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Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula.
- There are 174 train stations across the country without electricity.
- In Gauteng alone, 142 stations are without power.
- Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula was responding to a written parliamentary question.
Not only are South African train stations in a dilapidated state, more than 35% of them are without electricity, compromising the ability of the national rail operator to get trains back on track.
The Agencia de Ferrocarriles de Pasajeros de SA (Prasa) manages 487 train stations, of which 174 have no electricity.
However, there are 313 with adequate power supply.
However, in Gauteng, Prasa faces massive problems as almost half of the train stations have no electricity.
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula has revealed that 142 stations, 101 in southern Gauteng and 41 in northern Gauteng, have no electricity.
READ | Mbalula Also Focused On Being A ‘Twitter Celebrity Minister’ – Transportation Department Employees Wronged
Only 63 stations have adequate electricity in southern Gauteng and 27 in the northern part of the province.
Gauteng has one of the largest rail networks in the country, with more than 200 stations.
These figures were contained in Mbalula’s answer to the written parliamentary question from DA Thamsanqa MP Mabhena about the station infrastructure.
In KwaZulu-Natal, only 10 of the 102 stations in the province have no adequate power supply. Although train operations have not yet returned to normal, 92 stations have electricity.
The Western Cape, which has been plagued by train fires and vandalism, has 109 stations with electricity.
Of a total of 124 stations, only 15 have no power.
READ HERE | UniteBehind Welcomes Superior Court Ruling Outlawing Mbalula’s Appointment of Prasa Administrator
In the Eastern Cape, seven of the 29 stations are without electricity and have limited service in operation: 22 stations have power.
‘Appropriate appointments’
Meanwhile, the travel organization Unite Behind has welcomed Mbalula’s decision not to appeal a Western Cape Superior Court ruling involving Prasa administrator Bongisizwe Mpondo.
Last month, the court issued a ruling nullifying Mbalula de Mpondo’s appointment.
In a statement, Unite Behind’s Zukiswa Vuka welcomed Mbalula’s decision not to appeal the court’s ruling.
Vuka also said that the National Treasury’s decision to appoint Badisa Mashego as the interim accounting authority in Prasa “came at the right time.”
“The decision to request the intervention of the higher court in the matter sought to ensure stability within the Prasa administration. The ruling encouraged a sense of appropriate appointments that would not be controversial when it comes to decisions made related to the functionality of Prasa. As As a result, Prasa would be free from political influence and would no longer be vulnerable to the looting of funds created by mismanagement, “Vuka said.
“The prevailing belief held by many that intervention by the court order would reverse any progress made thus far remains a misleading matter about the meaning and significance of the judgment. Prasa has suffered from mismanagement that it cannot stop. to be questioned as it represents a threat to the existence and effective functioning of Prasa “.
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