Faizel Patel – 14/08/2020
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has called on Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula to attend to the vandalism of PRASA infrastructure across the country.
The party says during a recent oversight inspection of the Kliptown Train Station to assess its readiness to resume operations during level 2 and 1 of the risk-adjusted Covid-19 lockdown, it discovered that the station will not be ready to resume operations due to the extensive damage caused by criminals.
The station halted operations at the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown towards the end of March.
DA shadow transport minister Thamsanqa Mabhena says they found the Kliptown Train Station to be in general decay.
“This has been the case across the country on numerous oversight inspections of some of Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa’s (PRASA) stations in Pretoria, Johannesburg and Cape Town where infrastructure has been stripped to the knuckles. Literally anything that resembles metal, cabling and steel have been stolen.”
Mabhena says the Kliptown station had undergone a refurbishment last year and the withdrawal of security personnel by PRASA at the start of this hard lockdown has exacerbated the damage.
Mabhena says the cost implications of fixing the station is expected to cost millions of rands.
“What once was a beacon of affordable citizens mode of mobility now resembles an abandoned, old and dilapidated building all in a space of just four months.
The Lenasia railway line has also not been spared with criminals stealing cables along the track from the Lenasia train station all the way to Lawley and further.
0 Comments