The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) notes with deep concern the announcement by Transport Minister Barbara Creecy inviting private partners to invest in South Africa’s passenger rail system. While the government frames this as a “modernisation” drive, it is in fact another step in the privatisation of public transport under the Operation Vulindlela agenda, the same neoliberal programme driving the concessioning of ports, harbours, electricity generation, and water infrastructure.
A betrayal of the working class
South Africa’s working class does not need profit-driven operators in control of its public goods. It needs a safe, reliable, affordable, and fully public transport system that connects workers from homes to workplaces, schools, hospitals, and communities. Instead of reinvesting in PRASA and rebuilding state capacity, government is once again outsourcing responsibility to private capital.
This path has already shown disastrous results:
● Eskom’s so-called restructuring has led to soaring tariffs and prepaid
systems that punish the poor while guaranteeing profits for Independent
Power Producers.
● The Gautrain, a heavily subsidised project, has become a symbol of elitist
mobility luxurious for a few, unaffordable for the majority.
● Ports and freight concessions under Operation Vulindlela have prioritised
commercial interests over national development and working-class needs.
Privatisation will make public goods unaffordable
Privatisation of essential infrastructure inevitably leads to cost recovery through user fees, not social investment. When profit becomes the motive, service quality for the poor declines and fares increase to satisfy shareholders. This model has failed across the world, from London’s privatised rail system to African water PPPs that collapsed under debt and inefficiency. South Africa’s rail system should be rebuilt as a strategic public asset, fully funded and managed in the public interest. Instead of inviting private investors, government must:
1. Invest directly in PRASA and fix vandalised infrastructure.
2. Re-employ skilled rail workers and insource all maintenance and security
functions.
3. Integrate commuter rail, bus, and taxi systems under a single publicly-
controlled, subsidised transport network.
4. Reinstate the state’s planning and technical capacity eroded by austerity
and outsourcing.
5. Redirect Operation Vulindlela resources into public ownership and
democratic control, not private enrichment.
SAFTU’s demand: Public transport for people, not for profit
Public transport is a constitutional and developmental right, it should never be treated as a commodity. The working class already bears the brunt of collapsing infrastructure, long commutes, and high transport costs that consume up to 40% of their wages. SAFTU rejects any move to privatise rail, ports, electricity, or water under the guise of “partnerships” or “efficiency”.
We call on all transport unions, commuters, and community organisations to unite under the banner of “People Before Profits, Defend Our Public Services”, and to resist the creeping privatisation agenda being smuggled through Operation Vulindlela.
A Statement was issued on behalf of SAFTU General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi
For media inquiries, contact the National Spokesperson at
Newton Masuku at:
Newton@saftu.org.za
0661682157
