R4 billion blown on public transport system unfinished 15 years later

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05-02-2025
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Business Tech
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Thirteen years after breaking ground, the Rustenburg Rapid Transport (RRT) system is still not finished and only semi-functional, leaving many without access to an affordable public transport system.

The Rustenburg Local Municipality (RLM) announced over 15 years ago that it would embark on a project to “provide high-quality public transport services that are fast, reliable, and affordable.” 

It said the project will provide exclusive lanes for RRT buses, free from traffic congestion, and replace most mini-bus taxi services with a modern bus system for the city’s 600,000 residents.

BusinessTech travelled to Rustenburg to see the progress of the R4 billion system and saw a far-from-finished project.

Many collapsed and vandalised bus stops sit idle, and concrete bus routes are covered in weeds that are now used as expensive footpaths for pedestrians.

The planning process for the system began in 2009 and was budgeted at just under R3 billion for the entire project.

When it was complete, it was anticipated that more than 60 buses would transport more than 20,000 passengers within and around the city daily.

The RRT broke ground in 2012, and the first phase was expected to be launched with buses moving on completed routes by 2015. However, numerous delays occurred.

In a written reply to Parliament in 2019, former Transport Minister Fikhile Mbalula said that initial operations would start “no later than the end of January 2020.”

This did not happen. By then, the project’s capital expenditure had already hit the R3.2 billion mark.

The first phase only ultimately commenced operations on August 1, 2022, under the name Yarona Services, with more than R3.4 billion spent.

The person overseeing the project, Obed Molele, told Carte Blanche that a large part of the funds went to building reinforced concrete bus lanes running on two corridors. “That infrastructure doesn’t come cheap,” he said.

Molele added that these lanes are complete. While this may be the case, a drive around in 2025 shows that many remain closed, taking up much space on already congested roads.

The former transport minister then blamed the delays on logistics around construction and objections to the project.

“It was impractical to construct all routes and other infrastructure at once and within a short space of time as this would have caused a gridlock,” he said.

“The municipality, therefore, had to phase in construction. There were further objections in the initial stages of construction, which halted construction of bus lanes and resulted in construction delays,” added Mbalula.

For example, in the Auditor General’s 2022/23 report, material irregularities in Rustenburg were flagged because of “payments of R33.22 million to a supplier for work on the rapid transport project that was not performed.”

Luan Snyders, DA caucus leader in Rustenburg, said that the prolonged delay is mainly due to issues with payments to service providers for services not rendered and substandard work on the bus station construction.

There was alleged corruption, which led to an investigation by the National Treasury after the Council appointed a forensic team.

Additionally, the taxi industry have been concerned about what the system would do to its business.

A memorandum of understanding was signed, and a committee formed to negotiate with the Municipality.

After extensive negotiations and surveys to assess route demand and market value, a compensation agreement was reached with the Taxi Negotiating Forum, representing nine minibus taxi associations who are potentially affected.

Additionally, affected taxi operators have been brought in through equity ownership and employment, including dozens of former taxi drivers who have been trained and employed as Yarona bus drivers.

Municipality optimistic

While there have been numerous delays, the municipality is optimistic that it will complete the project promptly.

According to information provided by the RLM, Phase 1A, launched in 2022, is “fully functional” and comprises 16 routes, commuting over 10,000 passengers daily.

Additionally, the municipality said that it had launched an additional 16 routes in the CBD and Rustenburg suburbs (Phase 1C), which commutes 7,000 passengers per day.

This is still below the expected 20,000 passengers Mbalula anticipated by 2020.

Currently, only two stations in town are fully operational, with another two completed in 2024. Numerous remain idle.

“The real problem is that the bus stations aren’t complete, so the buses can’t operate on routes where stations are unfinished,” said Snyders.

In a statement at the end of 2024, the municipality said that it “has indeed taken a while to implement.”

“At this moment, we are rectifying what has since been identified as ‘errors’ in infrastructure and will ensure completion of all outstanding infrastructure elements,” it added

The mayor’s spokesperson, Odirile Madiba, said that the RLM had completed a bus depot with control and a call centre and further procured 45 buses fitted with SANRAL-certified automatic fare collection.

Madiba said that regarding incomplete stations, the municipality “has identified value engineering/rationalisation opportunities” which include:

• Developed revised design pack/tender specification to guide further construction works.
• Developed a scope to get current stations up to standard and to mothball stations that will not be used in the immediate term.

“Internal processes are at advanced stage and construction is expected to commence soon to complete the stations,” said Madiba.

She added that in 2025/26 financial year, the municipality is planning to launch Phase 1B (Greater Boitekong areas) and estimated to commute 26,100 average passenger per day.

Although already over R900 million over budget, the project is still far from complete. At the end of 2024, the council gave the nod for an additional R500 million in funding for the project

Snyders emphasised the importance of getting the project fully operational but does not believe that the RRT project will be completed soon, given the lengthy procurement process.

“It would be a huge loss if the project isn’t completed, especially considering the billions already spent.”

“The law enforcement agencies need to continue investigating and hold those responsible [for its delays] accountable,” he added.