₦airaland Forum

Hundreds of foreigners camp outside UN offices, demand to leave SA
FacebookTwitterEmailShare
Thursday 10 October 2019 - 2:33pm


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRXJdcOqqgs
https://www.enca.com/news/hundreds-foreigners-camp-outside-un-offices-demand-leave-sa

Hundreds of foreign nationals have been camping outside the UN Refugee Agency in Cape Town - many of them since Tuesday. They say they want assistance to leave South Africa, as they no longer feel safe here. Courtesy #DStv403
CAPE TOWN - Dozens of foreign nationals on Wednesday camped outside the Cape Town offices of the UN refugee agency demanding to be removed from South Africa, saying they were no longer safe.

Around 250 foreigners, many claiming to be asylum seekers from various African countries, vowed not to leave the premises until the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) addressed their concerns.

Wrapped in blankets, women and children lay on mats, while men paced up and down, according to AFP journalists.

IN PICTURES: Refuge for fleeing foreign nationals
"We are here because we want the UN and other organisations to help ...refugees, to take us somewhere safe," Radjab Mugemangango 47, a Rwandan Uber driver, told AFP.

"There is no peace in South Africa, it’s not safe!" said an emotional Mugemangango.
In August and early September, the country saw a wave of xenophobic violence that left 12 people killed, most of them South Africans, when mobs descended on foreign-owned stores in and around Johannesburg, destroying properties and looting.

South Africa is a magnet for economic migrants searching for better job prospects and asylum seekers looking for safety.

The continent's most industrialised economy attracts people from neighbouring Lesotho, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

READ: The toxic cocktail that fuels South Africa's xenophobia
Others come from farther afield including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria and South Asian countries.

Seen as competing with locals for jobs, they are often the first to come under fire when South Africa's chronic unemployment, inequality and poverty boils into xenophobic outlash.

"They are saying foreigners are taking our jobs, ... foreigners are taking our women," said Papi Sukami, from the DRC.

WATCH: Nigerian nationals flee South Africa
"Everywhere we are facing discrimination, there is no dignity for refugees in this country. We are tired," said Sukami, pleading with the UNHCR to "find peace for us".

UNHCR officials were no immediately reachable for comment.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari last week denounced recent xenophobic violence in South Africa as an "embarrassment" for the continent, as he wrapped up a state visit here.

The violence sparked fury in Nigeria and saw hundreds of migrant workers repatriated.
Source
AFP

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/zuma-pleads-with-commuters-dont-burn-new-metrorail-trains-20170509


Zuma pleads with commuters: Don't burn new Metrorail trains
2017-05-09 16:02
Alex Mitchley, News24
New train. (SA Government via Twitter)
New train. (SA Government via Twitter)
Multimedia · User Galleries · News in Pictures
Send us your pictures · Send us your stories
What To Read Next


Commuters left stranded as Azalea taxi protest deepens


Judge’s reasoning on Zuma’s decision to reshuffle was political, says ANC


Alleged gang leader wounded as underworld war escalates
Related Links
Dipuo Peters served with 'absolute distinction' - Mthembu
Illegal power connections disrupt Cape Town rail services
Trains, taxis go extra mile as bus strike leaves commuters stranded
Pretoria - During the launch of the new Metrorail passenger trains, called the "People's Train" in Pretoria on Tuesday, President Jacob Zuma urged all commuters to not vandalise trains.

"We have experienced shocking incidents in this country where people burn trains because they arrived late at the station and made them late for work. That is too drastic and is totally unacceptable," said Zuma outside the Pretoria station.

Zuma said acts of vandalism and serious crimes such as the burning of trains and cable theft undermined the efforts of improving the quality of life for all who use Metrorail services.

In 2016, a number of Metrorail passenger trains were vandalised and burnt in Gauteng and the Western Cape.

"As we hand over such infrastructure, we appeal to our people to handle it with care. These are your trains. Look after them so that they can carry you for many years to come."

Modernisation

The launch of the New Metro Commercialised Full Train Service forms part of a government's transport modernisation programme and massive infrastructure development that will cost R173bn according to Zuma.

Zuma said government is investing significant amounts of money to improve the way South Africans travel and that R51bn has been spent on new trains as well as R4bn on new hybrid locomotives.

The modernisation is expected to include the upgrading of depots, upgrading of signalling and overhead lines, railway tracks and platform correction.

As part of the programme, Prasa has already refurbished 291 Metrorail and 298 Shosholoza Meyl coaches, in addition, 27 stations have been upgraded nationally, said Zuma.

Twenty of the new Metrorail trains were built in Brazil and are fully operational, while a remainder of 580 trains will be built in Nigel on the East Rand, said Minister of Transport Joe Maswanganyi.

Maswanganyi claimed that the manufacturing of the trains and upgrading infrastructure would create at least 8 000 jobs.


He said is their target was to complete the 580 passenger trains by 2025, but that they would continue building trains as long as there was a demand.

Prasa currently has 585 train stations and a total fleet of 4 735 coaches, with an overall staff complement of 18 207, according to Zuma.

Zuma said the investment in this modernisation programme by government will ensure that we change the rail landscape of our country.

