The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) says it remains ‘cautiously optimistic’ that the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) will meet its deadline of ensuring that the Cape Town Central Line corridors between Cape Town and Khayelitsha and Kapteinsklip are operational by the end of April 2024.
Also read: Thousands of people still living on Cape Town’s Central Line
According to a statement from the South African Parliament, the committee met with PRASA’s board and noted that restoring the Central Line railway is incomplete without holding former Prasa Board members accountable for terminating the security contract.
This decision left Prasa’s infrastructure vulnerable, costing the state billions. The committee insists on recovering the Central Line and holding former board members accountable.
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SCOPA’s comments follow their assessment of progress at Philippi and Nyanga train stations during a third oversight visit of PRASA’s Cape Town Central Line, which covered Philippi, Stock Road, Nyanga and Khayelitsha railway corridors under Operation Bhekela.
The committee added that if all the signatories to the Implementation Protocol perform their responsibilities and functions, ‘there should be no challenges’.
Furthermore, SCOPA urgently wants the residents on Stock Road to be relocated quickly.
According to Prasa, the application for the permanent relocation of the residents will be submitted to the City of Cape Town today (22 March). The City previously stated that it would take about 18 months to complete the process.
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Also read:
PRASA confirms Central Line trains will run again before year-end
Picture: Prasa Group / Facebook