1,300 die on SA roads in Christmas carnage

<p><strong><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;color:#990000;">South Africa's shocking reputation for road accidents worsened last week when it emerged that a record 1,300 people were killed over the festive season - a jump of 25 per cent from last year.</span></strong><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiptVnuktNNclKylXvL3_hCMuM2drXw5boTGnkNOJ48iZJneO29YGUcKCdijSh1OAqhJlJaMLMLdTixREL64q2ae-WKlz_PDPnghC9X8vxqaoE9ua-fEL0OxHbuz6JEOAEVQqO1MtBL4mPg/s1600/BLOG-road-sign02.gif" imageanchor="1" style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em"><img border="0" height="426" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiptVnuktNNclKylXvL3_hCMuM2drXw5boTGnkNOJ48iZJneO29YGUcKCdijSh1OAqhJlJaMLMLdTixREL64q2ae-WKlz_PDPnghC9X8vxqaoE9ua-fEL0OxHbuz6JEOAEVQqO1MtBL4mPg/s640/BLOG-road-sign02.gif" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">M</span>angled vehicles became a regular sight along South Africa's roads</strong> during the Christmas period - often attended by emergency crews carrying away the dead and injured.<br /><br />The steadily growing death count was announced hourly on radio news bulletins, along with a grim league table of fatalities recorded in each province.<br /><br />More than 10,000 people died on South Africa's roads last year, including 364 tourists. Politicians and campaigners have argued over why the country's roads should be so perilous.<br /><br />Alcohol is a dominant factor. Drinking and driving does not carry the same stigma as it does in Europe, and 60 per cent of accidents reported between December 1 and January 10 were drink-related.<br /><br />Two senior members of the ruling African National Congress were among more than 50,000 drivers fined for speeding and other traffic offences.<br /><br />Road safety campaigners contrasted South Africa's accident rate with that of Australia, which has similar traffic volumes, road and weather conditions, yet where only 66 people were killed during the same six-week period.<br /><br />A government safety campaign - which included warnings to pedestrians of the dangers of walking along the roads while drunk - was condemned as a failure, and there were demands for the transport minister to resign.<br /><br />"About half of the victims in our mortuaries have blood-alcohol levels that exceed the legal limit for drivers," said Dullah Omar, the transport minister. More than a third of those killed were pedestrians, prompting the government's "Don't Drink and Walk" campaign.<br /><br />Unroadworthy vehicles and treacherous driving present a permanent hazard. Last year, a random survey by police of Johannesburg's minibus taxis - which often carry 20 passengers or more - found that only four per cent of vehicles were on the road legally. When these minibuses crash, the death count can be in double figures.<br /><br />South Africa's leading road safety campaigner, Moira Winslow, believes that ineffective policing is at the root of the problem.<br /><br />Mrs Winslow, who set up a group called Drive Alive after her son, daughter and two grandchildren were killed in a car crash in 1989, said that at least 60,000 road traffic officers were required to cover the country's extensive road network.<br /><br />There is considerable confusion about how many traffic police there actually are. Mr Omar said he thought there were about 10,000 officers, but his spokesman estimated the figure to be 5,000. The national secretary of the Institute of Traffic and Municipal Police Officers said there were 8,000, but added that South Africa needed a total of 30,000.<br /><br />Disagreements over the causes for the festive season carnage have descended into accusations of racism.