Prasa board subpoena hailed by DA

THE DA in the Western Cape has welcomed Parliament’s transport portfolio committee’s decision to subpoena the Prasa board.

“Prasa’s interim board failed to attend a meeting with the committee yesterday to discuss, among other things, Metrorail’s central line crisis and commuters’ general safety in the Western Cape,” said the DA’s Nceba Hinana, chairperson of the standing committee on transport and public works in the Western Cape provincial parliament.

“We must take back our train stations from captured communities in the ‘Bermuda triangle’. Located between Langa, Belhar, Chris Hani and Khayelitsha; the ‘Bermuda triangle’ refers to an area on the central line which constantly experiences delays and cancellations due to vandalism and cable theft,” explained Hinana.

“Safety in the Western Cape is an issue that Prasa and Metrorail by extension cannot afford to ignore.”

During the period 2015 to 2017, 32 murders and 114 incidents of assault with grievous bodily harm were recorded on trains and at railway stations.

“Residents can no longer afford to risk their lives while commuting. I will be writing to the national minister of transport to ask how much money is allocated to Prasa in the Western Cape and of that, how much is being allocated to the safety of its commuters.”

Hinana said this information “will assist us” in ensuring that funds are being used to improve infrastructure, to guarantee the safety of commuters and to improve the service as a whole in the province.

“The subpoena will also ensure that Prasa provides feedback to the committee on their outstanding 2016/17 annual report,” said Hinana. – African News Agency (ANA)