11 FEBRUARY 2020
STATEMENT BY BRETT HERRON, GOOD MEMBER OF THE PROVINCIAL PARLIAMENT AND SECRETARY-GENERAL
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PROMISED PHASE 4A OF GO GEORGE?
GOOD welcomes the announcement that Phase 4b is going ahead, but is concerned the phase 4a service – to Thembalethu – has been left behind.
GOOD welcomes today’s announcement that the MEC for Transport and Public Works, Minister Madikizela, and the National Minister of Transport reached agreement with Uncedo Taxi Association finally paving the way for Phase 4b of the Go George Bus Service to be implemented in Conville, Parkdene, Borchards and Lawaaikamp, in the George Municipality.
The Western Cape is currently suffering from massive public transport failures. A reliable and affordable public transport system is a foundational tool for economic and social inclusion.
As great as the announcement is, the phased implementation of the Go George Bus Service had planned for for Phase 4a first – to the residents of Thembalethu. Phase 4b seems to have leap-frogged Phase 4a.
Government has a responsibility to serve all citizens equally. The people of Thembalethu must not be overlooked.
I ask the provincial department of Transport and Public Works to provide firm commitments as to when Phase 4b will be implemented – and reassurance that the budget for Phase 4a has not been lost.
This is not the first time the DA have removed public transport services allocated to poor communities. More than 9 months ago, the DA-led City of Cape Town suspended bus transport services to Mitchells Plain and Khayelithsa. The N2 Express service ran uninterrupted for 5 years from July 2014 to June 2019 and provided frequent, reliable and affordable public transport to thousands of commuters.
Whilst promises of new services are very welcome, I urge the MEC to also get the stalled MyCiTi N2 Express Service from Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain to the Cape Town city centre on the road again.
The DA jokes about the ineffectual ANC bus simply having a new driver. But in the DA’s Cape Town there is no driver and the buses are not moving at all.