Output 7: Single widow of co-ordination
2.4. SOCIAL SERVICES ANALYSIS 1. Public transport
The Department of Roads and Transport is the public transport authority. The SDM helps in respect of transport planning. As a challenge/backlog there is inadequacy of public transport in some areas within Fetakgomo. According to the norms and standards (Limpopo Office of the Premier, 2012), public transport access should not be more than 10 minutes walk. Public transport is needed especially from Phageng to Jane Furse, from Jane Furse to Phageng and from Moralele section (Ga-radingwana, Ward 4) to Jane Furse, Ga-Mampa (Ward 11),Ga – Selepe (ward 10) Health Centre (Ward 06) and Mphanama to Bopedi Shoping Complex. Communities use private transport in villages stated above where the taxi industry does not operate or is insufficient. This means of transport is not recognised by law and is risky to the lives of commuters.
The dominant modes of public transport within Fetakgomo are busses and taxi. The present main public transport challenge is the dispute in the taxi industry (Sekhukhune Taxi Association and Apel Taxi Association) regarding usage of the road, Apel to Mohlaletse. In more than one occasion, the dispute took violent forms. It also invoveld litigation.
Table 22a indicates the number of taxi ranks in the Fetakgomo municipal area.
Table 22a: Transport facilities in Fetakgomo
Village/Taxi Rank No of transport facilities(taxis)
Ga-oria 110
Apel 110
Atok 68
Ga Phasha-Ledingwe 10 Seokodibeng to Habeng 8 Source: Fetakgomo Local Municipality 2012
Taxis operating within the Municipality mainly use the tarred R37 (Burgersfort-Polokwane), D4250 (Apel- Apel Cross-Lebowakgomo) and D4190 (Apel-Sekhukhune-Steelpoort) roads. The poor condition of the gravel section of the D4190 that links Apel with the R37 poses a challenge to commuters as most taxi operators are unwilling to use the road.
Bus operations
The ‘Great North Transport’ is the only bus operator within the Municipality with conventional fixed routes and a fixed schedule system that provides passengers with public transport to work in the morning and back to home in the evening. Table 19 indicates the bus routes in the Fetakgomo municipal area.
Table 22b: Bus Routes In Fetakgomo
Bus Route Time Schedule
Mohlaletse to Polokwane 06h00
Ga Machacha via Ga-Oria via Nkwana to Burgersfort (Tubatse) 07h00 Phahlamanoge to Jane Furse via Seroka, Mohlaletse, Nchabeleng and
Mphanama
06h00 -07H00
Rostock to Jane Furse 06h00
Mabulela via Selepe to Burgersfort 06h00
Johannesburg to Fetakgomo Fridays
Ga –Mmachacha via Oria Ga –Nkwana, Atok to Burgersfort 06h00 Mphanama,Matlala, Nchabeleng, Apel cross to Janefurse 07h00
Oria via Mphanama, Mashabela to Janefurse 07h00 Mashilabele, Mmela, Radingwana, Mphanama, via Diphagane to Janefurse 08h00 Leporogong via Nkoana, Mohlaletse, Mashilabele to Janefurse
Source: Fetakgomo Local Municipality 2012
2.4.2. Telecommunications
The most recent findings are exhibited in the following table.
Table 23: Communication (postal services, land lines, network towers, radio, TV reception and others)
Ward Description of available communication infrastructure Challenges
Postal services Land lines Network tower Radio Reception TV reception Newspaper Access
Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No
01 2 villages Ga-Seroka
& Phahla
3 villages No Yes (1
village) No (2 villages) 4
villages 1 village SABC1,2&3 in
some villages No No Poor reception esp at
Phahlamanoge. MTN is needed in Seroka & Malekastraal. No internet acess in all villages 02 1 village
Malaeneng
8 villages No Yes (1 villages)
4 villages Yes 6 villages 3 villages No Magagamatala, Moshate &
Sepakapakeng have no TV Reception
All 9 villages have no access to newspapers
Only 3 villages have access to internet
03 5 villages No Yes (in 1
village) No (in villages) 3
villages In all villages No There is no access to
Newspaper, internet , landlines and postal services
04 1 village
Radingwana 5 villages Mashilabe le,Mmela, Phageng, Ga-oria, Shenyane ng
No Yes No (in 3
villages) Shenyaneng, Mashilabele, Phageng
Yes No Yes 2 villages
Mashilabe le &
Phageng
No Landlines are needed for business purposes, for faxing machine connection etc
There is a need for newspaper access.