<br /><br />Mrs Winslow blamed the high death count on "inexperienced and untrained civil servants", who were often prone to take bribes from motorists. This has been interpreted by some as a criticism of the government's affirmative action policy, which has encouraged older, more experienced and usually white police officers to retire from the force, to make way for young, predominantly black, recruits.<br /><br />Tasneem Essop, the transport minister for Western Cape province, condemned Mrs Winslow for her "racist" remark and demanded "constructive co-operation" instead.<br /><br />In a newspaper interview, Mr Omar suggested apartheid had played its part in making South Africans dangerous behind the wheel. "I think it is part of our history," he said. "We have emerged from a culture in which violence was a way of life."</span></p><div class="blogauthorpost_head"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=7664093170776259871&postID=286098705335237240#"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:180%;">'Apartheid makes you drive like a maniac'</span></a></div><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">With the December death toll on the roads now officially 1 113, which is 25 percent up on the previous year, important people are giving us the benefit of their wisdom on the matter - led by transport <strong>minister Dullah Omar</strong> who says there is no suggestion of the Road to Safety strategy having failed.<br /><br /><strong>A few more successes by Road to Safety and there'll be more dead drivers on the roads than live ones.</strong><br /><br />But Omar concedes there are some problems. One is that traffic officers aren't trained to do much more than trap motorists exceeding the speed limit. He thought the country had about 10 000 traffic police. His departmental spokesman Ntau Letebele thought there were 5 000. The national secretary of the Institute of Traffic and Municipal Police Officers, Theo Grimbeek, said there were actually 8 000 and that South Africa needed a total of 30 000.<br /><br />Drive Alive's Moira Winslow said at least 60 000 were required. Apart from these discrepancies, all agreed that something should be done and that someone else should do it.<br /><br />Meanwhile, because trapping speedsters is what our police are best at, motorists are excelling at producing reasons for the need to drive fast when, having failed to kill themselves or others, they appear before magistrates.<br /><br />One explained he had to reach a hotel toilet urgently as using a public convenience along the road was contrary to his religious beliefs. Another explained his accelerator had jammed, and a third said his car always went faster down a hill. Many were speeding to attend a funeral on time, probably someone's whose excuse was offered as a reason for his premature arrival at the pearly gates' stop sign.<br /><br />For those running out of reasons, here are a few more: I drive a BMW, so I have to pass everything in sight; I have a very powerful car whose engine is not meant to rev slowly; I shot ahead because I thought I saw a traffic cop on my tail; I didn't see a traffic cop on my tail, so I thought it was okay to give it some juice; apparently traffic cops are only good at speed-trapping and I always like a challenge; I was trying to catch up with a driver to tell him he was going too fast.<br /><br />But the best excuse has been provided by Dullah Omar himself: apartheid makes you drive like a maniac. In a weekend newspaper interview he is quoted as saying: "I actually think it is part of our history ... we have emerged from a culture in which violence was a way of life...".<br /><br />At least we now kill one another on a non-racial basis.</span> <p></p>

