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Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula.
- Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula wants “the power of law to be unleashed” to protect rail infrastructure.
- He and the head of the ANC agree that it is economic sabotage to destroy the railway infrastructure.
- The opposition parties blamed the mismanagement of Prasa by the government for the situation.
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula wants “the power of law unleashed” on those responsible for the destruction of South Africa’s rail infrastructure.
“The jig is over,” he told the National Assembly on Tuesday.
He was speaking in an urgent debate on a matter of national interest on the subject of the “impact on the economic life of the most vulnerable and poorest of travelers due to continuous damage to public rail infrastructure.”
ANC chief Pemmy Majodina said the attack on public infrastructure is sabotage.
Mbalula agreed.
“The burning of trains, the theft of signaling cables, the theft of tracks, damage to stations and theft of equipment not only paralyze the service intended for the poor, but create an unsustainable situation in which it is expected that the taxpayer pays the bill to replace them. infrastructure stolen and damaged, “said Mbalula.
“We are a democracy founded on the foundations of human rights and the rule of law. All our interventions must ensure that the rights of those who depend on the commuter train system are protected and respected.
“Along the same lines, the power of law must be unleashed on those who continue to destroy and steal public goods for their narrow selfish ends.
“Our rail system continues to be subject to theft and vandalism, wanton attacks on employees and private security while on duty, and sabotage.”
He said the reality is that “incidents related to safety in the railway environment are out of control and need urgent attention.”
He said that a new security plan was recently unveiled and that this plan is based on developing the necessary internal capacity and the ability to mitigate and combat theft and vandalism of rail infrastructure.
The plan is based on the following:
1) Internal security capacity for armed response, control room operations and increasing the number of physical security officers; 2) An electronic surveillance solution for the protection of mission critical assets, including substations, relay rooms and sites for mobile communications of the global system for the railway environment, with early warning security technology and defensive security systems; 3) Specialized investigation services, with legal support and access to a criminal laboratory; and 4) The deployment of drones to carry out virtual patrols of high-risk infrastructure.
Opposition speakers blamed the ANC government for the dilapidated railway infrastructure, particularly the management of the Corruption-plagued South African Passenger Rail Agency (Prasa).
FF Plus MP Corné Mulder said that if they want to find the “real criminals”, Prasa is where they should start.
In response to the ANC speakers’ references to economic sabotage, Mulder said: “What the ANC has done to our economy is truly high treason.”
DA MP Chris Hunsinger noted that there have been four different transport ministers in the last five years.
“While many Prasa employees and employees are doing their best to make things work, as an organization, Prasa has lost its passion and relationship with rail and commuters,” said Hunsinger.
Mbalula said: “I want to admit that Prasa has been devastated, run over, it has been a disaster.”
He said law enforcement agencies are dealing with those who have run over the organization.
