TMC's 'power games' costly

2003-12-01 07:59

Rajaa Azzakanie

Johannesburg - Two years and more than R1.4m after the Traffic Management Corporation (TMC) was born, this organisation has still not done a stitch of work because it is too involved in "power games" with MECs of various provinces.

This was what the Automobile Association and the Democratic Alliance had to say on Sunday about the corporation that was established to centralise traffic management in South Africa.

The task of the corporation was to enforce road traffic laws, train traffic officials, and provide road traffic information, communication and education.

"At present there is only a chief executive and nobody else. The MECs must relinquish certain of their powers and it does not seem as if they are willing to do so," said Petro Kruger of AA, said on Sunday.

Stuart Farrow, DA spokesperson on transport, said the corporation was being managed at a cost of more than R700&nbssp;000 year.

He said TMC chief executive Dr Khulu Mbatha indicated in his management plan earlier this year he needed R56m to manage the corporation the way the law required.

"It has been a huge failure thus far and the corporation should rather shut down if it does not have everyone's support," said Farrow.

Neither Mbatha nor the ministry of transport wanted to comment on the issue on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Kruger confirmed there was about one traffic official for every 11 000 citizens and this was not enough to reduce the annual carnage on the roads during the festive season.

"We have been asking for a long time for more law-enforcement officers, but nobody is listening. And we are not looking for traffic officials hiding behind bushes or bridges to catch speeding motorists, but for those who can flow with the traffic and apprehend those who cause accidents by their traffic offences," said Kruger.

- Beeld