Confusion over Outsurance pointsmen cleared up
Not only Roodpoort residents but citizens across the province regard the Outsurance pointsmen and -women trained by the Metro Police as traffic angels, always smiling, always at those dreaded locations where we expect the worst.
But recently motorists were disappointed to find out that these valuable assets on our road were something of the past. Yesterday, 27 August, Luyanda Longwe, Stakeholder Manager for the Office of the MMC for Public Safety, released a statement on behalf of MMC Micheal Sun, clarifying the situation. In it he wrote: “In the past week, there has been much confusion in the media about the fate of the Outsurance pointsmen and -women in the City of Johannesburg.
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https://roodepoortrecord.co.za/2016/02/03/volunteers-cleanup-fluerhof-primary/
“The City needs to ensure that the correct facts are communicated to its residents and lay any rumours to rest: The City has had a Private-Public-Partnership contract (PPP contract) with Traffic Free Flow (TFF) (Pty) Ltd, which is mainly sponsored by Outsurance, to provide additional traffic pointsmen and -women alongside the Johannesburg Metro Police Department in the City,” wrote Longwe.
“The Outsurance traffic pointsmen and -women are trained by the Metro Police and deployed in conjunction with TFF. There is no doubt that the Outsurance pointsmen and -women have become a major part of traffic management in the City and are loved by many motorists.
“One of the terms agreed to between TFF and the City is that the PPP contract is a fixed-term arrangement that would have ended by 31 August. Both TFF and the City were clear on that aspect since inception. In order for the traffic pointsmen and -women to continue providing this service, the City was required to comply with supply chain and procurement processes, as any extension of this PPP contract without due process would be illegal.
“Municipal governments are highly regulated in terms of national legislation and regulation. Since the 2016 elections, Johannesburg, under the DA-led coalition government, is proud of being a transparent and accountable government. Therefore, the City was duty bound to ensure that such due processes are correctly followed,” continued Longwe.
“It is with regret that we note the recent statement by TFF insinuating that the City had ‘cancelled’ the PPP contract and is unwilling to renew it, as this would see Joburg descend into traffic chaos. This is indeed not true. In fact, the City has sought to find legitimate ways to extend this PPP contract with TFF so that the residents of Johannesburg can continue to enjoy the services provided by the Outsurance pointsmen and -women across the City.
“The City was also not in a position to make such announcements before the formal process and documentation had been finalised. This has now been concluded,” he said.
Public Safety MMC Sun said “We want to reiterate the City’s position, that our residents’ interests come first. We are in the process of improving the traffic management services that Joburg road users will receive. This includes an upgrade of the service level by private service providers having traffic management partnerships with the City. Metro Police has also recently recruited 180 Traffic Wardens to bolster its traffic management functions.
“TFF will be offered an opportunity to extend its PPP contract for a further period of six months, by which time the City should have concluded its supply chain and procurement processes. This means that a new tender would be awarded to the best suitable PPP service provider to assist the Metro Police in traffic management.”
MMC Sun went on to say, “We want to thank all the Outsurance traffic pointsmen and -women for their hard work and contribution in making Joburg motoring easier and saving our residents many valuable hours on the busy roads”.
The Metro Police will continue to conduct traffic management duties as part of its legislative mandate and ensure that Joburg roads are easy and safe to travel on, concluded Sun.
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