ANC commandeers state-owned Shosholoza Meyl for centenary celebrations
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has received information that train carriages managed by Shosholoza Meyl, the long-distance train company, were commandeered by the ANC for their centenary celebrations. Shosholoza Meyl is a subsidiary of PRASA (Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa).
Yesterday, passengers on Shosholoza Meyl trains en route to Port Elizabeth from Johannesburg were advised that they would be required to disembark in Bloemfontein, where they would travel by bus for the rest of the journey. However, due to the unavailability of buses at Bloemfontein, train passengers climbed off the trains at Middleburg at around 4am last night instead.
The reason for this is that trains were required to accommodate attendees of the ANC centenary celebrations. Similar accommodation arrangements were made during the FIFA 2010 World Cup, but in that case arrangements were made in advance, and not at the expense of paying passengers. In this case, the ANC saw fit to misuse public funds to its own ends, with no regard to the inconvenience suffered by passengers forced to alter their travel arrangements.
Given the shortage of accommodation in Bloemfontein, the ANC should have planned better, knowing that advance arrangements would have to be made for the large number of delegates who would be attending the centenary event.
Many of the passengers who use the services of Shoshaloza Meyl are the elderly (one of them is a 70 year-old woman), who pay for the comfort of a sleeper compartment. Members of poorer communities also use the train for its affordability and safety, as an alternative to taxis that cannot cope with their luggage. Others are tourists who use it for the "rail experience".
To remove passengers from the trains and put them on buses at Midddleburg instead is a blatant abuse of power. The CEO of PRASA and the MD of Shoshaloza Meyl must answer to the affected commuters for their actions. They need to explain:
- on whose instructions the train was diverted from its normal schedule to Bloemfontein;
- who paid for the costs of this diversion and the hiring of buses to allow for the passengers to continue their journeys;
- whether the ANC paid for the use of the train for the purpose of accommodation and if so, how much;
- whether the affected passengers were compensated for the change of transport mode and any inconvenience which may have been caused;
- why the trains were not able to continue travelling beyond Middleburg, requiring passengers to disembark.
The DA will be investigating this matter further.
Statement issued by Manny de Freitas MP, DA Shadow Deputy Minister of Transport, January 7 2012
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