The new Minister of Transport, Mr Joe Maswanganyi, says there will have to be guarantees for the transfer of funds going into the future.

“Before we transfer money there has to be guarantees that the money will be used for the purposes it was transferred for. We cannot give money for people to do as they please. Some municipalities and entities just receive money and outsource the work to consultants who sometimes fail to deliver,” Mr Maswanganyi said.

He led a powerful departmental delegation that came to brief the Committee on budget, annual performance plans, and strategic plans.

He said the bus rapid transit (BRT) stations and bus depots not being used are a concern and will urgently be attended to.

“We have spent a lot of money on the BRTs across the country. And one in Nelspruit is being used as a car wash,” he said.

He said when there is a need he will not be afraid to get involved in matters that need decision-making, even if they concerned provinces. He gave the Committee an update on various programmes and matters that affect the operations of the department, including senior management vacancies, the outstanding matter of the Director-General (Mr Jeffrey Selepe), train safety and reliability, the Moloto Rail Corridor, outstanding Bills and the eNatis system.

“We need to improve on intergovernmental relations and interact with municipalities and provinces. Some issues might be averted by just being able to take decisions,” he said.

The minister committed himself to attending to issues raised by the Committee, and said he will also make sure that parliamentary questions are responded to timeously.

By Sibongile Maputi
2 May 2017