Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said the City is disappointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s statement that a ‘National Rail Master Plan’ will now be completed by the end of 2025, as stated in the President’s weekly newsletter on Monday, Cape {town} Etc reports.
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The City has been advocating for the quick devolution of rail to allow the metro to run passenger trains.
A functional passenger train service in Cape Town would save lower-income families R932 million per year and support 51 000 jobs in the metro.
This is according to the City’s Rail Feasibility Study, which will be discussed next week by the Council’s Portfolio Committee for Urban Mobility.
The president stated in his weekly newsletter: ‘Work is under way to develop a National Rail Masterplan that will lay out the future for rail in South Africa. Among other things, the Masterplan will cover passenger rail in our cities, including rapid rail. It will also cover high speed rail over long distances between centres. The substantial work required to develop the Masterplan is expected to be completed by the end of next year.’
Hill-Lewis responded that the continuous delays are unacceptable to Capetonians, who urgently require a safe, economical and dependable passenger train service.
‘Cabinet’s own National Rail Policy White Paper 2022 first promised the delivery of a Devolution Strategy by 2023. Then in Parliament on 5 September 2023, the President promised the strategy would be concluded and approved by 2024. We were very worried back in February at the President’s failure to even mention the devolution strategy in SONA, and now we hear of a new deadline of end-2025 for a ‘masterplan’.
‘Given the track record to date and continuous delays, it is highly unlikely that the Rail Masterplan will be ready by the end of next year. The word devolution was also notably absent from the President’s newsletter, suggesting the ANC is now back-tracking on promises to devolve passenger rail for capable metros to run. We condemn this placing of politics before people,’ said Hill-Lewis.
The City has made a standing offer to the president to form a joint working committee to accelerate rail devolution, but has yet to receive a response, despite a stated commitment to do so.
Mayor Hill-Lewis is scheduled to meet with Transport Minister Barbara Creecy in Cape Town on Wednesday and will express the City’s concerns.
The City has previously stated that the national government’s failure to devolve rail will result in an intergovernmental dispute, but that Cape Town would prefer that the president accept an offer for a joint working committee and establish a clear deadline for handing over passenger rail to the metro.
‘The City’s Rail Feasibility Study is within its final phase and ready to go through City Council structures for further recommendations. Our research has found that efficient passenger rail will add R11 billion to the local economy each year, and save lower income families hundreds of millions in transport costs. Cape Town is ready for the job-creating economic growth that comes with working trains. Lower income families are ready for more affordable public transport. This is why we expect extreme urgency from the national government to devolve rail for the City to run,’ said Rob Quintas, mayoral committee member for Urban Mobility.
The City’s comprehensive Rail Feasibility Study, which outlines potential devolution scenarios, will be on the agenda for the Council’s Urban Mobility committee on 7 November.
The City intends to prepare detailed devolution business plans based on realistic rail takeover scenarios, including private sector concessions, subject to Council approval in December.
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Picture: OJ Koloti / Gallo Images
