The costs of security at state-owned enterprises Transnet and Prasa are increasing significantly. Parliamentarians and the two rail agencies are looking at solutions to the problem.

The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) spends R1-billion a year to protect its infrastructure, group CEO David Mphelo told Parliament on Wednesday.

Mphelo led the Prasa team at a joint meeting of the parliamentary oversight committees on transport and public enterprises, where it appeared alongside the Department of Transport and the freight agency Transnet, to discuss the state of SA's rail infrastructure.

The country's rail network, which both Transnet and Prasa use, is in a vulnerable position due to extensive theft and vandalism. Both agencies have to beef up security efforts, which leads to additional spending.

Transnet CEO Portia Derby told Parliament that during the current financial year, Transnet had lost 1,500km of cables to theft. By comparison, in 2015 it lost 128km. Transnet has to pay for the replacement of the cables, said Derby.

She said that Transnet spent R1.5-billion on security in 2022. The costs had "significantly" increased since 2018, when Transnet spent R1-billion on security.

Derby said there had been a "few" instances of Transnet staff being involved in...