Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Suné Payne
Published on 2024-02-27 22:00:44
The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) meeting held on Tuesday, 27 February, raised a crucial question regarding the City of Cape Town’s commitment to relocating individuals who had been occupying parts of the Central Line, a vital rail link connecting working-class suburbs to central Cape Town. Deputy Mayor Eddie Andrews expressed the city’s support for relocation efforts, but some committee members questioned this stance due to concerns about limited resources provided to those being temporarily relocated from the train tracks.
The relocation of individuals occupying the Central Line is essential to resume train services to working-class suburbs like Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain. However, issues related to land use applications for relocation sites were also raised during the committee meeting.
The Central Line, managed by the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa), was closed in November 2019 due to sustained arson, vandalism, and theft incidents. With the onset of the Covid pandemic, people started moving onto the tracks in areas such as Philippi and Langa, hindering rail recovery efforts post-lockdown. Prasa faced internal challenges, including security contract cancellations and leadership issues.
During the Scopa meeting, Prasa, along with the Human Settlements Department, the Housing Development Agency, and the City of Cape Town, provided updates on the relocation progress. Committee Chairperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa highlighted that informal settlements along the rail reserve had hindered Prasa’s commuter services on the Central Line.
To address this, 1,206 informal households were temporarily relocated to sites between Nyanga and Philippi, with 856 households moved to the Bhekela Site in Philippi. The relocation is a crucial step to enable the resumption of commuter rail services. The site has 90 toilets that are serviced regularly, and water is supplied to the community through tankers.
However, concerns were raised about the ratio of toilets to households, prompting discussions about improving sanitation facilities. Issues like the lack of electricity supply to the Bhekela Site were also addressed, with the city attributing responsibility to the site’s private ownership.
The need for land use applications for the Bhekela site posed additional challenges, as Prasa officials were unaware of this requirement. The city emphasized the importance of regularizing structures and land use to avoid contraventions.
Despite some communication gaps between stakeholders, commitments were made to continue the relocation process. Prasa Group CEO Hishaam Emeran projected the full operation of the Central Line to Kapteinsklip and Chris Hani by mid-2024. Scopa plans to conduct another oversight visit to the Central Line in March to monitor progress.
Read the original article on Daily Maverick
