Parliament, Sunday, 29 January 2023 – The Portfolio Committee on Transport today concluded its public hearings on the Railway Safety Bill in Limpopo where it held public hearings in Musina, Makhado and Polokwane local municipalities. Hundreds of residents had an opportunity to make inputs on the draft legislation.
While there is a general support for the Bill especially for its objectives of improving railway safety, ensuring that rail becomes a preferred mode of transport and contributes to economic development, there was also a concern about the bill’s intent to give the Minister of Transport the powers to appoint the board and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Rail Safety Regulator.
Residents feel that the responsibility to appoint the board and the CEO should be given to Parliament and that the process for such appointments should be conducted in public similar to the appointment of heads of chapter nine institutions and judges.
There were also suggestions for the extension of the country’s railway network to areas where there has never been any railway, to link small towns and rural areas to the big cities through the rail system. Some participants in the public hearings also warned against the privatisation of the railway system and argued that the sector should be under the control of government.
The Railway Safety Bill aims to amend the National Railway Safety Regulator Act 16 of 2002 by facilitating an improvement in general safety within the railway environment, and ensure that rail becomes an attractive mode of transport and contributes towards economic growth.
It also seeks to promote the harmonisation of the railway safety regime of the Republic of South Africa with the objectives and requirements for safe railway operations of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORT, MR LISA MANGCU.
For media enquiries or interviews with the Committee Chairperson, please contact:
Name: Sakhile Mokoena
Parliamentary Communication Services
Cell: 081 705 2130
E-mail: smokoena@parliament.gov.za
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