1,300 die on SA roads in Christmas carnage

South Africa's shocking reputation for road accidents worsened last week when it emerged that a record 1,300 people were killed over the...

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Prepare to pay to drive the new R21-billion Gauteng freeway system

<p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">Commuters are going to pay hundreds, if not thousands of rands a month to use Gauteng's new transport system. The introduction of toll roads has the potential to devastate the local economy and cripple everyday commuters as a result of these unreasonably high fees.</span></strong><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx85qz1YS-blZpoVkF7BpxPOQTz1ZEOLwL20oLpp6_oLMd5uMIkc_BVETaV6Og_f63cjpmS622hy4frSch-7ioN-XRd1UbDwcy_NJEYg83hs99_doUPYAY1do44LsGtqnHgH1U_8_d8Cr2/s1600/m1_johannesburg_traffic_small.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552911311483428690" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx85qz1YS-blZpoVkF7BpxPOQTz1ZEOLwL20oLpp6_oLMd5uMIkc_BVETaV6Og_f63cjpmS622hy4frSch-7ioN-XRd1UbDwcy_NJEYg83hs99_doUPYAY1do44LsGtqnHgH1U_8_d8Cr2/s400/m1_johannesburg_traffic_small.png" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 335px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 255px; CURSOR: hand" /></a><br />There’s a horrible surprise waiting for commuters come April 2011, a bill of <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4NQbznEWP0erSbuZ2rMHsvumCmls2lPEWpC2mTc0s40j_u5dzj6Vhp7iYytBeWvYjL5D9TIye6XTymvTUOeo8Gkez2ZIXYBuhBp-_DSU1fPNkNqdFYBVCMYG6jMr5P_J3Mw0ZnweDgu2X/s1600/Road_Tolling_Lane.png"></a>anywhere between R54 and R1,020 (depending on the length of your commute) per month to use the new highways.<br /><br />Initial estimates is that you’ll get fleeced of 50c/km to use the highways, but we could be in for up to 68c/km after inflation.<br /><br />Best case scenario is if you live in Soweto and drive to Sandton every day (only 2.7km of the route is tolled) you’re going to pay R54 a month for 20-day work month. But if you’re one of the poor suckers like me who live in Roodepoort or Randburg and need to commute to Rivonia Rd, we’re in for a whopping R566 a month for the 28.3km of the N1 that is tolled. On average, Joburg commuters can expect to pay R553 a month to use the highways.<br /></p><p><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552911738508469906" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLPSrc5-kCBwR85uzOrtf3V1U0yAWYdUx5Da-36daF599g_aPsSw6eC8tIjk5Mk_Wi9l_aU192vsEmJjYZzrz13hkQpwX7LchJ4rtoJS8VtU2DJNfZKM9ckCd6aF21c0lVCX7ZvdQnAikx/s400/table.png" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 359px; CURSOR: hand" /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">If SANRAL decides to hike the per-kilometre rate to 68c, those numbers could go up to as much as R74 for the Soweto/Sandton route, R769 for the Roodepoort/Rivonia route and a whopping R1,387 a month for the Joburg/Pretoria route.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNayZCmrfbbj8E1REPsDbWAzrtkvumkYYZJazidkqdvOYqzEkTMq9giTAur-U-FHlTcmdf0im_ucWVIpoQlKHiOzquGU7CtGR4Sz86MzDbozJBh4a_hoLcxDIHl3xnLpk-eRysOeBSuVvx/s1600/Road_Tolling_Lane.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552912923636673218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNayZCmrfbbj8E1REPsDbWAzrtkvumkYYZJazidkqdvOYqzEkTMq9giTAur-U-FHlTcmdf0im_ucWVIpoQlKHiOzquGU7CtGR4Sz86MzDbozJBh4a_hoLcxDIHl3xnLpk-eRysOeBSuVvx/s400/Road_Tolling_Lane.png" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 335px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" /></a><br />These rates are just for everyday cars mind you. Trucks and goods vehicles will be hit even harder no doubt. And I can guarantee you that motorcycles will be tolled just as hard as cars so it doesn’t even pay you to switch from four to two wheels.<br /><br />Add the cost of fuel and you’ve got a formula for economic ruin for average Joburg residents, not to mention the inflationary effect that these additional costs will have on local businesses.<br /><br />Whatever happens, Joburgers and the residents of Gauteng are going to be a bunch of much poorer people thanks to SANRAL’s tolls. It’s definitely not a pretty picture.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The public can not carry the costs anymore! </span></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Make your voices heard against the ridiculously high toll gate tariffs.<br /></span><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000099;">Sign the petition here:-</span></strong> <a href="http://www.tollgatepetition.org.za/"><em>http://www.tollgatepetition.org.za/</em></a></span><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></p><p> </p>

Prepare to pay to drive the new R21-billion Gauteng freeway system

Commuters are going to pay hundreds, if not thousands of rands a month to use Gauteng's new transport system. The introduction of toll r...

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Malema's dodgy R27m roads and bridges washed away

