Two contractors of the Passenger Railway Agency of South Africa (PRASA) are in hospital after they were shot and wounded while repairing cables on the Central Line in Cape Town near Kalksteenfontein.
According to PRASA, the motive for the shooting was the theft of copper cables which were being repaired by the contractors. The repairs are part of an ongoing process to get the Central Line train service back up and running.
The City’s executive mayor, Geordin Hill-Lewis, said the City will not tolerate this kind of criminality. “We cannot continue to live in a society in which the lives of those performing essential public service are threatened by gangsters and criminals,” he said.
He added that the if central line is fixed it will provide affordable public transport to millions of residents, which is essential in the current economic climate in which the cost of living is skyrocketing and unemployment is at record levels. He said as they work to devolve the management passenger rail to the Metro, they are committed to helping wherever they can to get the current system up and running as soon as we can.
“We cannot allow the majority to suffer because of the appalling behaviour of a few and this is why we are offering a reward of R5000 to anyone that can supply us with information that leads to the arrest of the two perpetrators.”
Early reports by the police state that the two perpetrators were dropped off in Kalksteenfontein in a Black VW Polo.
Anyone with information can contact the City on 0800 11 00 77.
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Picture: Cape Town etc gallery