“Prasa can only lie and should stop playing the
victim”
These are the two things stuck in my head after
a recent meeting of the parliamentary portfolio committee on transport.
On the agenda was the Passenger Rail Agency of
South Africa, briefing members of parliament on the current challenges
commuters face daily and safety aspects.
Halfway through the meeting and the chairperson gets up, turn her back to the meeting where I’m seated and says: “Prasa is lying”.
And then Dikeledi Magadzi, MP, walked out
because neither she nor any of her colleagues are getting any answers to their
questions.
Upon her return, just before the end of the
meeting, Magadzi said “Prasa don’t listen. "They get 48 hours to report come
back after 14 days with the same plans that says nothing.”
Prasa had nice big words, but that did not impress MPs.
I am still not sure if I am shocked or
disappointed in Prasa’s presentation.
They considering mini-operational centres at
stations, to improve communication to commuters.
Some of the other plans is to keep commuters
informed with SMS notifications and use social media more effectively.
As a commuter myself it was traumatizing to sit and listen to the presentation.
I’m not sure on what delayed train that
presentation came, but Prasa clearly has no idea what is happening around them.
I’ve been a commuter since my varsity days and back then already we received SMS notifications. Announcements at stations probably came with the stations. And social media, well this has been used for nearly five years now. BTW: I was the first person to use the hashtag #TrainReport in 2013.
Prasa did admit people are suffering, arrive late and are given warnings at work and this because Metrorail cannot deliver the service thousands of commuters deserve.
Now if you know this, what are you doing to
change it?
One of the big guns mentioned about some law or policy. To be honest he lost me, because I prepared myself to hear about this or that plan.
Luckily one of the MPs came to my rescue when he
stopped the Prasa-manager and said: “We not here for a workshop, go give it to
Prasa employees. We want answers and plans that will ensure a safe and reliable
train trip for commuters”.
Prasa should be ashamed at their presentation, where they play the victim.
With unemployment in the Western Cape at 19.5%
people are literally clinging to their job. But Metrorail is sabotaging
everyone’s job security.
Employers also don’t believe the excuses that
trains are late every day.
In January Prasa blamed an increase in crime, lack
of investment in passenger rail transport and the cost of modernisation.
Two Prasa board members then admitted things look impossible and there is no alternative plans to assist commuters.
The worst is probably that Prasa officials don’t
even sit with a “we apologise for the inconvenience” expression.
Original piece appeared in Son of Friday March 9th
2018: Read Here