<p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">AT LEAST three of several multi-million-rand bridges and roads built by Julius Malema’s company in ­Limpopo were washed away within weeks of their completion.</span></strong><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIQ9Rg4Fhg_JQGR0NpRoRTFNBEEqAT-AGY-FphCpZlTaDxCWM4i-fZr4dRTydNAdpZz-9QKzOjqQR-zyE2i6m30sjwF9pMQVIhisdAPUqfdNjayzAm14aQZc4m39_VTH55DMeUwGi5PaID/s1600-h/malema-stupid.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443722425128011074" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIQ9Rg4Fhg_JQGR0NpRoRTFNBEEqAT-AGY-FphCpZlTaDxCWM4i-fZr4dRTydNAdpZz-9QKzOjqQR-zyE2i6m30sjwF9pMQVIhisdAPUqfdNjayzAm14aQZc4m39_VTH55DMeUwGi5PaID/s400/malema-stupid.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>The City Press newspaper reported on Sunday that several multi-million rand bridges and roads in Limpopo, built by SGL Engineering Projects in which Malema has the majority shareholding, had been washed away within weeks of their completion.<br /><br />It reported that communities affected were demanding that authorities force the company to repair the infrastructure or take legal steps to recoup the money spent.<br /><br />City Press visited several SGL projects in the past week.<br /><br />"At Kgapane Township, about 120km east of Polokwane, only a portion of one of the two bridges constructed last year [is] still in place," the newspaper reported.<br /><br />"A bridge built at the township's Meloding Section is effectively a hill of soil covered with pavement. It has no concrete layers.<br /><br />"Residents said heavy rains in January swept it away just a few weeks after it was finished."</span> - <em>Sapa</em></span></p><p><em><span style="font-family:arial;color:#666666;">Read full story :-</span></em></p><p><em><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Url -</span></em> <a href="http://www.citypress.co.za/Content/SouthAfrica/News/2168/39468c96d5f54d0da7ed5ef47d4416b4/28-02-2010-02-00/Juju%E2%80%99s_dodgy_R27m_bridges"><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:78%;">http://www.citypress.co.za/Content/SouthAfrica/News/2168/39468c96d5f54d0da7ed5ef47d4416b4/28-02-2010-02-00/Juju%E2%80%99s_dodgy_R27m_bridges</span></em></a><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:78%;">_</span></em></p>

Malema's dodgy R27m roads and bridges washed away

AT LEAST three of several multi-million-rand bridges and roads built by Julius Malema’s company in ­Limpopo were washed away within weeks of...

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20 cars a day on Ndebele's tarred road

<p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">A tar road in front of the country residence of Transport Minister Sbu Ndebele was used by about 20 vehicles a day, a man who lives close to the road told the Pietermaritzburg High Court today.</span></strong><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKG_nnlo9EgLlE2LHgdZL73fwNWu6gTwDI7MxVZql3BFDmc9ZWWW101kQQn5fRut7vMDjR4S9cBeLl-7R7iacupEGt2QYxbNl0fu5MPWlspUEJMrT7BddHvtUZEh0mf1fPZofr77Wuh0bf/s1600-h/potholes_2_48340b.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431505465692381234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKG_nnlo9EgLlE2LHgdZL73fwNWu6gTwDI7MxVZql3BFDmc9ZWWW101kQQn5fRut7vMDjR4S9cBeLl-7R7iacupEGt2QYxbNl0fu5MPWlspUEJMrT7BddHvtUZEh0mf1fPZofr77Wuh0bf/s400/potholes_2_48340b.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 399px" /></a>Themba Sibiya, 45, a tractor driver, who said he had lived close to the road all his life, was testifying in a case in which Hluphile Zuma, a former chef, lost a hand and part of her forearm in a 2005 taxi accident. The minibus overturned, apparently when it hit a pothole on the busy road between Tugela Ferry and Keate's Drift in December 2004.<br /><br />She is suing the KwaZulu-Natal roads department and government for an amount still to be fixed. The department is opposing the claim, arguing that a lack of money precluded more road maintenance and repair.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#990000;">The five kilometres of tar road past Ndebele's property cost about R5.536 million to lay in the 2004/5 budget, according to government documents.</span></strong><br /><br />Zuma's lawyers contend that if the province spent that amount on tarring a lightly used road past Ndebele's property, it should have been used to maintaining the Tugela Ferry-Keate's Drift road.<br /><br />Earlier evidence given indicated the pothole could have been fixed for R500 when it was still small.<br /><br />Sibiya said road signs presumably brought for the tar road construction were still in their plastic wraps at the scene of the construction.<br /><br />Pietermaritzburg's Natal Witness reported in August 2005 that local residents questioned why the road past Ndebele's home was tarred before a much busier road close by, which was in bad repair.<br /><br />Farmers vainly tried for nine years to persuade the roads department to tar the busier road on which many accidents occurred.<br /><br />At the time a local resident said a substantial part of the lightly used road was tarred within a year after the then premier's wife Zama Ndebele had an accident on the road. </span><p><span style="font-family:arial;color:#990000;"><em>Related:</em></span></p><p><a href="http://www.timeslive.co.za/news/article278435.ece"><span style="font-family:arial;"><em>Over 1500 holiday road fatalities </em></span></a><br /><a href="http://www.timeslive.co.za/news/article271141.ece"><span style="font-family:arial;"><em>KZN transport boss subpoenaed in pothole case </em></span></a><br /><a href="http://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/article81763.ece"><span style="font-family:arial;"><em>Mother sues premier and MEC after pothole crash</em></span> </a></p><p><br /> </p>

