News24 reports that bosses at the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) and the City of Cape Town are at their wits end over endless delays in moving people who have erected shacks on railway tracks, making it impossible for the city's crucial Central Line to be operational.
An estimated 5,195 households have settled on the line, including illegal structures having been erected at the Langa, Philippi and Khayelitsha stations. This has made it impossible for Prasa to restore operations on the Central Line. The commuter service has been discontinued since October 2019 owing to vandalism, theft and safety issues. The line is only operational between Nyanga and Maitland as negotiations with the affected shack-dwellers continue. Appearing before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) on Wednesday, Prasa pointed out that the City was responsible for expediting the process to provide emergency and disaster relocation for the residents occupying the tracks. Deputy Mayor Eddie Andrews told the committee that R50 million was ring-fenced for land aimed at relocated locals, but he conceded that the matter was very complex. Prasa in turn has set aside R1.2 billion to recover the Central Line. Acting Prasa CEO Hishaam Emeran told Scopa that the plan was to get trains up and running by the end of the financial year in March 2024. "Without a long-term solution to relocate the residents, we will never recover the Central Line," he warned as the matter of the relocation was a critical issue. Scopa agreed to meet monthly to get feedback on the issue, with the next meeting set for the end of July.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Marvin Charles at News24
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page