Devolution of rail network to municipalities needs clear time frame, Parliament told

19 Oct 2022

Rail devolution can only happen when there are clear time frames, and once a devolution strategy has been put in place, says the Department of Transport.

The Department of Transport on Wednesday briefed parliamentarians on the White Paper on the National Rail Policy, but attention shifted to a long-standing discussion on the devolution of South Africa’s rail network.

The acting director-general in the Department of Transport, Ngwako Makaepea, briefed the National Council of Provinces about the policy, which was gazetted by Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula in May.

One of the policy’s aims is to recognise and understand rail’s heritage of missed opportunities and strategic missteps in order to identify and mobilise funding and resources to reposition rail as the backbone of the country’s land transport.

Addressing parliamentarians during a virtual briefing, Makaepea said rail was an “affordable, competitive, effective, integrated, reliable, safe, sustainable and valued transport mode” which provided a backbone for the country’s freight rail and passenger mobility systems.

Devolution

Makaepea said the department had approached various metros about rail devolution. Issues such as the planning and funding of devolution would be dealt with once a devolution strategy had been concluded.

Rail devolution has been a topical issue in South Africa. Activist coalition #UniteBehind told Daily Maverick in 2019 that it supported the devolution of commuter rail.

The official opposition in Parliament, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has called for rail to be devolved to municipalities, with this being a central election campaign issue during the 2019 general elections. The party also called for this in September 2022, when DA MP Chris Hunsinger, the party’s parliamentary spokesperson on transport, said public transport management needed to be devolved to “capable municipalities”.

The DA-led City of Cape Town has signalled its intention to take control of the rail network, announcing a feasibility study that would look at controlling the network.

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In a statement outlining its intent, the city said a multidisciplinary team “will explore the integration of existing transport networks and ticketing and timetabling; railway operations; maintenance of assets; legal services focusing on contracts and concessions; and security planning, among others…”

However, the acting director-general said devolution had to be done within a framework.

Skills in the rail industry were also discussed. Makaepea said the Department of Transport would take custodianship of a “skills audit and tracking process” which would identify ongoing sectoral needs and promote targeted rail skills development to prepare people for employment opportunities at all levels.

Makaepae said the private-sector stakeholders had expressed interest in response to some of the questions raised. These discussions could lead to R45-billion worth of investments. Banks had also been in discussions regarding the rail policy plan and private sector contributions. DM

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