JHB ends Outsurance pointsman project

deweyzeph said:
Why don't they actually fix the traffic lights? Here in Cape Town all our traffic lights actually work, no need for pointsmen.
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None of the government-appointed tenderpreneurs with contracts for traffic light maintenance have any understanding of why you would need to waterproof an electrical installation. So every time it rains, 50% of the lights here stop working.

The other 50% already got knocked over by drunk drivers :/
 
Sinbad said:
government-appointed tenderpreneurs with contracts for traffic light maintenance
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But there's the beauty of this...these guys will now get to do the traffic lights, as well as the pointsmen. Perfectly thought out plan!
 
Wasn't the whole idea a 702/Outsurance "sponsored" program ?? And weren't there talks of eventually bringing the pointsmen into the JMPD??
 
Future of the OUTsurance 702 Pointsmen project in Johannesburg

I already posted this in the other thread that was created before this one...

http://www.outsurance.co.za/about-o.../future-of-pointsmen-project-in-johannesburg/

31 October 2011 - This morning, 31 October, it was reported by Talk Radio 702 on air that the OUTsurance 702 Pointsmen project had been cancelled and that today was the project’s last day. The debate that followed on air, and the contributions made by the different people quoted could have left the public confused as to what is the official way forward and stance of OUTsurance with regards to this matter. In order to clear this up, we’d like to explain the story:
  • A company called Traffic Freeflow (TFF) runs the project and OUTsurance is its principal and original sponsor;
  • TFF has been operating the project over the past 6 years according to a service level agreement with the City;
  • That service level agreement expired at the end of September 2011 but the JMPD extended TFF’s operations until the end of October;
  • There are various legal challenges with regards to how this project operates within the ambit of the National Road Traffic Act which we have been aware of and had raised with the City many months ago. The main issue is that the pointsmen, who are currently “Reserve Traffic Wardens”, need to be converted to the status of “Peace Officers”;
  • Furthermore the City felt, although the project does not cost the City a cent, the provisions of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) need to be adhered to. This act governs the procurement policies of the City and all contracts that the City enters into. In order to observe these provisions, it had been agreed to between the stakeholders in September that the City would advertise a public “Request for Proposal” from companies interested in providing pointsmen services to the City;
  • It was expected that TFF would continue to operate the project while this process was being concluded;
  • TFF, OUTsurance and 702 were thus surprised when we received a letter from the City cancelling the project as of end October;
  • The stakeholders were in discussions until late on Friday evening to ensure the continuation of the project during the tender process, particularly to protect the jobs of over 200 people;
  • The pointsmen will be converted to Peace Officers over the next few days. This is an administrative process but in order to do this, they will not be able to be on the streets for the remainder of the week;
  • The City will call for proposals in the foreseeable future so as to comply with the provisions of the PFMA. TFF and OUTsurance will take part in this process.
  • It is the understanding of TFF and OUTsurance that the project will continue to operate during the proposal process.
Willem Roos, CEO of OUTsurance Holdings, comments “OUTsurance remains fully supportive of this fantastic project which contributes to the community at large. We are appreciative of the City’s and 702’s efforts to keep the project going. As in the past, we are commited to follow a robust process to put the project on a sound legal footing.”
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Well they should be a shoe-in for being awarded in tender process, so long as their score enough points on the EE card.
 
Garyvdh said:
I already posted this in the other thread that was created before this one...

The pointsmen will be converted to Peace Officers over the next few days. This is an administrative process but in order to do this, they will not be able to be on the streets for the remainder of the week;
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Thanks for that Garyvdh.:D

Thank goodness some sense has prevailed - The Outsurance pointsmen have been doing a great job and deserve not to be out of work due to some Guavamint red tape.

When they are back on the road, please show them you appreciate them. i always try to wave or give thumbs up.
 
reactor_sa said:
Next on the list is the dialdirect pothole brigade...
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Very prescient of you. The pothole brigade was terminated in Joburg at the end of august. Same story. So now they're working ekhuruleni, who are very glad to have them.

Joburg city is a disgrace.
 
Another example of these goons inability to organise a piss-up in a brewery. Incompetence!
 
I don't think it's anything as relatively harmless as incompetence.

I think some government fatcat has noticed a need for outsourcing, so now they're going to go through the formal tender process, ie issue tender, get replies, find out what each one is offering as an 'incentive', appoint the most expensive one with the largest backhander, service delivery goes down the toilet
 
Mbhazima Shilowa on radio yesterday, said it was something to do with 'legislation' (or something like that) that you could have a situation where a business or organisation makes money off of the city without some form of regulation. In this case, Outsurance gets a fair amount of advertising with its point people prominently decked in their colours, radio referring to the 702 Outsurance points people, etc. So therein lies the reason for their requirement for putting this out to tender.

That said, the City of Joburg has known of this for the past 2 years and have done diddly-squat to their act together. Once again they reveal how pathetically incompetent things really are in their corridors.

Another point, I feel for the founders of this initiative. They have done the hard years to get it off the ground and working like clockwork. And now they risk losing it to someone sneaking through the back door. Not a lot fair about that.
 
But they're not making money off the city. They're saving the city money. The city pays nothing for these services, which in fact the city itself should be providing but is too ****ing incompetent to do so.

The advertising component is a very abstract thing... what really stinks though is the way the services were summarily terminated. No handover process, nothing. They least they could have done is allow them to keep running until the new tenderpreneur is appointed officially.
 
Like it or not, it is part of their (City of Joburg) regulations and Outsurance are getting plenty of mileage from their good work. That mileage translates into sales. Sales means profits. And I think Outsurance are benefiting. As I understand it, the same sort of regulation/s exists in other cities/metros. The difference is that the others seemingly have got their house in order.
 
Yes, but they could also get zero sales from the exposure. They're taking a risk in providing the City with a service at no cost.
 
They should take the salaries they are going to pay these people and use the money to fix the damn traffic lights! Pointsmen make Joburg look like a third-world city. Cape Town doesn't need any pointsmen and there's no reason that Joburg should either. Fix the damn lights already!
 
So why was it summarily terminated with no notice? I suspect to highlight how bad things will be without them, and then to justify millions on one of Juju's buddies' companies getting the job
 
Sinbad said:
I don't think it's anything as relatively harmless as incompetence.

I think some government fatcat has noticed a need for outsourcing, so now they're going to go through the formal tender process, ie issue tender, get replies, find out what each one is offering as an 'incentive', appoint the most expensive one with the largest backhander, service delivery goes down the toilet
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Well that's usually how it works, isn't it? It's tradition and we can't have people messing that up.;)
 
Side note, on my why to wits, I saw the unthinkable: a metro-cop jumped out his car and guided traffic :eek:!

The Robot was out on Barry Hertzog/Empire intersection, and at about 7.30, metro pointed traffic :D.

Otherwise, I also don't see why the actual fark they can't make Robots water proof? They outside... it rains... what part of this makes it ok for our traffic lights to stop working when it rains?

If they can make cellphones water proof, I'm pretty sure they can do the same to robots?
 
following on from scotty's comment; anyone notice when last the privately installed solar powered traffic light at Grayston M1 offramp and the Grayston/Sandton Drive intersection was out... and those used to be notorious bunfights as soon as there was even a hint of dampness in the air
 
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McSack said:
following on from scotty's comment; anyone notice when last the privately installed solar powered traffic light at Grayston M1 offramp and the Grayston/Sandton Drive intersection was out... and those used to be notorious bunfights as soon as there was even a hint of dampness in the air
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So I wonder if the city's contractors get paid per repair they do ... regardless of how soon the fault recurs on that installation?
 
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