No stipend for patrollers

Dozens of residents in Mamelodi say they are spending their time doing voluntary patrols at train stations to protect rail infrastructure from vandals and thieves.

They say they expected to receive a stipend for the first three months and then to sign a twoyear contract with the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa).

But many months later, they have nothing. Some say they started patrolling in early December 2020; others say they joined in the first few months of 2021.

GroundUp sent Prasa spokesperson Banele Ndlovu a list of questions by e-mail and WhatsApp on 24 August. During a follow-up call on 30 August, Ndlovu suggested that GroundUp was out to get Prasa.

“Last week I replied to questions your colleague from

GroundUp sent. Now it’s you. It’s as if when they work on a story involving Prasa, they invite other reporters in other areas to do the same. Why is GroundUp only focusing on Prasa. Don’t you have other matters that you focus on?” asked Ndlovu.

He said it didn’t matter whether he responded or not because

GroundUp was out to get them. He promised to check his e-mails and respond the next day as he had just returned from Russia.

GroundUp is yet to receive a response from him

“There were more people at the stations but some have given up. They don’t want to fight. They’ve accepted that they volunteered with their time for nothing,” says Ben Bodiba, from Mamelodi East.

Bodiba claims he and other rail patrollers were recruited by the uMkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans’ Association (MKMVA), which told them that Prasa was looking for people to guard its stations and infrastructure.

However, MKMVA Tshwane regional secretary Sibusiso Eugene Masilela said the region has “never sanctioned any recruiting for Prasa employment”.

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