New appointments to head Transport Ministry welcomed

Dealing with transport would have to be led by the Constitution, said veteran activist and #UniteBehind director Zackie Achmat after Barbara Creecy was appointed as transport minister and Mkhuleko Hlengwa as her deputy in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s new executive.

Achmat is a lifelong activist who has formed many civil society organisations, such as the rail activist coalition #UniteBehind. In 2019, just weeks before the general elections, Achmat and other activists blocked Ramaphosa from exiting a Cape Town train station while calling for those accused of State Capture to be jailed and commuter rail in SA to be declared a national disaster. 

Their fight for a safe and reliable commuter rail has seen them take on the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) and the government and even saw Achmat unsuccessfully standing as an independent candidate in the 2024 elections in a bid to fix Parliament, Prasa and the Social Security Agency. 

On Monday, Achmat told Daily Maverick he was “delighted” with Creecy’s appointment as transport minister, although her work in the Department of Environment was “mixed”.

He said she understood that dealing with transport would have to be done through the lens of the Constitution and the law — something that was “tragically” missing from previous ministers. 

Achmat said it was important to move to a transport system including trains, buses and taxis, which would “get as many cars off the road as possible to relieve congestion and to allow people to get to work in a safe manner”.

On Hlengwa — a former chairperson of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa), which frequently had meetings with Prasa over its recovery plans to get services running — Achmat said, “I’m sure he will do an excellent job.”

However, “regretfully” Hlengwa did not do enough to put criminals in jail or expose them during his tenure at Scopa. Achmat explained it was not for Hlengwa to interfere with the ongoing work of the National Prosecuting Authority “but using the power of the Scopa to investigate and expose”.

One of Creecy’s priorities, Achmat said, should be to ensure people with disabilities had access to transport.

Turmoil

Congratulations to Minister Barbara Creecy and Deputy Minister Mkhuleko Hlengwa. We look forward to meeting soon to address road safety, regulation issues, licensing backlogs, and the pressing issue of a feasible transport subsidy, amongst other important matters. #Cabinet https://t.co/zICa7mB9uq pic.twitter.com/SMWULwQTaX

— SANTACO (@SA_Taxis) July 1, 2024