20 cars a day on Ndebele's tarred road

A tar road in front of the country residence of Transport Minister Sbu Ndebele was used by about 20 vehicles a day, a man who lives close to...

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Millions ‘wasted’ by traffic chief

<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe_kQmMWY9xutrRoVUJfLyhwr-FQxFIuT7jTnbCU9AAnC69ohABV9IvV8NQITf4hM6uiBW07P9pvs7puP0hZq7kzT2tNB3tvHvjuYZQH3vk0G_vS_fBbHGLefi1EuhhPhOUyPAOrMZUIE/s1600-h/CEO4.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357505319722320386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe_kQmMWY9xutrRoVUJfLyhwr-FQxFIuT7jTnbCU9AAnC69ohABV9IvV8NQITf4hM6uiBW07P9pvs7puP0hZq7kzT2tNB3tvHvjuYZQH3vk0G_vS_fBbHGLefi1EuhhPhOUyPAOrMZUIE/s400/CEO4.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 149px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 139px" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong>Unhappy staff finger boss who splurged on Confederations Cup</strong></span><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">The CEO of the Road Traffic Management Corporation accused of wasting millions of rands of taxpayers’ money on useless projects — including a R1.3-million jaunt for staff and guests to watch the Confederations Cup, at a cost of up to R31,763 per person, ostensibly to prepare for the 2010 WC.</span></strong><br /><br />Disgruntled staff at the RTMC — responsible for road traffic management across South Africa, including providing vehicle and roadworthiness testing and the testing and licensing of drivers — have also accused Ranthoko Rakgoale of operating like a “dictator”.<br /><br />They want minister of transport Sibusiso Ndebele to investigate the running of the organisation, set up in September 2005, and Rakgoale’s leadership style.<br /><br />Rakgoale has denied the allegations.<br /><br />Last month unhappy staff sent a three-page letter to the Transport Ministry accusing Rakgoale of:<br /><br /></p></span><ul><li><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Spending R4.5-million on workshops in the nine prov-inces last October and November, for which R1.5-million had been budgeted;<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Entering into a 10-year R658-million lease for nine office blocks in Pretoria , only two of which are being used ;<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Buying office furniture for R1.2-million without advertising it on open tender;<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Using an official vehicle worth R271000, although he receives a hefty car allowance; and<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Blowing R1.3-million on the hire of private suites at Ellis Park and Loftus Versfeld for eight matches during last month’s Confederations Cup.<br /></span></li></ul><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8D9fbWt-Gqki83hD0ao3aO4ZQSw6IB_5FdbP71rmydcHPy5QO_5Fa6E-X7XDma8aOVEpTcM1LomtBDNdm1ZSCghbDkyBoHJB8cxEoOFGL54WSncMCzz3etZc1POBUV6_TA2n-RUc5lhc/s1600-h/transport-sbu-ndebele.jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT8aeCiW8yUpKJfh71l1DAklIprJx9sP2Wgu4cwR9x0A6FAelbmaokuYWwznipXywxEegnpwwSjpS8BBJw-I-pBkXbNod7keNWEPLXFrSwx_-rJlCaLcJFw0ZtfDvsRfCM77kmf2IvDIk/s1600-h/transport-sbu-ndebele.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357544841235846194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT8aeCiW8yUpKJfh71l1DAklIprJx9sP2Wgu4cwR9x0A6FAelbmaokuYWwznipXywxEegnpwwSjpS8BBJw-I-pBkXbNod7keNWEPLXFrSwx_-rJlCaLcJFw0ZtfDvsRfCM77kmf2IvDIk/s200/transport-sbu-ndebele.