'We are not going to allow criminality': Prasa boss on safeguarding SA's revamped commuter rail network

Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) CEO Hishaam Emeran says criminality will not be allowed to derail the multibillion rand revival of the commuter rail network.

Prasa is pulling out the stops after years of neglect, theft and vandalism to restore train services. However, the programme is threatened by challenges, including extortionists and the “construction mafia”, disrupting construction sites and demanding work or a share of infrastructure projects.

Extortionists and the “construction mafia” are a nationwide phenomenon, Emeran told TimesLIVE Premium in an interview on the sidelines of a visit to assess progress restoring the northern rail corridor in Cape Town.

“That is an issue we are dealing with — not only here. Here [in the Western Cape] we have the issue of gangsterism [as well],” said Emeran.

“But across the country projects are affected and delayed — whether it’s extortion, whether it is the construction mafia.”

Prasa was addressing these issues.

“There are a few things we have done. We are not going to allow criminality in our rail reserves. That’s why we have beefed up our security within these corridors,” he said.

“But we have also raised the fact that what we see happening, whether it is gangsterism, whether it is the issue around the construction mafia; it’s a societal issue we are dealing with. It’s not purely about Prasa, but Prasa has to do something. We can’t sit back and wait. So we have increased our investment in security, but in sustainability [we need a] holistic approach to poverty.”

He said Prasa had a comprehensive stakeholder engagement programme.

“We have brought communities into projects in employment, SMMEs and in the security space. There is a sense of ownership and pride in the project. That is the success of these projects, that you also have eyes and ears on the ground where you can’t always be. That is a critical one.”

However, extortionists and the “construction mafia” are not Emeran's only headache. The agency is working to relocate shack dwellers who have built on some of the tracks.

“We need to deal with the relocation of those informal settlements. There are many parties who are part of this process,” he said.

“In addition to Prasa, we have human settlements, public works, the City of Cape Town and provincial government having a role play in the relocation of the settlements. As an interim arrangement, we are looking at moving those settlements within 10 metres of the track. We need to move that so we can rehabilitate the track.”

Emeran said a site had been located within the rail reserve where some of the shacks will be moved to make way for trains by the end of September.

“The whole recovery and rebuild programme is underpinned by an integrated security programme. We cannot go back to a situation to find a repeat of what has happened — whether it is theft or vandalism. Whether it is the issue of encroachment, we need to guard against that.”

He said Prasa had a twofold plan to prevent future decay of the rail network.

“We started off with an increased physical presence you will see at our infrastructure, at our stations and on our trains,” he said.

“Coupled with that, we are rolling out technology, CCTV, and at some point we also want to have drone technology. Specifically in high-risk areas we will roll out a walling programme to close off the network to protect the assets and prevent invasion of land.

“We also find a lot of people walking and crossing in railway reserves and that is a safety hazard. It will allow safer train operations that we are dealing with and will assist with revenue protection for Prasa.”

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