2 weeks Ago By Busi Chimombe
Home | GNU to prioritise SA’s railway system to curb consumer spending President Cyril Ramaphosa has acknowledged that due to households spending a large proportion of their income on transport, fixing public transport plays a big role in reducing poverty. Ramaphosa said this in today’s letter to the nation as the country continues to mark October’s Transport Month . He says the GNU is prioritising developing rail as the backbone of transport with the Passenger Rail Agency (PRASA) having restored 31 out of 40 priority rail corridors back to operation.
He adds that when the transport system works well, the cost of doing business is lowered and the country’s products and services are more competitive. The President has lamented the poor state of the transport system, saying Transnet, business and labour through the National Logistics Crisis Committee (NLCC) are working together to improve security, operations and capital investment with the aim that by 2029 the network will transport at least 250 million tons of freight a year. He says a master plan is being devised to develop high-speed rail over long distances as well as make use of new technologies including artificial intelligence, in areas like cargo tracking, passenger ticketing and securing critical infrastructure.
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