The mayor of King Sabatha Dalindyebo (KSD) Local Municipality, Councillor Nyaniso Nelani, said they had launched the system for parking meters in the Central Business District (CBD) of Mthatha last week.
The programme started last week and the system operates from 08:00 to 17:00 in the week, and from 08:00 to 13:00 on Saturdays. Fifteen minutes costs R5; 30 minutes costs R10, and an hour costs R15.
“This system will help limit traffic congestion and improve order in the CBD. This is a pilot programme and has taken over three streets for now. These are Madeira Street, York Road, and Sutherland Street. We are starting here as we are still learning, and will add other elements as time goes on. This programme will be run by the Department of Public Safety,” said Nelani.
He added that the programme has a by-law which governs it, and they will use it to recover money from those who fail to pay parking fees. Nelani confirmed that, for now, there is no talk of issuing tickets to those who fail to pay. According to him, they will follow up with such individuals, but this could be an element that might be added later.
“If you park in a space where you are supposed to pay, you definitely will have to do so, because there are some options that you may use, like going to a parking place where you will not have to pay.”
Project Manager for Quick Park Africa, Alex Sibanda, said they had successfully implemented this system in various areas, including Mthatha.
“These prices are used all over South Africa. The system itself is not focused on revenue collection, it aims at minimising congestion. If parking becomes too cheap, everyone will park the same way. A moderate price, such as R15, is neither too cheap nor too expensive,” said Sibanda.
He added that the enforcement of payments would be handled by the municipality. Sibanda mentioned he was unable to answer whether individuals who refuse to pay would be taken to court.
One of the community members, Pasika Nontshiza, said the programme is needed, but according to him,
the municipality did not consider the main issues that would be affected. For instance, there are teachers who work in rural areas and are forced to leave their cars in town and use other transport to reach their workplaces.
