Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Walker refuses to bow to the pressure
Determined to get crisis-hit service back on rails
AN OPTIMISTIC Richard Walker sits calmly in his basic office at the Transnet building overlooking the Metrorail concourse. You would not think he’s a man who is under fire – from a union calling for his head, to daily complaints about the crisis-hit rail service.
In an exclusive interview with the Weekend Argus, he spoke in detail about the issues that have beset the train service; Metrorail-commuter communication; his run-ins with a union over alleged irregularities; plans for the service and crime.
The United National Transport Union (Untu) has made no bones about seeing Walker lose his job due to alleged mismanagement at the provincial rail service. Walker is optimistic he can turn things around.
Addressing the union’s call for his dismissal the first time, he said: “I’ve been in this business for 24 years. I was told to come back after there were issues of irregularity in this region. When I came back there was a public protector report about the irregularities in 2014.
“The group CEO asked me to come back. The issue was that the public protector investigation, in a progress report handed to us in 2015, highlighted a number of wrongdoings in which staff members benefited. Some of the staff members are in leadership positions in the unions,” he said.
“So how do you kill this thing? They thought the best way is to get rid of Richard Walker. Now this is very easy. If you want to get rid of me, report wrongdoing to the police and the public protector, but don’t take chances and have illegal strikes and media statements. This won’t go away even when I’m not here; investigations are investigations.”
He said some of the people being investigated started a campaign against him. Earlier this year, he was suspended by then- acting Mthuthuzeli Swartz.
In the next two weeks, Walker will be giving evidence at a disciplinary hearing in Joburg.
“… it’s unfortunate that people, who are implicated, are behind some of these false statements that are out there. We will continue to root out wrongdoing and corrupt behaviour… without fear or favour,” he said.
“Contrary to what they’ve been saying, for the Central Line we’ve put in a number of measures, from as far back as 2016. We’ve already identified that it’s a high-risk area.”
He said he’s realised the conventional ways of securing the Central Line in places such as Netreg, Heideveld and Bonteheuwel, have not worked. Metrorail- appointed armed guards have been disarmed by criminals in those areas in the last three years.
“The gangs have realised now that copper is a lucrative revenue stream. What has mushroomed there (in Netreg) is a number of bucket shops, which are informal shops which collect scrap and sell it to the bigger scrap dealers in the area.”
He said Metrorail had identified the presence of “bucket shops” in Netreg and Bonteheuwel.
Referring to the destruction of critical infrastructure, he said a relay room, which supports the service’s signalling system and links up with the control room in Windemere, and a sub- station, which receives power from Eskom and distributes it across the railway network, were destroyed last year and put the entire service in a tailspin.
“Those are copper-based in the main. That has all been destroyed in Area Central.”
He said the Bonteheuwel split, situated between Netreg and Bonteheuwel gang turfs, has a high incidence of crime.
“We… implemented a concrete slab wall between Nyanga and Lansdowne bridge, which is 5km distance on either side. The incidents of crime and rail incidents there has been eliminated.”
Currently, Metrorail has a three-component response unit on the Central Line: drone surveillance every night, specialised investigation team, and armed response unit.
He said the drone has been effective as about 100 suspects were awaiting trial.
Walker said if their re-signalling plan goes accordinglto plan, by 2020 the service in the region would have a capability of providing a train every three minutes.
He said they’re trying to find better ways of communication with passengers when there are delays. “…people still expect announcements”.