facilities. This limits our ability to invest and provide new facilities to all 110 municipal wards,”said The Mayor.


6

October

2017

Cycle Academy stars all set for Spur Schools’ Race

Three youngsters from Inanda, enrolled in the GO!Durban Cycle Academy, have been selected to participate in national interprovincial final of the Spur Schools Mountain Bike League at Bekker High School in Magaliesberg, Gauteng this weekend.

eThekwini Municipal Mayor, Cllr Zandile Gumede, handed Kusaselihle Ngidi (17) from Siyajabula High School, Mncedisi Mkhize (14) and Lungani Mbambo (16) both from Mbheki Secondary School, their official GO!Durban team blazers ahead of their departure with their coach Siyabonga Njiva, and 19 other KZN cyclists. They are 3 of 400 riders representing 60 schools from the Southern African region.

Coach Jika explained to the Mayor that the Spur Schools MTB League is the largest high school cycling programme in the world, and these youngsters had a fair chance of doing exceptionally well.

The Cycle Academy is a development programme within GO!Durban – the new integrated public transport system which will eventually link the City through dedicated bus lanes, rail routes and a system of walkways and cycle lanes for non-motorised transport such as cycling.

The academy was launched in January 2016 and is based within cycle parks – the first at eNanda Adventure Park, and then one in KwaMashu and another in KwaDabeka, now boasting approximately 300 participants who go to the parks after school to learn to ride after having completed their homework under supervision.

The Mayor congratulated the boys on their achievement and wished them well for the race. “We are very proud of you. Go do your best!” she said.


automotive industry briefing
15

September

2017

Kick-starting Durban’s automotive manufacturing industry

eThekwini Municipality engages with automotive industry to promote manufacturing in the City

The eThekwini Transport Authority, recently held a ground-breaking workshop which was well attended by automotive industry stakeholders. The workshop was a significant move ahead of major tenders being advertised for the procurement of buses for the new GO!Durban IRPTN. It is part of the network’s endeavour to encourage meaningful transformation and renew manufacturing in this sector in the City.

The workshop aimed to enlighten stakeholders on GO!Durban’s progress and the government policies in relation to the procurement of fleet that will be required for this new network. Recent changes in procurement legislation that have been introduced by national and local government prioritizing localization were presented. The industry was encouraged to look at creative ways to work together to achieve true and meaningful transformation in this sector.

Speaking on behalf of the eThekwini Municipal Mayor, Andre Petersen, Head of Supply Chain Management said “This marks another important step for local Government, as we continue this long journey to transform society within the framework of National Government’s Radical Economic Transformation policy. We trust this will have a long-lasting effect on economic development and growth within our Municipality.”

About 150 automotive industry representatives, public transport operators, business people and entrepreneurs gathered at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Convention Centre on Wednesday, August 30 to discuss some vital issues that will ultimately affect the efficient running of future public transport in the eThekwini Municipality, and by extension the people of the City. Petersen explained that GO!Durban is serving as a major catalyst for economic growth and development in the City. He went on to say that while government provides the platform for economic growth and development, acting as an enabler for this to take place, the private sector needed to work closely with government to enable meaningful transformation for those that have been excluded in the past.

“Together, we need to look at ways in which the private sector can be involved in the future success of GO!Durban,” he further explained. “The GO!Durban Empowerment Charter with its provisions attached to the numerous awarded contracts, that aim to accelerate the inclusion of previously marginalized individuals, has resulted in some significant shifts for local businesses. Since 2014, when construction of the GO!Durban network began, close to R1.2 billion has been made available for subcontractors, almost R372 million has been injected into enterprise development, and R526 million spent on 155 business beneficiaries with some 22 500 job opportunities created.”

Head of the eThekwini Transport Authority, Thami Manyathi, presented an update on the GO!Durban project and gave an overview on the fleet requirements for the first phase of the upgraded public transport system. Manyathi said that around 200 rigid buses, 180 articulated buses and 765 midi-buses will be required for the new system over the next 5 years. In addition, 250 commuter buses will be required as part of the replacement programme for the existing City Public Transport contracts. He said the bus delivery timeline is estimated for the second half of 2018 and that a first tranche of R1.2 billion is planned for the fleet for the C3 route that runs from Pinetown through New Germany and KwaDabeka to Bridge City, KwaMashu. He said that the City will be advertising these tenders within the next few weeks, and because of the nature and size of the tenders, an extended submission period will be provided to give businesses enough time to submit tenders to meet the transformation and local investment objectives.
The next tranche of tenders will cater for the C9 route from Bridge City via Phoenix Industrial and Cornubia to Umhlanga, as well as fleet to be used in the Inner City.

Manyathi explained that the magnitude of the GO!Durban project over the long-term and requirements into the future, supports investment confidence. “This will help strengthen the manufacturing sector, and link component suppliers to fleet production processes in order to achieve enterprise development and expand capacity to maintain the fleet.”

