Mayor invites President to form joint committee on rail devolution
12 June 2023
‘I have asked President Ramaphosa to confirm his commitment to devolving passenger rail to metros, and that this Cabinet-approved policy has not been abandoned. We are asking the President to form a joint working committee with the City to chart the way towards rail devolution in the shortest possible time. If we don’t do this critical preparation now, it will take many years for rail to be devolved for the metro to run.
‘We can’t accept delays given that residents desperately need an affordable, safe, and reliable rail service in Cape Town. In fact, lower income households will save up to R932 million per year with an efficient passenger rail service in Cape Town. Our research also shows that getting the trains running will sustain over 51 000 jobs and add R11 billion to the local economy each year.
‘The City’s own devolution feasibility study is well underway and we are ready to take hands with national government to resuscitate Cape Town’s collapsed passenger rail system, which now only transports around 2% of commuters. However we are concerned about recent anti-devolution comments in the media by the newly appointed Transport Minister and the ANC’s policy head for economic transformation.
‘We now expect the President to break his silence and confirm whether he will work with us towards devolution or not. No matter how the President responds, our promise to residents is that we will never stop fighting on their behalf for a proper passenger rail service in our city,’ said Mayor Hill-Lewis.