[ Home ] [ Speeches & statements ]

I congratulate the Members of the Committee of Inquiry on the effective and speedy manner in which it undertook its task. Government welcomes the report and recognises the limitations on the team in that it was not appointed as a judicial Commission of Inquiry and was therefore not able to test the evidence through cross-examination. The prima facie evidence that was presented to it has, however, provided us with sufficient information to understand, in general terms, the factors contributing to the incident at Tembisa Station on 31 July 1996.

In reviewing the recommendations of the Committee, Government feels that there are a number of areas in which follow-up action is required. The overarching factor contributing to this incident is to be found in the poor state of infrastructure of commuter rail services. Since the early eighties Metrorail, which was then within the SA Transport Services as a non-commercial low making entity, received investment in commuter rail infrastructure and rolling stock over the last 15 years which only recently began to be reversed, through the establishment of the South African Rail Commuter Corporation in 1990.

The current annual allocation of approximately R1.4 billion for commuter services is utilized in three main ways:

1. to cover the operating subsidy paid to Metrorail for providing the service; 2. until last year, a significant sum of money annually went into the pension contribution for the SARCC to Transnet; 3. a large annual sum to service the interest and begin to reduce the capital amount of a R1.8 billion loan that was taken out in the first two years of the SARCC's existence to pay the operating subsidy.

Government has already begun a process to reduce the claim on the resources going into these three areas, thus making a larger amount available to be devoted to infrastructure development. The key element of this endeavour is a renegotiated contract between the SARCC and Metrorail focusing on an output-based relationship and trying to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the service that is provided. In the medium term Government is considering a move towards the concessioning of the operation of metrorail services on state-owned rail infrastructure, on a competitive basis, by either public or private sector operators.

The recommendations regarding te use of the electric shock batons is a matter that government will have to consider very carefully- particularly in the context of crowd control. The relevant authority within Government will have to review the use of this type of equipment, either with a view to banning such use, or te development of a clear and tight regulatory framework which controls the use of such equipment.

Nothwithstanding this broad step, we will be urging Metrorail to ensure that such equipment is no longer utilized in ay crowd control activity within its operation.

The third set of issues revolves around whether adequate planning is done by Metrorail to ensure systematic and sympathetic crowd control, particularly in the context of fare evasion exercises; whether there is adequate coordination between the SARCC, Metrorail and its various security personnel; and whether a sufficiently regulated contract exists between Metro Rail and security personnel providing services. A key question is, whether in terms of the contract, in the case of the incident at Tembisa, there was a breach of contract. In addition there is a clear need for the setting of minimum training standards for all security personnel, which should be incorporated in the current and any future contract between Metrorail and security firms. It is clear that in future any operational plan for commuter rail services, especially security measures to curb fare evasion, needs to be jointly negotiated and agreed with the community and commuter organisations in particular.

The report will be made available to all relevant line-function Ministries within government, and to relevant institutions within the operating environment and within the commuter sector, for each interest group to assess the recommendations and determine an adequate plan of action.

The problem of fare evasion resulting in loss of revenue approximately of R150 million per year is a serious issue. The recovery of this revenue will dramatically speed up the pace at which improved infrastructure investment can be made.

The report's recommendations on proposed interaction between government, the operator and the community to motivate commuters to pay their fares will be implemented in full.

In summary the key issues are as follows:

Providing an improved infrastructure within which the operations can take place,

Changing the culture of service provision to ensure that the people who provide the services treat their customers in a humane and caring manner, and thirdly,

Ensuring that the community and government share responsibility for forming a partnership to realise the longer-term vision of an effective and efficient public transport service.

These issues are clearly enunciated in the widely-canvassed forthcoming White Paper on National Transport Policy.

Copies of the Committee's Report are available from the Ministers offices in Pretoria and Cape Town.

For further information,
Contact: Ketso Gordhan, Director-General: Department of Transport.
TEL: (012) 290-2001

Issued by: Department of Transport

<EOD>