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Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) board members and executives, Department of Transport (DoT) officials, and Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula were in for a grilling from Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) when they were called to account for the sorry state of the national commuter rail agency on Tuesday.
Scopa chairperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa (IFP), Bheki Hadebe (ANC), Sakhumzi Somyo (ANC), and Alf Lees (DA) showed no tolerance for empty answers. Hlengwa said that the performance of Prasa and the department at the committee hearing did not inspire confidence and that the attitude displayed by “certain people” was “of serious concern”. Lees said he was “gobsmacked by the clear lack of urgency”.
Image: @MolotoMothapoNews Prasa Group CEO, Zolani Kgosietsile Matthews.
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula has officially introduced the new Prasa Group CEO, Zolani Kgosietsile Matthews, to the nation.
He made the announcement in Nyanga, Cape Town, in the Western Cape on Saturday.
The state-owned Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) has not had a permanent CEO since 2015 and Mbalula says Matthews’ appointment signals a positive change.
The rail agency has been dogged by fraud and financial mismanagement problems over the past 12 years, which Mbalula says, were pronounced in 2015/16. “Irregular expenditure stood at R4.1 billion alongside fruitless and wasteful expenditure of R541 million,” he says.
Zolani Matthews appointed as new Prasa Group CEO netwerk24.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from netwerk24.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.