The City of Cape Town began to get the public’s input on the signing of long term contracts for the MyCiTi Integrated Rapid Transit (IRT) system on 25 June 2010.

Background

City finances must be managed in terms of the Municipal Finance Management Act. Section 33 of the Act says that public participation is required whenever a local authority intends signing contracts extending beyond three municipal financial years in length. In such instances the Act also requires the municipality to provide background information and to write to the relevant national and provincial government departments to obtain their comments.

In terms of the above legislation, the City is also required to initiate the public information process by advertising the matter at least 60 days prior to the Council meeting at which the contracts are to be considered.

Contracts

The four specific contracts which the City intended to sign in relation to the MyCiTi IRT stretch between six and 12 years. This is necessary to ensure continuity of service and for financial advantage to the City and its ratepayers. Therefore, to solicit the views of the public, as well as that of other spheres of government, the City published a notice in the local press, and wrote to other spheres of government, inviting comment on the proposal.

Click here for the Integrated Rapid Transit Project information document that was made available at the time, as required by Section 33 of the Municipal Finance Management Act. Printed copies of the documents were also made available at the Civic Centre and at libraries.

Comments were invited by 30 July 2010.

As required by s33, the City further made available the following draft contract documents via this website:

Vehicle operating contractors

• IRT vehicle operator contract

Automated fare collection contractor

Volume 2

• Volume 2A - Design, supply, delivery, installation, testing, commissioning and maintenance of IRT control centre
• Volume 2B - Design, supply, delivery, installation, testing, commissioning and maintenance of IRT control centre

Volume 3

• IRT A1 layout 3.5km
• IRT A1 layout 5mk
• Cape Town IRT system, phase1A
• CoCT IRT - Schedule of Quantities
• IRT-AR-MTX (Schedule for fare collection tender) (version 2009-07-15).xls

Control centre contractor

• TETRA Database server Interface specification
• Scope of work, technical requirements and site information
• Design, supply, delivery, installation, testing, commissioning and maintenance of IRT control centre
• Part C4: site information

Station services contractor

• Tender document

Further steps in the s33 process
 
Section 33 of the MFMA provides that the process of consultation must be concluded by the Council approving the entire contract “exactly as it is to be executed”, after having considered a number of prescribed factors. Such approval has to be at least 60 days after the relevant draft contracts were published for comment.

Council approvals of long-term contracts

Council has approved the following long-term contracts to date: 

• Automated Fare Collection Contractor: Approved on 8 December 2010 
  
• Control Centre Contractor: Approved on 8 December 2010

The remaining contract(s) will be submitted to Council when the relevant procurement processes have been concluded.

Date of notice: 27 November 2011