If you're looking for a job, Prasa is hiring.
The rail entity has started a massive recruitment drive to hire 3100 security guards in a bid to protect its rail infrastructure and other assets.
Prasa administrator Bongisizwe Mpondo said: “Employing our own security personnel will give us greater control of the protection of our network and assets.
“We have a responsibility to do all we can to protect the public infrastructure as acts of vandalism and theft become worse.”
He said the agency intended to give preference to qualifying mense residing in communities near Prasa’s rail network.
Mpondo said as the economy shed jobs as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, Prasa - as a state-owned company - had a responsibility to ensure that where it made business sense, it must provide employment to citizens, reports the Cape Argus.
The country’s railway lines had been under siege over the years, which also affected Prasa’s profitability.
Mpondo said his plan was in line with Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula’s nine-point mandate which he set out for the administrator when he took over last year.
JOBS: Bongisizwe Mpondo
Mbalula welcomed Prasa’s plans saying: “Security-related incidents continue to escalate unabated. Cable theft, the burning of trains, general disturbance of order and vandalising of Prasa property has become the order of the day.
“The insourcing of security at Prasa is a critical element.”
United Commuters Voice (UCV) spokesperson João Jardim said they were aware of the recruitment drive, but says the root of the problem remains.
“In the midst of all these new jobs and the shedding of the previous security companies, UCV again asks the question: where is the copper by-law?”
Cape Argus