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 174px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" /></a>Staff and guests were treated to pre-match lunches and dinners, after-match snacks and drinks.<br /><br />The parastatal coughed up R31,763 per person for those attending matches at Ellis Park and R15,016 for those who went to Loftus.<br /><br />In the letter requesting approval for the hiring of the suites, Celia Khoza, a senior supply-chain manager , said “by attending the tournament, the RTMC will be able to develop planning frameworks in preparation for the World Cup”.<br /><br />The organisation has an annual budget of R182-million, a staff of 144 and is responsible for the implementation of the demerit system whereby drivers will be docked points for traffic violations. It is also expected to oversee the controversial Enatis Licence System.<br /><br />Rakgoale — who earns more than R1.2-million a year, including benefits — this week defended his decision to pay for the suites, saying the matter was discussed at a management meeting and no concerns were raised.<br /><br />Rakgoale, a former head of public works, roads and transport in the Free State, was unceremoniously redeployed to social development by then premier Beatrice Marshoff, which he unsuccessfully challenged in the Bloemfontein High Court.<br /><br />Rakgoale also paid auditing firm Deloitte & Touche R1.5-million from February 6 to March 13 this year for seconding 18 staff members to provide financial and management accounting services to his finance staff.<br /><br />The chairman of the RTMC board, John Sampson, confirmed that Rakgoale had faxed him a copy of the letter from staff, but Rakgoale denied any knowledge of it.<br /><br />“My quote is, ‘I don’t know about the letter that went to the director-general. It’s the first time I am hearing of the allegations. But let them be investigated, because I have nothing to hide,’” he said.<br /><br />He denied buying furniture or commandeering a car for his private use.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuzOjHaQdrbQtuEb1eMl7Dblm3-YgbPLcW4Uo5OnV3CXCA2hyphenhyphenHiWcUbmcW3IPUUJSWZ-DFh9YHbL-vcQKDid__YTJrOb4GmaXVF869_jqLi9YwNKZDfxkUi8Y_tIJkouf2ZqDeKTslTV8/s1600-h/transport,_ms_mpumi_mpofu.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357544844369798690" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuzOjHaQdrbQtuEb1eMl7Dblm3-YgbPLcW4Uo5OnV3CXCA2hyphenhyphenHiWcUbmcW3IPUUJSWZ-DFh9YHbL-vcQKDid__YTJrOb4GmaXVF869_jqLi9YwNKZDfxkUi8Y_tIJkouf2ZqDeKTslTV8/s200/transport,_ms_mpumi_mpofu.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 188px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQpj1p_p7zzw_BcoXxp5LwVb_H_w_D_DS63y-P2sDwfjRS-FE1j8qqmW-WzalzaAQx_8mRuQAikA9qitij1dikehERdp-uWnTSOuEm7_Fxre6HcRF7YWJCtSXTOigwG9PlkL1vU7R8c6Y/s1600-h/transport,_ms_mpumi_mpofu.jpg"></a>“It (the car) was allocated to the CEO’s office and is not for my personal use. It is used to deliver post, and in instances when, as a law enforcement officer, I have to attend roadblocks, I use it because it has blue lights.”<br />He said he was forced to call in Deloitte & Touche because some senior officials — who were paid as much as R921,000 a year each — were not doing their jobs.<br /><br />Sampson said he was still deciding how to handle the complaints from staff.<br /><br />Transport director-general Mpumi Mpofu failed to respond to written questions from the Sunday Times.<br /></p></span><p><br /></p>

Millions ‘wasted’ by traffic chief

Unhappy staff finger boss who splurged on Confederations Cup The CEO of the Road Traffic Management Corporation accused of wasting millions ...

