The City of Cape Town is in the process of hiring rail experts to help it take over the passenger rail from national government.
On Tuesday, 26 March 2019, the City of Cape Town announced it was in the process of hiring a team of rail professionals and experts to assist its transport directorate to implement a business plan to take over the passenger rail management from the national government. The business plan was approved by the City Council on 26 October 2017.
The rail, currently under the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA), is responsible for delivering safe rail services to the residents of Cape Town. The rail’s subsidiary, Metrorail, has been under enormous strain as its rail services have been in a decline due to decades of under-investment, outdated technology, deferred maintenance and corruption.
During its announcement, the City of Cape Town acknowledged that this transition would not happen overnight but would be done in phases over time. After advertising a tender for the procurement of the rail’s professional services earlier this year, the City is currently evaluation and assessing four tenders for the services.
“The assignment must be feasible and will be divided into phases. Before each phase the decision-makers will have to evaluate the impact and consequences, needs and other key considerations before the City will commit to any functions. We’re determined to restore commuters’ faith in passenger rail as it should be the backbone of public transport in Cape Town. However, we need to do this in a responsible manner by being fully aware of the financial risks involved and by ensuring we’re not taking over any unfunded mandates.
“The assignment of the urban rail service will have long-term implications for residents and commuters. It will affect our long-term spatial planning and our local economy. It will, importantly, also have an impact on PRASA, being the rail operator, its divisions and personnel, and its service providers. Thus, whatever we do must be done with the utmost care and diligence, and must adhere to the highest professional standards,” said the City’s Mayoral Committee member of Transport, Alderman Felicity Purchase.
Transport minister Blade Nzimande criticised the City of Cape Town’s plan to take over the passenger rail, saying it would not provide commuters with improved or reliable transport.
“The intention by the City of Cape Town is dishonest, opportunistic and absolute political manoeuvring that seeks to undermine the enormous efforts by the ANC government to change the rail landscape of South Africa, which has been characterised by decades of disinvestment by the apartheid regime,” Nzimande said.
Abenathi Gqomo
a.gqomo@politicalanalysis.co.za
