The United National Transport Union (UNTU) asked Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula to dissolve the Board of Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) with immediate effect.
Steve Harris, General Secretary of UNTU, says the Union is deeply concerned about the ongoing breaches of rail safety at Metrorail, a division of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) which the RSR as the regulatory watchdog must oversee. Both PRASA and the RSR accounts to the Transport Minister.
According to Harris it is mindboggling why the RSR prohibited Shosholoza Meyl, the long distance passenger train of PRASA, to operate after its first collision in four years that was contributed to a communication error while using manual authorisation because the signalling system is malfunctional due to vandalism.
“The RSR practises two sets of rules as it allows Metrorail to continue running a service while it had seven incidents over the last four years where manual authorisation played a role and yet the RSR continues issuing it with a safe operating permit.
“Even more disturbing is that the Gauteng North High Court issued a court order against PRASA in favour of the RSR on 12 October 2018 which is still being monitored by Judge Cassim Sardiwalla. The RSR has to date not even attempted to approach the court to state that PRASA is in contempt of the court order. The parties are due back in court on 19 March 2020.
“Neither PRASA nor the ineffective Rapid Rail Unit of the South African Police Service (SAPS) are able to combat the vandalism and theft of our railway infrastructure that has reached unforeseen heights after the former PRASA board cancelled the contracts of 20 security companies at the end of October 2020.
“In the light of the national disaster that has been declared by President Cyril Ramaphosa last night to combat COVID-19, Government has discouraged all “non-essential domestic travel, amongst others, rail. For millions of workers trains are an essential means to get to and from work, but with both PRASA and the RSR’s inability to combat the overcrowding of trains, we are heading for disaster,” says Harris.
The term of the RSR board came to an end at the end of October 2019. Board members have been appointed on a month to month base since. The Chief Executive Officer that has been acting in the position for the past three years.
UNTU believes that both the Board and the RSR has made a mockery of rail safety and have brought the Ministry and South Africa in general into disrepute. The state of rail safety in the country has stripped the RSR of any of its credibility.
The Transport Ministry acknowledge receipt of UNTU’s letter and assured the Union that it will be brought to the Minister’s attention.
Issued on behalf of UNTU by Sonja Carstens, Deputy-General Secretary: Media, Liaison and Communication. For UNTU press releases e-mail sonja@untu.co.za or phone 082 463 6806.
