Cape Town – The Cape Chamber of Commerce is furious at Metrorail for what it calls the unreliable public transport service it’s rendering, saying businesses were the victims because of the late arrival of workers and resultant loss of productivity.
“The traffic situation worsens when Metrorail system is in trouble and it is becoming clearer by the day that money which should have been spent on maintenance, security and modernisation has been consumed by corruption,” chamber president Janine Myburgh said on Tuesday.
“This is corruption of the worst kind and the people of Cape Town are feeling the pain,” she said.
Apparel Manufacturers of SA executive director Johann Baard said the Metrorail crisis would cause the death of the manufacturing industry in Cape Town. He said tens of millions of rand were lost annually.
“Employers suffer because retailers are cancelling orders or they take the order and impose penalties. Loss of production can’t be retrieved from workers. This is a highly competitive environment and requires a world-class transport system,” said Baard.
To add to the woes of Cape commuters, train drivers belonging to the United National Transport Union (Untu) have refused to operate trains on the busy Central Line used by commuters from areas such as Langa, Mitchells Plain, Khayelitsha and Nyanga.
The union, representing nearly 50% of Metrorail’s parent body the Passenger Rail Agency South Africa (Prasa) employees, called for the rail company to suspend Metrorail services in those areas until the Western Cape High Court ruled on the union’s application against the agency over the safety of its members.
