Prasa will continue probe into mismanagement – regardless of cost‚ says Molefe

30 August 2016 - 18:18 By Khulekani Magubane
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former Prasa board chairperson Popo Molefe. File photo.
former Prasa board chairperson Popo Molefe. File photo.
Image: Photo by Gallo Images / Foto24 / Deaan Vivier

Prasa board chair Popo Molefe told Parliament's portfolio committee on Transport that the passenger rail agency would forge on with investigations into mismanagement at the agency‚ regardless of the cost‚ which stands at more than R80m.

A storm has been brewing between the agency's leadership and Minister of Transport Dipuo Peters over how best to respond to allegations of tender-related fraud and transactions which the ANC is alleged to have benefited from.

The committee was apparently vexed by Prasa leadership's decision to brief them strictly on the agency's annual performance plan as well as its budgetary review recommendations report for 2015‚ whilst the row over the allegations brewed on.

 Molefe wants the investigation into deals which are said to have been approved on former CEO Lucky Montana's watch whilst Peters has pushed to stop the probe over its exorbitant costs.

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Members of the portfolio committee pressed Prasa on the mismanagement of the lucrative deals and how the agency hoped to stop itself from losing billions more in other projects.

Molefe told the committee that the Werksman investigation was not budgeted for but that the agency would continue looking to find means to fund. He did not budge from his affidavit that R80m from a Prasa deal may have wound up in the coffers of the ANC.

Portfolio committee member for the ANC Leonard Ramatlakane asked Prasa if they had a budget for the investigations which were under way and where the agency hoped to get the money. Acting Prasa Group CEO Collin Letsoalo stressed to the committee that the agency would release its turnaround strategy by the end of October this year‚ which would address past leadership failure.

"We seem to have a Montana problem in Prasa as if we are not here. We are here now and we are doing things so we must move on. We want to focus on Prasa and take it forward. Does Prasa have engineers? Good‚ competent ones? Does Prasa have good finance people? Excellent ones‚" Letsoalo said. He asked that the committee desist from judging Prasa by its past leaders and their actions. (With Andiswa Maqutu)

- TMG Digital/BDlive

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