‘Fix our trains’ – protesters
THE #UniteBehind coalition movement occupied the offices of the ANC and the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) at Cape Town station yesterday, demanding a safe and efficient commuter rail service.
#UniteBehind organiser Zukie Vuka said all they need are trains to be fixed.
She said they had been experiencing death, sexual violence, delays, line closures, mismanagement, crashes, fear, anxiety and pain while travelling on trains. Vuka said they refuse to accept the injustice any longer.
“The ANC is the party of the majority of our people and it has the power to fix our trains,” Vuka said.
“We demand that a national disaster be declared on commuter rail. We have been calling for this since last year. If a national disaster is declared it will unlock government funds to stabilise a system that is in the midst of a crisis.”
She said they also demand Minister of Transport Blade Nzimande to appoint a permanent board at Prasa within six weeks, and appoint a commuter representative to the board.
“The current board has been interim since last year, and has been temporarily extended for six months. We desperately need stable and ethical leadership to fix our trains,”
They called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to fulfil his commitment of meeting commuters in Cape Town.
“After his misguided electioneering stunt in Cape Town last week at the launch of two new trains, we peacefully blockaded his motorcade to demand to be heard,” Vuka said.
The movement quoted a pupil who fell from a moving train between Salt River and Woodstock and died while attempting to jump from one train to another.
The ANC’s elections head in the Western Cape, Ebrahim Rasool, accepted the memorandum and said it would follow up to the letter sent to Ramaphosa.
Meanwhile, the long distance passenger rail service of Prasa, Shosholoza Meyl, introduced eight additional trains for the Easter weekend due to the increase in travel demand.