"The handing over of this world class train today, the People's Train, indicates that the days of having an uncomfortable, unreliable, and unsafe rail service must become a thing of the past," said Zuma.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NWTdXh-viI

First X’Trapolis Mega EMU arrives in South Africa

The Test Train No 1, or T1 as it is known, has arrived at Pretoria’s Wolmerton Depot, 18 months after Prasa and Gibela Rail Transport Consortium reached a financial close.

Prasa Board Chairman Popo Molefe said the 2013/14 financial year saw Prasa commence its R172 billion investment in the “acquisition of modern state-of-the-art passenger trains and the support infrastructure over a period of 10 years.” This investment will replace the current Metrorail rolling stock and meet future rail demands.

T1’s arrival “signals the start of our journey to modernise passenger rail infrastructure and services” through Prasa’s Rolling Stock Fleet Renewal Programme.

Transport Minister Dipuo Peters said that transport was one of the key pillars in the National Development Plan and added that government was “committed to the transformation of passenger rail infrastructure and in ensuring that rail becomes the backbone of public transport and a mode of choice for the multitudes of our people who depend on affordable, reliable and safe public transportation”.

Molefe said the programme was “aimed at replacing the old Metrorail train fleet over the next 20 years at PRASA’s Wolmerton Depot”.

He said: “T1 has been specifically built as a test train where all key testing will be done” over a seven-month period.

T1 has been specifically built as a test train which means that it will not have any of the normal commuter train fittings such as chairs but will have all its electronic panels exposed and basic structural fittings will be marked for ease of reference during testing and all the data gathered from the tests will be used to validate the train safety, design and performance parameters.

A second test train was scheduled to arrive in 2016.

“We are in the process of building modern rolling stock that will form the backbone of a world class metro service that is safe, reliable, and affordable,” Molefe said.

The new fleet would “meet future rail demands” and would also be designed with universal access features to provide accessibility for people with disabilities, have a 40-year design life and a black box data recorder among other features.

The first 20 trains would be built in Brazil and the remainder in South Africa at a new facility.

T1, Molefe noted, is the first train to be built out of a planned 600 trains which would be configured as “six cars per train to be able to transport 1,346 passengers.”

The new facility, Molefe said, would form “part of a manufacturing hub in Ekurhuleni in line with Government’s Industrialisation Plan” which would see the “promotion of local skills and industry development”.

https://www.jacarandafm.com/news-spo...st-new-trains/

2sex:
what's wrong with you people? Do you know how much people pay in develop world's?

Go figure

Its funny how you are quick to make the above statement without doing any research, please refer to the link below in order to educate yourself.

N:B you are also very right about developed world , but let me remind you "Nigeria is not a developed country nor its any close to being such".

I am not advocating for MTN or any company to break laws and regulation ,all i am trying to say is the word "Reasonability" needs to be applied before coming with any fine/penalties which in this case it did not happen.


http://www.marketwatch.com/story/5-of-the-biggest-corporate-penalties-ever-2013-09-27

lookandlaff:
they should pay the fine in full o! if they want to leave let them leave, others will take their place but we know and they know they can't afford the leave their biggest market.


They should suck it up and behave themselves in future.


you break the law you pay, BP, Volkswagen, it's the same all over the world it's only here that we negotiate and get sentimental. The fine is punitive for a reason, if you keep negotiating down fines, every company then feels they can break the law and negotiate with us, then companies start making decisions based on financial opportunity/ fine as opposed to compliance with the law.

excessive fines (for those who feel it's excessive) are meant to discourage reckless behaviour thats why in law there is something called punitive damages.

Its amazing how you are quick to point out other incidents of fine , however do enlighten me how much did Shell pay again as fine for the oil spill which destroyed nearly an entire community ? , and again how did the oil spillage clean up operation went? . The amount of hate exerted towards SA company is just staggering.

I am so disappointed that this movement did not get any support from our fellow African Countries.

Pretoria - There will be no increase in university tuition fees for 2016, President Jacob Zuma said on Friday.

"We have agreed that there should be a zero increase," Zuma said in a televised address.

His address comes after a meeting with student leaders and university officials following a nationwide protest against increased fees.

Thousands of students had travelled from around Pretoria and Johannesburg to attend the demonstration, which gradually degenerated into violent scenes at a fence erected on the south lawn separating the students from the Union Buildings.

The protesters had demanded that Zuma speak to them outside the Union Buildings, however Zuma elected to speak to the nation from inside the buildings.

It was unclear whether he would still address the protesters.

Students who had come to protest peacefully were overshadowed by a minority of students at the fence, many of them wearing T-shirts bearing the branding of the Economic Freedom Fighters, the SA Students Congress, ANC Youth League, and the Pan Africanist Movement of Azania.

Those at the front of fence antagonised riot police by tearing down the fence, and throwing stones, bricks and other objects at police and even media.

Police used stun grenades, tear gas and a water cannon to disperse some of them.

CityNG: When we celebrate half baked schemes, we cannot hope to catapult ourselves to our place in the world.

Nigeria, I continue to weep for us.

With our vast resource and support from Shell, why are we not able to do better than this? We are comparing ourselves to ordinary Morocco?

Totally agree with you on this one.University of Johannesburg Solar car,designed and built by students...