Ramaphosa lays down the law to Nzimande over commuter rail challenges
President Ramaphosa said: “There is no reason why commuters should have to endure frequent delays or feel unsafe on our trains. This is a problem that we can work together to solve.”
President Cyril Ramaphosa has directed the Minister of Transport, Blade Nzimande, to urgently resolve the challenges plaguing the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa).
This after Ramaphosa took a commuter train while on the election trail on Monday, only to find a 50-km trip took him three hours to complete due to several delaying factors.
ALSO READ: Ramaphosa warns Prasa that ‘heads will roll’
On Wednesday, the Presidency released a statement, saying the President held a meeting with Nzimande at Tuynhuys in Cape Town on Tuesday over the difficulties experienced by commuters on a daily basis.
Among the challenges raised at the meeting was the deterioration of infrastructure and unacceptable delays of train services, which often result in commuters arriving late for work, school and other commitments. Passenger and driver safety also received attention.
According to the statement, the President stressed the need for a safe, reliable, and integrated public transport system to support the country’s economic development aspirations.
While appreciating that Prasa is currently implementing one of the largest urban rail modernisation programmes in the world, the agency’s failure to implement its turnaround plans and, in the process, pay due attention to critical rail operational functions, is a cause for concern, said the Presidency.
The President has directed "immediate action to strengthen governance by stabilising the leadership cohort at Board level and filling critical vacancies, including that of the Group Chief Executive Officer."
The President has also called for practical and urgent action to bridge the gap between the turnaround strategies developed and their day-to-day implementation. He directed that a capable and skilled team of specialists should be established to conduct due diligence on the rail network to determine the extent of challenges.
Minister Nzimande is expected to make announcements in due course on the delivery of these commitments and other actions to be undertaken to restore service performance at Prasa.
The President welcomed the imminent introduction of 24 new train sets in Gauteng to augment the 18 new sets delivered last year, emphasising that this intervention will go a long way to improve train availability and performance.
According to the statement, President Ramaphosa accepts that there are longstanding challenges at Prasa that will require substantial resources and several years to address, but believes there are immediate steps that can and will be taken to increase efficiency and improve the daily experiences of commuters.
President Ramaphosa said: “There is no reason why commuters should have to endure frequent delays or feel unsafe on our trains. This is a problem that we can work together to solve.”