Acting Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa CEO Collins Letsoalo‚ has dismissed claims that he increased his own salary by 350%‚ saying they were part of a smear campaign.
Letsoalo addressed members of the media on Monday after the Sunday Times reported that he insisted he be paid the same as former Prasa head Lucky Montana.
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Letsoalo‚ who remains an employee of the transport department‚ was seconded to Prasa by Transport Minister Dipuo Peters last year to turn the agency around‚ after Montana stepped down amid allegations of corruption and maladministration.
In her secondment letter Peters said Letsoalo's pay package of R1.3 million would not change. He would‚ however‚ receive a 12% "acting allowance"‚ the Sunday Times reported.
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Letsoalo on Monday said that his salary would return to R1.3 million when he returns to the department‚ but that the R5.9 million he was earning at Prasa had been approved by the agency's board.
Letsoalo read out a letter from the board‚ stating its pleasure at his acceptance of the offer to act as group CEO. The letter also states that Letsoalo will be paid the annualised salary rate applicable to the position.
Letsoalo sought clarity from the group's general manager of remuneration and benefits Bongani Nkomo‚ who wrote back with confirmation that the remuneration package for group CEO is about R5.9 million.
The Sunday Times also reported that Letsoalo demanded a chauffeur-driven car and a company cellphone with unlimited calls and that he fired acting group executive for human capital Bhekani Khumalo in an alleged dispute over the salary increase.
Letsoalo denied these claims and said he was being targeted by those who sought to undermine the work he was doing at Prasa.
"I will fight this corruption in Prasa. I will fight this nepotism in Prasa. We have hard-working men and women in Prasa. I want to say to them more is coming‚ but we must never deviate from the cause.
"People must seek to report what is truthful and not raise issues that really don't exist‚" he said.
Letsoalo said he was a "proud‚ incorruptible public servant" and that he was determined to leave Prasa in a better condition than he found it in.
"There's a lot of people‚ like myself‚ that get attacked for trying to do the right things."
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