IT has been one month since the Highway Mail reported on the need for a clean-up along the railway lines yet the issue remains unresolved.
Highway Mail journalist, Lloyd Mackenzie, returned to the site and asked stakeholders for their comments regarding the overgrown railway line area being a haven for criminals and drug dealers.
Chairman of the Pinetown CPF Sub Forum, Jenny Black:
“It has become very clear from CPF meetings that the sub forums are having the same problems along the railway line. The biggest problem we are finding is that the whoonga dealers and criminals use the railway track as their quickest route of escape as there is no upkeep nor policing there. It is an absolute open season for criminal activity, from Sarnia right up to Kloof. The residents in the area are vulnerable due to the lack of diligence by these departments.”
Ward 18 councillor, Melanie Brauteseth:
“The area is not being kept (maintained) at all and it is an open environment for any form of criminal activity and it is very difficult for any neighbourhood watch or SAPS or Metro to get into the areas because they are just so overgrown. We need to highlight this and get the departments to clean up their areas to eliminate crime.”
ALSO READ: ‘Trans’formation needed for crime reduction
Harvey Road site visit:
While on a site visit along the track with Jenny Black and Melanie Brauteseth, three men entered the tracks, greeted the gathered group and walked into a nearby bush. Black described the men as compos mentis until they re-entered the track when their gait was shaky, their walk staggered and their gaze, vacant.
“This is the exact thing we are trying to stop,” said Black. “Whoonga users and dealers operate along these railway lines and it needs to end.”
The DA’s Shadow Minister of Transport, Manny de Freitas, said, “With the increasing fuel prices, trains remain the cheapest mode of transport for South Africans and it’s vital that the backbone of SA’s public transport network gets back on track.”
De Freitas detailed the DA’s rail plan:
1. Stabilise and modernise the current rail system – de Freitas noted the current signal system should be phased out to prevent further crashes and derailment. He also called for the re-establishment of a dedicated rail police unit.
2. Merge Transnet and PRASA under the Department of Transport: “All rail-related passenger and freight services should become the direct responsibility of the Minister of Transport, to streamline decision making and improve planning and integration,” he said.
3. Ceding control of Metrorail services to Metros.
4. Diversifying ownership – “While the state should retain ownership of the infrastructure, the DA calls for the gradual privatisation of some railway operations.”
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