Govan Mbeki Municipality delays urgent upgrades despite free upgrade offer
A local businessman offered to repair eight damaged bus stops in Secunda at no cost to the municipality, but months later, no action had been taken, and safety concerns continue to grow.
The municipality has only dragged its feet since the Ridge Times reported on local businessman Jaco Horn, who offered to refurbish and upgrade eight dilapidated bus stops in Secunda at no charge.
Horn and DA Clr Fiona Pelman contacted the municipality to offer this suggestion, but received no response despite sending many emails.
When the Ridge Times first contacted municipal spokesperson Donald Green about whether the municipality would accept the offer, he explained that several businesspeople had shown interest in upgrading the bus stations at no cost in exchange for advertising space, and therefore, the municipality would initiate a tender process to select a contractor.”
Pelman sent another email to the municipality on June 30 to follow up on whether it was considering Horn’s offer, but did not receive any reply.
Her mail said: “Since a local businessman offered to refurbish the bus stops at no cost in exchange for his advertising boards to be displayed, a few additional businesses have shown interest in supporting this initiative under the same terms.
“Your last response to the newspaper mentioned that an open tender would be issued. However, it has now been three months since we first contacted you, and there is no visible progress.
“It is clear that the state of disrepair of the bus stops is worsening. As you can see in the images attached, one particular roof is hanging dangerously low and on the verge of collapsing. If this issue is not attended to urgently, it poses a serious risk to the community’s safety, and an accident is inevitable.
“Given this situation, I again ask why you are not open to a public-private partnership arrangement with the willing businesses that would urgently address at least the most hazardous bus stops? This could be done at no cost to the municipality, while still upholding accountability and oversight.
“We cannot afford to delay action while the municipality turns away valuable offers. I am struggling to understand how, in our current state of financial and infrastructural strain, the municipality is discouraging those who want to help.
“I respectfully request an urgent update on the matter, along with a clear plan of action to avoid further deterioration and potential harm to commuters.”
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Pelman never received a response.
When the Ridge Times followed up and asked the municipality how far the tender process was, Green said, “The Municipal Planning and Economic Development Department has finalised the specifications for the refurbishment project.
“These specifications form the basis for the tender document, which will serve as the Bid Specifications Committee for approval. Whereafter, the next phase involves the supply chain management process.
“This process will begin once the relevant committee has reviewed and approved the final specifications. Once all the internal procedures are complete, the official tender will be advertised on the municipality’s websites, allowing qualified businesses and contractors to apply and submit their proposals for the refurbishment work.
“The project is moving forward in alignment with the municipal protocol. Stakeholders and potential bidders are encouraged to monitor the municipality’s websites for the tender advertisement and related documents.”
