“We are fixing an organisation whilst the train is in motion, and we cannot afford to fail,” says Zolani Matthews, the chief executive of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa).
Matthews briefed the media on Tuesday after his first 100 days in office. Matthews, who was appointed in March, became the first permanent chief executive following the departure of the controversial Lucky Montana in July 2015.
But as soon as Matthews was appointed he courted controversy: news organisation
GroundUp reported that Matthews was too old to take up the job in line with Prasa’s own retirement policies, but this was dismissed by both Prasa and Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula. Prasa board member advocate Smanga Sethene, who oversaw the appointment process, called this a “fishing expedition of note”.