Farmers hit railways with big claims for dead cattle

James Hall MBABANE Ð Swaziland Railways is sick and tired of farmers using their right of way to graze cattle. A record 200 head of cattle have been killed by trains thus far this year, causing lengthy delays because wire fences erected to prevent trespassing on rail lines are regularly stolen. Gideon Mahlalela, CEO of Swaziland Railways, saw red when farmers submitted compensation claims to his office for cattle killed while they roamed or slept on tracks. "We should not be paying them, they should be paying us! Our service is disrupted, our customers face delays, and our investment in fence infrastructure is gone, sometimes overnight," he said. At a community meeting near the rail head Sidvokodvo, one farmer complained he had lost 72 head of cattle to the trains. He is demanding compensation. When asked by FTW why he could not find a herd boy in an area with high unemployment, he replied he could not afford the expense. When it was pointed out that at a value of R1500 per cow, his lost investment was worth over R100 000, while the sale of two cows would likely pay a herd boy's annual wages, FTW was told to mind its own business. Mahlalela said the railway would continue to hold community meetings to instruct farmers on the need to keep track fences in place, and cows off the right of way. "The rural economy depends on cattle and the national economy depends on rail service. We need to recognise our common ground," he says.