Hot on the heels of the launch of Rustenburg’s rapid transport system’s brand name and logo last week, a negotiation framework agreement (NFA) has been formally agreed to and signed by the Rustenburg Local Municipality (RLM) and taxi and bus operators affected by the city-wide project.

The NFA paved the way for formal negotiations to start after months of talks centred on the formalisation of contractual arrangements to operate the Yarona bus services.

Negotiations would be held on a weekly basis between the three parties and would be overseen by an appointed independent facilitator and supported by a secretariat.  The tender notice for the facilitator had already been advertised and was due to be confirmed soon. 

The agreement would guide negotiations around operator transition, employee transition and business transition and would outline the structures that had been set up to support the negotiation process, including technical working groups, joint subcommittees, and the negotiation plenary, where final decisions would be ratified and referred to the ultimate decision-making bodies of each party for sign-off.  

A negotiation process committee would coordinate and distribute documentation and ensure that all the groups keep to timelines and “the spirit” of the NFA.

Meanwhile, joint subcommittees (JSCs) would request the necessary technical input to be shared among the three parties through documents and presentations. 

Each party could then caucus, consult members and discuss the information, before reverting with comments and input. 

Once all input was received, a consensus approach was then reached at the JSCs and decisions were made.

“There may be a number of agreements on a particular aspect, such as how we deal with operator transition, and we will then put the linked agreements together to be tabled at the negotiation plenary for ratification,” noted
MMC for planning and transport services Amos Mataboge.

While all negotiations were confidential and would not involve the media, the RRT committed to providing the public with regular updates on the process, when prudent. 

Mataboge said the agreement was a testament to the open dialogue and engagement between the municipality and the existing transport industry since 2010. 

“We have built a mutual respect and trust, which has led to a common consensus of how we should all be approaching negotiations and the scope and process for these negotiations,” he commented.

Rustenburg Rapid Transit director Marks Rapoo noted, however, that in any negotiating process, tensions often ran high.

“We are all committed to using the NFA as our guide where we have committed to professional, ethical and honest behaviour,” he said

The Taxi Negotiating Forum (TNF), which represents the nine affected taxi associations impacted by the roll-out of Phase 1 and Phase 2, also committed to the process, with TNF chairperson Herman Sebego noting that all three parties did not want to delay the process and, consequently, delay the delivery of the public transport service to the people of Rustenburg.