Do you remember President Cyril Ramaphosa dressed in ANC regalia while riding the trains and campaigning during the 2019 national elections? It was a strategy based on trying to convince working-class voters that he, along with the ANC, would fix South Africa’s broken rail network and provide much-needed rail infrastructure to the country.
Fast forward two years and, the Ramaphosa administration has run Passenger Rail Agency South Africa (Prasa) into the ground argues Mpumelelo Mkhabela.
Prasa has been struggling for many years with millions of rands pumped into the organisation to try and rehabilitate the failing transport agency. But thus far we have seen only further negligence and corruption take root at Prasa and the damage wrought upon the institution over the years has hastened the collapse.
“Enter Ramaphosa, the electioneering train rider who promised a new dawn to rail-dependent passengers. His administration has transformed Prasa from a tentatively fixable mess into a hopeless and seemingly unfixable state,” writes Mkhabela.
He further argues that the key mistakes from the Ramaphosa administration include appointing Fikile Mbalula as transport minister, Mbalula’s frequent disregard for the rule of law, the appointment of former ANC MP Leonard Ramatlakane as chairman of Prasa (even though Ramaphosa had promised not to make political appointments at state-owned enterprises), and finally the appointment of Zolani Matthews as CEO when he was over Prasa’s employment age limit.
Can South Africa’s working-class contingent, the backbone of our economy, really afford not to have a working transport system that takes them to and from their jobs every day? If we continue down this train track there won’t be any trains left, never mind the track.
For the latest developments on Prasa read the following articles:
Prasa’s finance chief next in firing line – City Press (Subscribe to read)
Prasa’s rail network barely functional in Gauteng – Business Day
Prasa to oppose axed CEO Matthews’ court bid to be reinstated – EWN
Prasa fires Zolani Matthews as CEO for not disclosing dual citizenship – Daily Maverick
Court gives Prasa eight more months to remove land occupiers on railway line in Langa – Daily Maverick
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CRAIG BUTTERS: Who really owns the rights for the area where Shell is blasting? – Financial Mail
EDITORIAL | Healthcare must be newly-elected Joburg officials’ priority – Sunday Times Daily (Subscribe to read)
CAIPHUS KGOSANA | The sooner life becomes tricky for anti-vax dimwits the better – Sunday Times Daily (Subscribe to read)
Getting to grips with Omicron (Part One): What the data tells South Africa about how quickly the virus spreads – Daily Maverick
Feature Image: GCIS
