Independent News reports that the specialist drafting of the Railway Safety Bill by external contractors has cost taxpayers about R2.4 million, according to Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula.
This was indicated in response to a parliamentary question. The bill is aimed at improving railway safety and also creating a governance structure to oversee the work of the Rail Safety Regulator (RSR). Mbalula noted that work on the development of the Railway Safety Bill commenced in September 2015 and was concluded on March 2019. Earlier this month, the minister announced that later this year he would be tabling a railway safety bill before Parliament and in his budget speech he said that there was an obligation to ensure that railway operators adhered to the highest safety standards in line with international norms. In 2017/18 the RSR reported 4,478 incidents in the railway environment across all categories. The incidents were up by 10% increase from the previous year.
- Read the full original of the above report by Mayibongwe Maqhina at Independent News
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