Long, long wait for taxi rank

The Vereeniging taxi rank remains incomplete after more than five years of construction and a hefty bill of R64 million.

The project is part of the taxi rank renewal programme, and was launched by the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport in 2014. It was to be completed in one year. Roads and Transport MEC Jacob Mamabolo said the previous rank would be demolished and a new one built from scratch following complaints from taxi drivers that the old structure did not meet their needs.

Mamabolo said the new rank was to be an intermodal facility with business opportunities. “Money has been wasted on that project. We wanted to build an intermodal facility, which would accommodate buses and private transport. The money that was used there did not give us what we wanted. We are going to conduct a forensic investigation into that project. There must be accountability, from officials to contractors,” he said last week.

Taxi operations in Vereeniging have been moved temporarily to a vacant space near a train station and a shopping centre. Driver Jimmy Nhlapho said they felt neglected by government, and that the temporary rank had no running water nor toilets. “We have been waiting for this project to be completed for years and it doesn’t look as though it will operate anytime soon. The government has been saying the rank will be ready soon. We are tired of empty promises,” said the 67-year-old, who ferries passengers from Vereeniging to various parts of Free State.

In March, angry drivers blockaded the city’s streets with taxis, burned tyres and threw rocks in protest at the delayed construction of the rank. Speaking to the Sunday Independent, driver Richard Ncube said if the project was not finalised shortly, taxi drivers would stage another protest. “You should come here when it’s raining and see why we are fighting. Everyone is forced to walk in pools of water. Now that it’s hot, some people faint and we can’t help them because there are no toilets, no offices and there is no water,” said Ncube.

Commuter Agnes Mokoena, 53, echoed the taxi drivers’ sentiments, adding there was an unpleasant smell at the temporary rank and it had become a drug den for addicts. In September, during a question-and-answer session in the Gauteng legislature, Mamabolo said his department had terminated the services of contractor Moreteng Investment in 2018 due to its insolvency, after it had been paid R64m for the construction of the rank.

“It was terminated based on insolvency, not poor workmanship. Delays in completing the project were caused by the lengthy relocation of operations from the Vereeniging rank to a temporary taxi rank, interruptions by local labour and sub-contractors, as well as a persistent sewage spillage on to the construction site from the municipality’s sewer lines,” said Mamabolo, revealing that the contractor was placed in business rescue in July 2018.

Meanwhile, construction at Bluegumview taxi rank in Ekurhuleni remains unfinished following allegations of maladministration. The project, valued at R12.5 million, was started in July 2015. “The facility was due to be completed during the 2016/2017 financial year. “However, the contractor failed to complete the project within the allocated time and it was halted as council resolved that a forensic investigation be instituted.

“During the 2018/2019 financial year, a construction audit was conducted and concluded in June 2019. After the audit concluded a budget of R5m was granted to complete the project, and that is planned for the end of June 2020,” said Ekurhuleni metro spokesperson Agnes Masilo. A taxi rank in Bophelong, in Vanderbijlpark, which was built at a cost of R31 million, remains a white elephant after taxi drivers refused to operate from the structure.

They claimed their minibuses could not fit under the structure and could be damaged. In Johannesburg city centre, Bree Street taxi rank and Noord Street’s MTN taxi rank pose a hazard to passengers, hawkers and drivers who operate from these transport nodes. An unbearable stench permeates both facilities while piles of rubbish and puddles of water from burst pipes are visible.

A hawker at the Bree Street rank said pipes had been leaking for a long time and had resulted in foul-smelling water flooding areas of the rank. A queue marshal there said the rank, one of South Africa’s largest, had operated without running water for extended periods of time.

Public relations officer for SA National Taxi Council’s Gauteng branch, Midday Mali, said incomplete projects adversely affected the regional economy and stifled job opportunities as shops at unfinished ranks were closed.