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The Railway Safety Bill’s objective of ensuring that rail becomes a preferred mode of transport and contributes to economic development has been welcomed by residents of Musina Local Municipality in Limpopo yesterday.

A majority of the residents who spoke during public hearings on the Bill in Musina, told the Portfolio Committee on Transport that a safe and effective railway service will benefit small business in the area and also boost the planned new city for the Musina-Makhado special economic zone. The committee was in Musina Local Municipality yesterday to afford the residents of Musina and nearby communities an opportunity to express their views on the Bill.

Small traders and small-scale farmers said the availability of a reliable and safe railway transport will provide cheaper means of transporting products between their hometowns and the big cities in the country.

Other people said they welcomed the Bill because the old legislation, which will be repealed through this Bill, did not prioritise black people to participate in the rail industry, forcing them to rely on moving their goods by road which is very costly. There were however also concerns about the threat of load-shedding to the operations of the railway system, as well as theft of cables and other railway line equipment.

The Railway Safety Bill, which is currently subjected to a national public consultation process by the committee 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.

Today the committee held public hearings in Makhado Local Municipality and invited all the interested citizens and organisations to attend and comment on the Bill.

Everybody has a right to participate to the formulation of legislation. “We want to hear from the citizens about what amendments to add or remove from the Bill,” said committee Chairperson Mr Lisa Mangcu.

Issued by the Parliamentary Communication Services on behalf of the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Transport, Lisa Mangcu