MEC for Community Safety, Dan Plato, is offering a R100 000 reward for any information that leads to an arrest and conviction of last week’s train arsonists.
On Friday, three trains were set alight in Mbekweni in Paarl, Firgrove and at Cape Town stations. The fires are believed to be acts of arson and have affected thousands of commuters.
Plato says: “These [arson attacks] leave Metrorail with only 47 coaches to service the entire Cape Town rail network. The network requires close to double 88 coaches [that] to function optimally.
“This seemingly deliberate and co-ordinated attack on the backbone of transportation in the city cannot be left to continue.”
Plato says the R100k is available to anyone with info leading to the prosecution of those responsible for the train fires and adds that no one has ever been convicted on arson attacks on the rail service.
“I remind the law-abiding citizens of the province the R100 000 reward still stands for anyone with info which could see the positive arrest and prosecution of those responsible.
“The SAPS in the province continue to investigate these incidents, but in the last 10 years have only been able to secure two arrests and zero convictions relating to arson attacks on trains in the City of Cape Town,” he says.
Plato is adamant that with the help of the community, acts of arson and other vandalism on the rail service can be curbed.
“Safety is everyone’s responsibility and we all need to help the police if we are to arrest and convict those responsible for sabotaging our critical transport infrastructure in the city.
“I hope the R100 000 will encourage those who know who is responsible to come forward. Those responsible have to face the full might of the law,” he says.