Rail Union, UTATU SARWHU, calls PRASA’S announcement that it is about to sign a deal with the French-based company, ALSTOM, to build a R2bn train factory at Ekurhuleni ‘a national sell-out.’ “It makes no sense to go to that enormous expense when Transnet Engineering (TE), an established state-owned enterprise with a proven record in locomotive and carriage manufacture, can meet the challenge,” says Steve Harris, the Union’s General Secretary. “The extra capacity that Transnet Engineering (TE) would need in order to meet PRASA’S new carriage requirements could be achieved at around half the cost,” Steve Harris argues. To back his statement, Steve Harris points to Transnet Engineering’s partnership with China South Railway building 95 new locomotives for Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) and its past record in creating and refurbishing carriages for such specialist trains as the Blue Train and Phelophepa One and Two and PRASA. “We know the Minister will claim that the ALSTOM deal will create jobs. But many of those jobs will not be real new jobs. They will more than likely fill positions with Transnet Engineering (TE) employees who government has made redundant. It simply does not make economic and job creation sense to render State workers redundant in order to suit the needs of a private investor. The money that would be saved by giving the PRASA work to Transnet Engineering (TE) would be better spent creating genuine first-time jobs elsewhere. “Another disturbing aspect of the ALSTOM deal is the silence that has surrounded it. Our Union had an appointment to discuss rail matters with PRASA’S Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Mr Lucky Montana, on June 26. He postponed that meeting on three successive occasions. It still has not taken place. If he was about to sign a straightforward deal that benefits the country, he would surely have been happy to share that information with us. “We call on the Minister of Transport, Mr Ben Martins and Mr Lucky Montana to explain to the nation in clear and simple terms why government’s proposed ALSTOM deal is in the best national interests and why it was so secretly concluded,” says Steve Harris. “Word on the shop floor is that Transnet Engineering (TE) never had a hope of getting the business because it is not in a position to fuel funds into ANC coffers. In his government’s own interest, Minister Martins needs to convincingly squash that kind of rumour which seems to be surfacing all too often these days,”
Posted on: Tue, 09 Jul 2013 13:04:02 +0000
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