Pretoria - President Jacob Zuma says government will continue to improve the country’s public transport system.
This morning, as part of the Presidential Siyahlola Service Delivery Monitoring Programme, President Zuma undertook unannounced visits to various public transport facilities around Pretoria to assess, monitor the standard and state of public transport infrastructure.
President Zuma, who commenced his monitoring programme at Denneboom Railway Station in Mamelodi, was impressed by the new Tshwane rapid transit bus service, A Re Yeng.
“During this Siyahlola Programme, I have personally identified some positive improvements and serious challenges concerning our public transport.
“I am more concerned with the railway transport system because I have personally experienced and witnessed the challenges faced by our people and indeed a lot need to be done to improve our railway transport system.
“In Mamelodi, people told me that they were always delayed at work due to late arrival of trains and that the standard of safety and security was also a serious problem.
“Therefore, I will engage relevant government departments and institutions to swiftly deal with these problems so that more trains are provided to ensure that the situation is addressed immediately," he said.
At Denneboom station, commuters shared their daily challenges with the President, particularly on issues of train intervals as well as the standard of safety and security within the coaches and the station in general.
There was a general concern over constant train delays, which tended to lead to a number of people arriving late at work or school.
Commuters also appealed to President Zuma to improve the standard of security at the station and within coaches, adding that women in particular, schoolchildren and senior citizens were the most vulnerable with regard to criminal activities that occur daily within trains.
They further urged the President to intervene because there have been numerous community protests against these challenges, but there have been no improvements.
However, President Zuma assured the commuters that government departments as well as relevant state-owned enterprises will swiftly intervene to ensure that the situation was back to normal and that commuters were safe at all times.
After interacting with commuters at the Denneboom taxi rank, the President then proceeded to the new Nana Sita Tshwane Rapid Transit Bus station in Hatfield, where he boarded the A Re Yeng Bus to Skinner Street in the Central Business District (CBD).
During his State of the Nation Address, the President announced that improvement of transport system was one of the government’s nine point plans that aim to ignite economic growth and create jobs.
He also indicated that the infrastructure programme continued to expand transport networks and to improve roads, which augur well for economic growth.
He said R6 billion would be spent in 13 cities on planning, building and operating integrated public transport networks during this financial year.
President Zuma will continue with his Siyahlola programme to assess and monitor various government projects across the country.
He will particularly pay special attention to infrastructure and economic development projects to ensure the improvement of service delivery and the lives of all South Africans. - SAnews.gov.za