Network connection is needed in Mashilabele & Phageng
05 2 villages Maroteng &
Tjate
7 villages No Yes Yes Yes No Parts of Lerajane,
Matotomale/Photo, Tjate &
Matsimela lack network. Only one tower which is not functional.
06 4 villages Makgaleng, Mashung/Tl akale, Nchabeleng
& Tjebane
5 villages No No (except 1
section) Yes Yes City Press
&
Sowetan
Network does not cover the whole ward. TV reception is not good on some sections.
Ward Description of available communication infrastructure Challenges
Postal services Land lines Network tower Radio Reception TV reception Newspaper Access
Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No
07 1 village
Apel 8 villages No Yes No Yes Yes 1 village No No TV Reception at Apel
08 12 village Mashung &
Nkwana
3 villages Yes Yes
Mogale Driving School
No Yes Yes City
Press, Sowetan, Daily Sun
Postal service only in 2 villages
09 No No Yes (4
sections) No Yes Yes 1 village No Mountains disrupt net coverage in
to areas.
India ( Ga-Maisela there is no TV Reception
10 X (1
section) X (1
section) X Yes Yes No No Landline is needed
11 No No Yes (5
villages) No (2
sections) Yes Yes 1 village
@ Phashasel atole Sowetan, Dailysun
&
citypress
No No Network tower, access to internet, Landline and at Ledingwe/Ramallane/Senthlane have no cellphone reception
12 Yes 2
village s @ Mashi kwe and Sefate ng
5 village s
No (except 2 sections)
4 villages
3 villages 1 village Mohlahlaneng
6 villages No Network tower to improve the situation is needed
No TV Reception in 6 villages Radio Reception is needed
13 2 villages Mooilyk &
Tjibeng
5 villages No Yes (3
villages) No (4
sections) Yes 1 village @
Monametse , Mokgotho
5 villages No Poor network coverage and no access to internet
Newspaper access is needed Source Fetakgomo Local Municipality, 2012
According to the National Guidelines (Department of Communications) postal outlets must be accessible within a three (3) KM radius. Although the total number of postal offices within the FTM is 17 and the total number of households is estimated at 30195, the households are situated in 87 dispersed settlements. This settlements pattern makes service provision/delivery very costly as some households travel more than 5KM to access postal services. The aforementioned information indicates that there is a significant backlog in respect of the distance travelled to access postal services in Fetakgomo villages.
The table has several implications. Cell phone network continues to be a problem. There are 9 cell phone networks towers. This indicates medium to low use of cellphone in some areas. The network towers need to be increased including their capacity to address cell phone network deficiency within the FTM. Newspapers are not easily accessible. Key paper in circulation is City Press, Sowetan and Daily Sun.
Available market research Synovate (cited in Sutherns, 2010:03) shows that 84% per cent of South Africans “cannot live” without their cell phones. Applied to Fetakgomo context, this finding has strong implications for cell phone network towers. Cell phone network coverage is evidently poor and therefore needed in different villages/sections of the municipal wards. For example, Wards 1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, etc. Generally, the network coverage is weak/poor in the municipal area. As regards, landlines (telephones), previous research (2008/9 IDP) made the following appalling finding and assertion: approximately 68% of households in the municipality are without access to telephones. The situation is assumed to be more severe due to 2009 interruption of Telkom services as a result of alleged cable theft. The backlog could be at over 80% (24729 at present. Wards, 1, 5 and 7 need postal services. Most households at wards 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11 & 13 need landlines. The functional fixed landlines are sometimes interrupted given rural orientation of Fetakgomo. TV reception is a need for wards 10, 11 and 13. Generally, the network coverage is poor. One of the implications of the dismal picture painted in this section is that the majority of households in the municipality still cannot take advantage of the ever-expanding internet and e-mail telecommunication facilities, especially for educational and business purposes. There is limited access to intenet facilities. This, in turn, undermines the economic viability of the area.
Head of Households with Landlines/Telephone
Households Total(2011) Total
(2007)
Total (2001) Households with landlines/Telephone 394 487 204 Household without landlines/telephones 22 457 21 304 4073 Telephone in dwelling and cell-phone - - 251
Cell-phone only - 13 322 2439
At a neighbour nearby - - 700
At a public telephone nearby - - 7127
At another location nearby - - 1526
At another location; not nearby - - 276
Source: Statistics South Africa (2011)