The chairperson of Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) Mkhuleko Hlengwa has called for some finality with regard to the relocation of shack dwellers on the central railway line in Cape Town.
The line between Nyanga and Cape Town was closed for about three years after people built shacks on the railway line. The line is only partially running between Nyanga and Maitland because negotiations are continuing regarding the relocation.
Members of the committee and officials from the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) made a follow up on-site visit to various communities on the Cape Flats that have established themselves on the central railway line.
Hlengwa called on all stakeholders to bring solutions to the table.
“This situation is not sustainable, its not viable, risk on number of fronts, including health. The longer you keep this situation in current form, the greater the impact in future will be and greater cost to the taxpayer, money which the country doesn’t have,” Hlengwa elaborates.