Key to the unlocking and growing of the local economy is the practice of localization, a topic covered by a number of the speakers including Catherine Matidza, Director of Industrial Procurement at the Department of Trade and Industry, Riaaz Haffejee, CEO of the National Association of Automotive Component and Allied Manufacturers, and facilitator Dionne Kerr of Siyakha, a management consulting firm that specialises in implementing Enterprise Development. Ms Kerr said that the notion of merely having a BEE certificate is “misguided”. “What will drive transformation is local content and a local to site approach. With GO!Durban, a R23 billion project for this City, this is a perfect platform to achieve it.”

Tshitso Mafole from Gibela Consortium, which has the contract to produce the new rolling stock for PRASA, and are themselves currently grappling with transformational processes and empowerment opportunities within this industry, provided valuable insights into their procurement process, which is focused on localization, underpinned by quality. The GO!Durban network will integrate rail and bus services across the City and the ETA are working in partnership with PRASA to achieve this.

Importantly, the gathering was reminded that the tender inclusion of the radical economic transformation framework objectives means that every contract to the value of more than R30 million must set aside 30% for black small businesses, especially youth and women owned and prioritize skill development.
Presentations from the workshop are available on the GO!Durban website godurban.local:8890. The tenders will be advertised by the City’s procurement processes, and a compulsory briefing will be held in conjunction with this.


22

August

2017

HIGH HONOURS FOR GO!DURBAN UNDERPASS

The eThekwini Municipality recently received the highly commended award in the category of Technical Excellence at the South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE) regional awards held in June. This award was for their work on the M25/ Bhejane Road Underpass Interchange in KwaMashu, which forms part of the C9 route of GO!Durban, the City’s new integrated rapid public transport network currently under construction.

The internal design team, seconded from the City’s Engineering Unit Roads Provision Department, on the eThekwini Transport Authority managed GO!Durban project, received the award for pushing technical engineering limits to deliver high quality infrastructure that is good value for money.
This keenly awaited M25 diamond interchange into Bridge City, an integral part of GO!Durban, opened as a critical link into the Inanda, Ntuzuma and KwaMashu (INK) neighbourhoods in May this year, heralding the economic growth and development this new hub has the potential to create.

This interchange opens up the Bridge City precinct in KwaMashu on the south of the M25 via the Bhejane Road underpass, to the Phoenix Industrial area on the north side. The interchange with the underpass provides vital infrastructure for next route to be constructed of the GO!Durban network, called C9, which runs from there to Umhlanga Ridge via Cornubia. Construction of a bridge over the N2 linking Cornubia and Umhlanga Ridge to service this route is well underway.

According to eThekwini Municipality Mayor Cllr Zandile Gumede, accessibility into INK, as well as neighbouring Phoenix, is key to economic growth and development, itself underpinned by the integrated rapid public transport network (IRPTN) GO!Durban, the first route which is expected to be operational in 2018. This multi-billion-rand eThekwini Municipality initiative will deliver more than 100 000 people daily into the Bridge City bus terminus and train station when fully operational. Thami Manyathi, Head of the eThekwini Transport Authority says the contract for the integrated rapid public transport network C3 route between Bridge City and the Malandela intersection was awarded to Inanda JV, a joint venture initiative with WBHO as the main member and partners Thekwane Holdings, Lakeshore Trading, Qanza and Ethos.‘We are thrilled with this accolade awarded to the design team on this interchange,’ said Manyathi. “As one can imagine a lot of creativity, technical expertise and thinking goes into finding engineering solutions, and it is fantastic that their hard work has been acknowledged and rewarded.”

Speaking of the design, Deputy Head of Roads Provision Department, Dave Thomas said “The underpass bridge deck needed to be particularly thin and have curved supports with extremely high skewness. This was done using a design that is unusual in South Africa, because the bridge doesn’t have bearings or expansion joints. The design saves additional money by removing the need for expensive maintenance in the future.”
The on and off ramps introduce direct access to the M25 and N2 to promote better traffic distribution. The result promotes a better distribution of traffic by spreading the access to Bridge City, Ntuzuma and Phoenix between the new interchange and the existing Ntuzuma interchange. There is also consideration for pedestrian traffic as people crossing the M25 can now do so via the underpass.

Bridge City and the resulting infrastructure evolved from a forward-thinking public private partnership between the eThekwini Municipality and Tongaat Hulett Developments, the original owners of the 53 hectares on which the new mega city and economic hub is being forged. In tackling inherent underdevelopment in the neighbourhood, the vision plans to inject R10 billion into private and public investments and build a mixed-used city centre. The Municipality’s strict empowerment guidelines ensured that in the construction of the interchange and its connecting roads, 340 local labourers were employed and 26 percent of the contract value was given to 44 emerging subcontractors. Manyathi concluded by saying that the integrated rapid public transport network crisscrossing the City would open in phases over the next few years.