PARKING BAY LEVY WILL HIT CONSUMERS HARD

(MY MEDIA VERKLARING WAT VANDAG UITGESTUUR IS)

The DA warned today that the proposed Parking Bay Levy will put further pressure on consumers in Pretoria. This proposed levy will probably be applicable to all commercial and industrial parking areas throughout the whole metro if the municipality gets its way. Only residential parking will be exempt.
The scope can be very wide, indeed to the extent that where businesses provide parking facilities free of charge, such parking bays will be taxed for the account of the business owner who on his part will be forced to recover the costs from his customers in one way or the other.
The proposed Parking Bay Levy is, according to the report that served at today’s monthly Council meeting, a concealed toll tariff to be imposed on the city’s motorists. The row over the Ben Schoeman toll system has barely calmed down and here we are faced with another taxation of which the legality is open to challenge.
“It is all fair and well to encourage people to use public transport and at the same time generate funds to upgrade roads.” said councillor Francois Bekker “What is worrying is the fact that such an alternative toll tariff system is implemented while no significant public transport system exists.” Bekker added.
The DA cannot support the proposed Parking Bay Levy in the absence of an effective and reliable public transport system. “Amidst challenging economic times, high fuel prices and high taxes, an additional Parking Bay Levy will have a negative ripple effect on the economy.” Bekker said.
This is an unfair and insensitive way to generate income for the Tshwane Metro. The DA strongly condemns this type of money making ploy and will strongly oppose it.

NET 'N LEWE

Skrywer: Fransi Phillips
Uitgewer: Lapa uitgewers

Ligvoets, tong-in-die kies en sommer net aweregs is hoe hierdie baie vermaaklike boek van Fransi Phillips beskryf kan word.
Die hoofkarakter wie se naam onbekend bly, kry gestalte aan die hand van haar dagboek wat deur haar vriendin Heleen verwerk word na haar ”relatief ordentelike moord, gemeet aan Suid-Afrikaanse standaarde.” Die resultaat is ‘n eksentrieke lewenskroniek gevul met politieke, sosiale en eksistensiële kommentaar wat strek oor min of meer vier dekades binne die bestek van 248 bladsye. My raad aan voornemende lesers dus, gordel vas, want die pas is vinnig, die storie is interessant en onvoorspelbaar en die waarneming van hierdie land waarbinne ons leef, vlymskerp.
Wat aan die bod kom is die ironie van die lewe, die clichés waarteen ons ons moet verweer, en ‘n vrou wie se skans teen die aanslae van hierdie ding wat ons lewe noem, kreatiwiteit is. Op die keper beskou, die lewe en die wêreld soos ons dit ken, al erken ons dit nie altyd so eerlik soos die heldin van hierdie snaakse, by tye siniese maar strykdeur onweerstaanbare verhaal nie.
Oor hierdie boek voel ek lus om op die dak te klim en hardop te skreeu, KRY DIT EN LEES DIT!

TE BETWYFEL OF WELVAARTBELASTING VERSKIL AAN ARMES SE LOT SAL MAAK

(My brief in vandag se Beeld)

Emeritus aartsbiskop Desmond Tutu se sekerlik goed bedoelde voorstel dat wit mense oorweging aan welvaartbelasting skenk, sal om verstaanbare redes nie gunstig ontvang word deur die wit mense wie Tutu in gedagte het nie.
Wat minder opspraak wek, is dat hy op dieselfde geleentheid voorgestel het dat kabinetsministers hulle luukse ampsmotors verkoop.
Ek vermoed ‘n opregte bekommernis by die aartsbiskop oor die ekonomiese ongelykhede van die land wat nie heeltmal losgemaak kan word van die apartheid-nalatenskap nie. Ons behoort almal hierdie bekommernis te deel. Die gaping tussen die haves en die have nots is ‘n vrugbare teelaarde vir revolusionêre invloede wat ons eerder gespaar kan bly.
Tutu se voorgestelde welvaartbelasting sal om die volgende redes teenproduktief wees:
• Dit is nie lewensvatbaar of volhoubaar as die gedagte daarmee is om die ekonomiese ongelykhede uit te wis nie. Dit is kotstondig en kan nie werklik bydra om ekonomiese groei te stimuleer nie.
• Wie sal die belastingopbrengs administreer? Dieselfde mense onder wie se toesig die Lotto-geld vir verdwaalde revolusionere partytjies gebruik word? Onbevoegde en korrupte politici en amptenare wat luukse lewens lei? So beskou is dit te betwyfel of welvaartbelasting enige verskil aan die armes se lot sal maak.
• Welvaartbelasting hou die risiko in dat welvaartskeppers eerder hul kapitaal en kundigheid elders sal neem waar ondernemingsgees nie voortdurend gestraf word nie.

