The DA in Ekurhuleni has welcomed an announcement made by the Passenger Rail Agency South Africa (Prasa), which will see an expected 33 000 jobs created in the metro over the next 12 years.
After much lobbying by the DA of Prasa chief executive officer Lucky Montana and group board chairman Sifiso Buthelezi, Prasa last week revealed that the site chosen to build a rolling stock plant, which will manufacture commuter trains for Metro Rail, will be located somewhere in Ekurhuleni.
Proposed sites for the R51-billion project had included Kimberley and Saldanha Bay, but the DA persuaded decision-makers that the selection of the Ekurhuleni Metro Municipality made more strategic sense.
Historically, passenger trains were manufactured on the East Rand, particularly in Nigel, and much rail, engineering and manufacturing expertise still exists in the area.
Ekurhuleni is located on a main rail axis, with direct access to the Gauteng Metrorail network, and it has the highest concentration of rail component suppliers, which will allow for revitalisation of the entire industry and will simplify “just in time” manufacturing processes.
Ekurhuleni is the hub of manufacturing in South Africa and this project is a significant step in the right direction, towards reversing the trend of de-industrialisation in manufacturing.
It is estimated that approximately 1 600 immediate jobs will be created in the plant, with a further 8 800 positions supplied in ancillary industries.
Prasa believes that a total of 33 000 jobs will be created through the knock-on effect in Ekurhuleni, which is good news for the unemployed and under-employed in the area.
The DA has, however, issued Prasa with a strong warning to learn from the mistakes of the Gautrain manufacturing plant.
The party’s chief concern is that a specific site has not yet been identified, purchased or, in the case of government land, allocated to this project.
“The problem of land acquisition, a time-consuming legal process, led to costly delays and over-runs on the Gautrain project, some of which are still the substance of litigation between the Gauteng Government and the Bombela consortium,” said Eddie Taylor, DA spokesman on finance in Ekurhuleni.
“Delays of this nature inevitably lead to projects being rushed at the end, which, in turn, leads to companies being at the mercy of unions who are in a position to negotiate over inflated increases in order to get the job done.
“The message to Prasa is simple: if the land and buildings are not procured and erected speedily there will be a delay in the building of trains.
“Prasa must immediately finalise the preferred site and empower the board to embark on the land acquisition process.
“This will allow the concessionaire access to the site to begin preparing for the development.
“Any delay in this crucial first step will lead to cost over-runs and, ultimately, trains not being delivered on time.
“The DA in Ekurhuleni and in parliament will be monitoring the progress on this vital project for South Africa.”
I would like to know how far is PRASA with the project of building new stock.
I would like to know how far is PRASA with the project of building new stock.
I would like to know how far is PRASA with the project of building new rolling stock. Because l am one of millions of South Africans who is unemployed and l have 20 years experience in rail industry.