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Back to dirt roads in 30 years - AA warning

<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcSQW-1VuALyGHZNdTpBGVmKBNhQqSldnJKOhuvCpdk_KLOXxd9yTcLwBtFtxZY5LD3xSkDuMSVCUGrqTkKtqxqKGsmmrwpEuhkYB12ch0x_If67e-KMzGVpkhK51dL9ENFIgKgq5vMHo/s1600-h/road-tax.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343599372699579010" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcSQW-1VuALyGHZNdTpBGVmKBNhQqSldnJKOhuvCpdk_KLOXxd9yTcLwBtFtxZY5LD3xSkDuMSVCUGrqTkKtqxqKGsmmrwpEuhkYB12ch0x_If67e-KMzGVpkhK51dL9ENFIgKgq5vMHo/s320/road-tax.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 252px" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">R32bn A YEAR NEEDED FOR RUNNING REPAIRS</span></strong><br /><br />The number of national and provincial roads in "poor" and "very poor" condition is more than double what it was 10 years ago and the number in "good" or "very good" condition is a third of what it was 10 years ago.<br /><br />These are some of the shock findings made in a new research report released by the Automobile Association of South Africa earlier this week.<br /><br />The report, a review of road conditions and funding in South Africa, was prepared for the AA by well-known civil engineer and roads specialist, Dr John Sampson, and assesses the road network over the last 20 years.<br /><br />South Africa has 596 000km of roads and the replacement value of the country's road network is estimated to be R1.047-trillion.<br /><br />"The findings are very worrying," said an AA spokesperson. "South Africa's roads need R100-billion spent on them to eliminate maintenance backlogs and current levels of funding are only a quarter of what is needed to maintain the country's road network into the future."<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbPOeEbkRC9rf9PSfrV_wnz41yMvZ3PqZVbRucQVzr02kllkRjUmkNrX_yt3q0VOFOqFGjxzbqzObGhwY993s8jFR9dcDmq7g2UTOiesS2MDz5gBL2KPb1ujetbvE90eLWsokEzLATmOo/s1600-h/potholes01.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343599755490847250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbPOeEbkRC9rf9PSfrV_wnz41yMvZ3PqZVbRucQVzr02kllkRjUmkNrX_yt3q0VOFOqFGjxzbqzObGhwY993s8jFR9dcDmq7g2UTOiesS2MDz5gBL2KPb1ujetbvE90eLWsokEzLATmOo/s400/potholes01.jpg" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 198px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" /></a>The AA said inadequate road maintenance also resulted in an increase in traffic crashes.<br /><br />"The report shows that about 60 percent of national and provincial roads are in poor or very poor condition, compared to about 22 percent in 1998," the spokesperson added.<br /><br />"It goes on to say that the cost of operating a vehicle on poor roads is double that of good roads in terms of fuel, maintenance, delays and crashes."<br /><br />Road conditions for the report were assessed using the Visual Condition Index which expresses the condition of a road from 0 (very poor, requires reconstruction) to 100 (very good).The overall VCI for South Africa's roads dropped from 65 in 1998 to 46 in 2008.<br /><br />"The report clearly shows that, in the long term, regular annual maintenance that prevents road deterioration costs about a quarter of allowing a road to deteriorate until it needs reconstruction," he added.<br /><br />The AA called on the government to increase funding to secure the viability of the road transport industry and reduce the number of crashes.<br /><br />"The report states that we need R32-billion a year to keep our roads in good shape - 1.5 percent of GDP," he said. "This is far less that the cost of traffic crashes, unnecessary road reconstruction and losses by the transport industry resulting from poor roads.<br /><br />"If we don't get serious about road maintenance now, in 30 years we might not have any sealed roads left to maintain." <em><span style="font-size:85%;color:#000099;">- Star Motoring</span></em> </span></p>

Back to dirt roads in 30 years - AA warning

R32bn A YEAR NEEDED FOR RUNNING REPAIRS The number of national and provincial roads in "poor" and "very poor" condition ...

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