The board of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) has been ordered by Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula to take decisive action against corruption and mismanagement through efficient consequence management.
“This covers the Swifambo and Siyangena contracts, as well as other contracts that have previously been flagged as questionable.
“Wherever corruption has been detected, such as the insurance scam that management has revealed, these must be probed, and prompt action must be taken,” Mbalula said in a statement on Thursday.
44 employees were found to have engaged in wrongdoing during the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) examination into irregular contracts at PRASA, and consequences management was advised in this regard.
Considering that 11 of the implicated workers have since resigned and are no longer working for PRASA, PRASA has since taken the following actions against them.
Thirteen cases are currently undergoing various stages of the disciplinary process;
one employee was fired; one resigned;
four received final written warnings of 12 months;
one received a warning of six months;
one is currently on suspension;
eleven employees were found not guilty;
and one employee did not receive disciplinary action because there was no justification for it.
“Three senior executives were accused by the Zondo Commission in the shady Siyangena contract.
One of these employees has subsequently left PRASA’s employ, another left before disciplinary action could be taken, and one has since been fired,” the Minister stated.
Six top executives are undergoing discipline in relation to the Swifambo contract.
The Public Protector’s “Derailed” report served as the foundation for the Werkmans investigation, which discovered additional irregularities and forwarded them to the SIU for additional investigation.
The SIU findings led to the involvement of five workers. One of these fired employees was one of the four who had insufficient proof.
The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration (CCMA) reinstated one of the fired employees, but PRASA is asking the labour court to examine the decision.
Four employees were fired as a result of the Public Protector’s “Derailed” report, but the CCMA reinstated two of them.
Ghost employees
The Minister demanded that the Operation Ziveze head count be finished, the ghost workers found removed from the payroll, and the responsible officials punished.
PRASA started Project Ziveze to physically check every PRASA employee.
“After 3 000 employees were found whose employment could not be authenticated, their salaries were frozen.
Since the salary freeze, additional workers from the previously unverified pool have come forward.
“A forensic study into the conceivable ghost employees and how they got into the payroll system is currently under progress.
Action would be taken against individuals accused after the forensic investigation is finished, the Minister stated.
Requisite Supply Chain Management capacity, according to him, needs to be established urgently to make sure that tender adjudication follows the rules and that procurement processes are not hampered by capacity issues.
The Minister urged the board to quickly fill open positions, notably the Group CEO position.
Drones and armoured vehicles must be deployed in the designated routes as part of the complete implementation of the approved security plan, according to Mbalula.
Various passageways are undergoing repair and reconstruction.
The PRASA reconstruction and recovery work in various Gauteng corridors was the subject of an oversight inspection by the Minister on Wednesday.
In relation to a number of places selected as priorities for the recovery of commuter rail routes, the Minister recognised the substantial progress made by PRASA.
“The initiative for corridor recovery is moving forward steadily.
To help those who depend on commuter rail for their livelihood, this effort needs to advance at a faster rate.
Since then, services have resumed on five of the ten priority corridors.
“In Gauteng, the Vereeniging to Union lines and the Mabopane and Saulsville lines to Pretoria are presently in service.
The Southern Line to Simonstown, the Cape Flats line, and the Northern Corridor between Cape Town and Bellville are all in use in the Western Cape.
The Central Line’s unlawfully occupied sections are scheduled to reopen next week, according to early plans.
Services on the Merebank to Durban and KwaMashu to Durban lines have resumed in KwaZulu-Natal.
“Services in Gqeberha and East London in the Eastern Cape have resumed utilising diesel locomotives.
Three lines on the Naledi-Johannesburg, Johannesburg-Leralla, and Pretoria-Pienaarspoort lines have been temporarily closed for substantial repairs as order to expedite the infrastructure rehabilitation work in some of the priority corridors, the Minister stated.
The timelines for the return of service are still on track as long as these projects continue to move forward.
By the conclusion of the calendar year, PRASA has pledged to reopening the 10 priority corridors.