Controversial transport department boss Collins Letsoalo says justice will be served if he is allowed to intervene in a court application by the axed board of the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa).
Letsoalo’s lawyer‚ Advocate William Mokhari SC‚ said not only will Letsoalo’s intervention assist the court but would also afford him an opportunity to deal with damaging allegations made against him in an affidavit submitted by former Prasa chairperson Popo Molefe.
Mokhari told the High Court in Pretoria on Friday that‚ given the public interest in the matter‚ Letsoalo’s name will be tarnished if he was not allowed to intervene to set the record straight.
“The intervention application is not just to clear his name but to give correct facts. He must deal with allegations that pertain to him‚” he said.
Mokhari said Letsoalo was the agency’s acting Group CEO at the centre of the whole saga‚ saying the question was why he was not cited as a respondent in the matter.
“If they agree that the matter is in the public interest‚ why are (the applicants) opposing his intervention application? The application causes no harm to anyone but enriches the court‚” he argued.
He submitted that in the interests of justice‚ the court must exercise its discretion and allow Letsoalo to intervene.
But David Unterhalter‚ for the former board‚ disagreed and said Letsoalo had no direct and substantial interest in the matter.
He said the fact that Letsoalo had relevant evidence to assist the court was no basis on which a party could seek intervention.
Unterhalter said Letsoalo sought no relief in his application.
“He seeks no relief‚ there is no relief sought against him‚” he said.
He submitted that Letsoalo's application was ill founded and should be dismissed with costs.
Judge Peter Mabuse is expected to rule on Letsoalo’s intervention application when the case resumes this afternoon.
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