Verskillende mense lewer verskillende bydraes om Suid-Afrika ‘n beter plek te maak. Kom ons kapitaliseer eerder op almal se individuele vermoëns om so bo ons omstandighede uit te styg sonder om die verlede lewend te hou ten koste van ‘n voorspoedige toekoms.

SKOONHEID

SPELERS: Deon Lotz, Charlie Keegan
REGIE : Oliver Hermanus
PUNTE : 5 UIT 10

Ofskoon Skoonheid ‘n kontroversiële fenomeen onder die loep neem sonder om doekies om te draai, weerhou ek myself daarvan om met ‘n ander oog na die rolprent te kyk net omdat dit Suid-Afrikaans, spesifiek Afrikaans is. Ja, ek haal my hoed af vir die vervaardigers om ‘n taboe kwessie na die grootdoek te neem – dit dui op ‘n goeie tendens in ons rolprentbedryf, maar ek hou my nie blind vir die rolprent se tekortkominge nie.
Dit vertel die verhaal van Francois en sy op die oog af tipiese Afrikaanse gesinslewe. Maar Francois leef ‘n leuen. Sy frustrasie bereik kookpunt wanneer hy op sy dogter se troue ‘n crash ontwikkel op sy beste vriend se aantreklike seun. Francois, soos soveel ander mans van sy generasie, is vasgevang binne ‘n lewe van voorgee om met die samelewing se voorskrifte te konformeer.
Die storie ontwikkeling is verbeeldingloos en die ontginning van motiewe en temas val iewers vas tussen swak redigering ( daar is soveel ongemotiveerde lang tonele) en ‘n gebrekkige storie lyn. Saam met die verkenning van nuwe verhaal moontlikhede op die grootdoek sal ons rolprentmakers moet leer hoe om subteks en suggestie in te span wanneer ‘n storie soos hierdie vertel word.
Skoonheid (sekerlik nie die verbeeldingrykste titel nie) verdien lof vir ‘n nuwe bries wat dit in die plaaslike rolprentbedryf bring. Die storie ontwikkeling is egter nie oortuigend nie. Die slottoneel waarin die hoofkarakter se eksistensiële krisis ‘n elegiese hoogtepunt bereik sou soveel meer impak gehad het as die verhaallyn met slimmer redigering en ‘n kreatiewer draaiboek vooraf gegaan is.
Uiteindelik ‘n gemiddelde rolprent wat wel ons rolprent grense verskuif. Hopelik dui dit op opwindende moontlikhede in ons rolprentbedryf vir die toekoms.

SUCCESSFUL BRT NEEDS URGENT ACTION

(My letter in the Pretoria News of Thursday 4 August)

Recent fuel shortages caused by a labour dispute in the energy industry caused panic among motorists and forced us to assess our ability to be mobile. It also highlighted the need for adequate public transport.
Fewer than a third of South Africans own private vehicles, a fact successive governments have seemingly forgotten.
History is not on the side of our public transport dispensation. The apartheid legacy left us with a city that favoured a privileged group who took full advantage of separate development by settling in suburbs near their places of work.
Our challenge is to undo apartheid’s legacy, rethink spatial development and city planning and to introduce a viable and sustainable public transport system that will support economic development. A public-transport system serving commuters across cultural boundaries will go a long way in fostering social cohesion.
I foresee the key mode of urban transport to be an efficient, flexible and reliable bus service supported by a bus rapid transport (BRT) system.
The National Department of Transport, among others, has proposed developing an overarching strategic transport plan for the Tshwane Metro> This would compare bus, BRT, rail and private transport requirements in the city and determine the sphere of operations for each.
There is also much unfinished business. Where is the Hammanskraal rail link, discussed for more than five years? Where is the Metrorail (now Prasa) upgrade promised to the metros many years ago?
A deteriorating bus service hampers The Tshwane Metro’s ability to provide a reliable public –transport service to city commuters. This directly affects pensioners, disabled persons, scholars and people without private transport. Bus services are limited and unreliable. The service runs the risk of losing its clientele because many commuters choose alternative means of transport such as taxis. Punitively high bus fares in the past financial year nudged even more commuters towards other forms of transport.
The bus service deteriorated over the past years due to labour disputes, poor management, inadequate maintenance, a misguided service delivery culture and lack of political will to assure a public-transport service.
The envisaged BRT system will require even more careful planning, extended negotiation with the taxi industry and adequate capital support. But Tshwane’s progress is way behind schedule. The BRT system may never materialize unless the correct steps are taken urgently, supported by the political will to make it succeed.

Too much time has been lost and we must decide whether we have the right people to do the job.