Cape Town - Almost 10 months after the public protector confirmed she was investigating the causes behind the myriad failures of Metrorail in the Western Cape, there are still no findings.
Public protector spokesperson Oupa Segalwe said a preliminary investigation to determine the merits of the complaint and the manner in which the matter should be dealt with were at an advanced stage.
Segalwe said consultations had been held with the MEC for Transport and Public Works, City of Cape Town's Safety and Security Directorate, police, Railway Police and the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa.
City of Cape Town's Executive Director for Safety and Security, Richard Bosman confirmed they had met the Public Protector's Office as part of its investigation.
He said questions on the progress of the investigation should be directed to the Public Protector's Office.
Metrorail spokesperson Riana Scott said investigations into burning Metrorail trains were still under way, “this is being dealt with at the highest level”.
On August 29 last year, Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane received a letter from the provincial standing committee on transport and public works, requesting an urgent investigation into Metrorail.
The former chairperson of the standing committee, Nceba Hinana, instigated the probe. Hinana said he was waiting for the final report he had requested from Mkhwebane's office.
“So far I am happy about the investigation. The Office of the Public Protector met us and other stakeholders,” he said.
Transport and Public Works MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela's spokesperson, Ntomboxolo Makoba-Somdaka, said former MEC Donald Grant provided written input to the public protector during his term in office.
“I cannot confirm whether that was part of the investigation as opposed to someone that the public protector engaged with to gather information. We have no knowledge of how far the investigation is at this stage and no further correspondence or interaction took place with the ministry”.
While Mkhwebane's investigations into Metrorail go on, the specialised Rail Enforcement Unit, which was launched in October last year to combat attacks on the rail commuter service's infrastructure, is making arrests almost every week.
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