DURBAN - MAJOR repairs and upgrades to Durban’s rail infrastructure will form part of the recovery plan of the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa), which has been stagnating after suffering billions of rand in losses as a result of corruption, sabotage and vandalism.
At least R1 billion has been lost to acts of sabotage to infrastructure – including around the eThekwini municipality – during the past year, bringing the total costs to more than R6bn over the past three years.
Adding to the infrastructural woes, Prasa lost R28bn owing to irregular expenditure identified by the AuditorGeneral (A-G) as having occurred during the 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 financial years, resulting in disclaimer audit opinions for those years.
As newly-appointed group chief executive Zolani Matthews revealed the extent of damage to Prasa as part of his first 100 days in office, he said a consequence-management plan against those named for wrongdoing had been finalised and was awaiting the board’s approval for implementation.
The company was also putting in place repair and upgrade measures to make rail transport the public’s travel mode of choice in the country.
The idea was to improve Durban to not only remain a rail commuter hub, but make the zone a trains’ maintenance depot in addition to enhancing its capacity to handle the new, technologically-advanced locomotives.
“We want to modernise the Durban Yard and Springfield Depot so that they are able to accommodate the new trains.
“Also, we envisage that the depot should have advanced capacity for use as a maintenance site,” said Fana Marutla, the acting chief executive of Prasa’s technical division.
Marutla said eThekwini had been as badly hampered by acts of sabotage and vandalism – in which railway lines and overhead cables were stolen – as Gauteng and the Western Cape had been.
“The project will involve replacement of the overhead lines, rail tracks and the ground foundations which have been damaged due to ageing or vandalism. In terms of the lines, we are at this stage focusing on those between uMlaziDurban-KwaMashu, where major damage has been identified,” said Marutla.
An interim security assessment, he said, had found that there was a clear case of sabotage, and details on this issue would surface soon as investigations were at an advanced stage.
“I have also enlisted the services, on short-term contracts, of additional security experts. Their initial assessment has been quite revealing and we will soon make serious pronouncements around their work,” said Matthews.
Prasa had entered into a Secondment Agreement with the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) to investigate material irregularities raised by the A-G and follow-up on whistle-blowing reports and matters which were previously investigated by a private firm of attorneys, but not concluded.
“I have been in regular contact with the A-G, the SIU and the Hawks. You will soon see a number of cases being brought for finalisation by the law enforcement agencies, and this will assist Prasa to close this sad chapter and put the organisation back on the rails,” he said.
Owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, among other factors, Prasa was currently facing serious cash flow challenges, said Matthews.
Revenue streams, he said, had been eroded, including the fares collected from rail operations which had significantly been reduced due to non-availability of the product; and rental income around stations reduced significantly because of lack of train operations – a factor that contributed substantially to the business operations.
THE MERCURY