The Democratic Alliance (DA) will bring the matter of alleged gang connections in the renewal of the Cape Town Central line by Passenger Rail Authority of South Africa (PRASA) to Parliament, where the Minister of Transport will be called to account before the relevant Select Committee.
The DA notes with grave concern the allegations that alleged gang boss Ralph Stanfield and his wife Nicole Johnson may have benefited from security contracts linked to reconstruction of the Cape Town Central Line. The DA also fully supports Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis’ call for an investigation and suspensions at PRASA, for this serious matter.
PRASA is yet to take the public into any form of confidence on this matter, which is why as the DA’s Western Cape Permanent Delegates of the NCOP, it is our duty to take this matter forward in the NCOP.
If these allegations are proven true, it would confirm what communities on the Cape Flats have long warned: organised crime is not only terrorising neighbourhoods through shootings, drug wars, and extortion, but is increasingly positioning itself to profit from rebuilding critical public infrastructure.
The Central Line, operated by PRASA, is the heartbeat of commuter corridors in the Western Cape. Hundreds of thousands of residents rely on it daily to access work, education, and opportunities. Any criminal infiltration into projects aimed at restoring this vital rail corridor threatens not only the recovery of commuter rail but also the livelihoods of those who depend on it.
These allegations are even more troubling when viewed alongside ongoing questions about governance failures inside PRASA, including the controversial multibillion-rand signaling contract awarded to Maziya General Services for rail modernisation projects. Reports of irregular payments and weak oversight linked to this tender raise serious concerns that procurement failures at PRASA are creating opportunities for criminal networks to infiltrate infrastructure projects.
What is being alleged mirrors a deeply troubling pattern seen across the construction sector in the province: organised crime networks destabilise communities through violence and intimidation and then insert themselves into infrastructure projects as the so-called “security solution”, effectively profiting from the very instability they helped create.
This matter will now be pursued through the relevant Select Committee in the National Council of Provinces tasked with oversight over the Minister of Transport, who will be summoned to account for the governance and procurement practices of PRASA, including the vetting of contractors, subcontractors, and security providers linked to rail recovery and signaling projects.
At the same time, the fight against gangs is being undermined from within the South African Police Service. The Anti-Gang Unit continues to be weakened under the leadership of Western Cape Provincial Commissioner Lt Gen Thembisile Patekile, while gang violence devastates Cape Flats communities.
Communities on the Cape Flats deserve better than compromised policing and infrastructure projects vulnerable to criminal capture. The DA will continue to push for expanded Western Cape provincial and City of Cape Town municipal powers over both transport and policing so that the Western Cape can properly protect its people, its economy, and the infrastructure on which people depend