Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis is calling on President Cyril Ramaphosa to confirm whether government intends scrapping its plans to devolve the operation of passenger rail to local authorities. 

This follows comments this weekend by ANC economic transformation policy head Mmamoloko Kubayi that devolving rail is no longer a policy option for the ANC, adding that she would “not advise any department to dissolve power or function to the metros”. 

Kubayi, who is also the Human Settlements minister, is quoted by Sunday World: “You can’t do that with strategic infrastructure and an important economic activity. Rail is one of the backbones of movement of goods and people. We can’t give it to metros.”

The City of Cape Town says Kubayi’s comments do not seem to take into account the fact that passenger rail services have collapsed under national management.

The comments are also in direct contradiction with the national White Paper on Rail Policy.

Approved by Cabinet in May last year, the policy position taken in the White Paper confirms that passenger rail will be devolved to capable local governments.  

The White Paper states that a devolution strategy for passenger rail will be implemented from this year onwards.

However, the City of Cape Town notes that outgoing Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula has already noted that this will be delayed until at least 2024.

The statement from Kubayi now adds to the confusion.

“Mister President, is your government binning the Cabinet decision on devolving passenger rail to well-run metros?” asks Hill-Lewis.

“We already know the devolution strategy for rail is delayed until at least 2024, according to outgoing Transport Minister Mbalula. We need trains running daily on time in our city right now, not years from now, or ‘never’ as per the latest comment from your ANC policy head.”

In a letter penned to Hill-Lewis last week, Mbalula writes that his department, together with the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA), “have not been given a directive by the government and me to start with any form of devolution. The devolution exercises in the country will be guided by the devolution strategy which is currently in the development phase and is to be completed in 2024”.

According to Mbalula, the Transport Department must ensure the draft strategy is submitted to the Transport Minister by 2024, who must then still promulgate it.

Hill-Lewis notes that the City of Cape Town’s ongoing rail feasibility study aims to devolve rail “in the shortest time”. 

“We are ready to re-establish a viable rail service in the best interests of commuters, and we are ready to work with national government at any time to achieve this.

“The fact is rail has collapsed nationally. The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa now only transports 3% of  the passengers it did a decade ago nationally.”

Cape Town Urban Mobility MMC Rob Quintas notes that the city has already concluded the first deliverable of its rail feasibility study – the Inception Report. 

“Next is a status quo report on the state of passenger rail in Cape Town. However, [Mbalula] has to date refused permission to PRASA to share this critical information with the city about the state of its operations and rail assets in Cape Town.

“The city is determined to find ways of resolving this challenge, should the national government undermine our devolution efforts and requests for information.”