Prasa blew billions

25 August 2015 - 02:03 By Sipho Masombuka

Looting of public funds on a massive scale by senior managers at the Passenger Rail Agency of SA was exposed yesterday when Public Protector Thuli Madonsela released her report on tender irregularities at the agency. More than R2-billion was found to have been misappropriated.Madonsela has called on the Treasury to investigate tender awards above R10-million made since 2012.She said her investigation had revealed a "culture of systemic failure to comply with [supply chain management] policies."This had cost Prasa millions of rands in avoidable expenditure and the preventable disruption of services.Madonsela said the withholding from her of tender documents by the agency's management raised suspicions of a corrupt relationship between top officials and the companies awarded the contracts.Madonsela said she had to force information out of Prasa officials - and some documents appeared to have been doctored.She said phone records could be examined to establish the links between Prasa officials and service providers.Madonsela fingered axed Prasa CEO Lucky Montana in six of the 19 instances of tender and financial impropriety mentioned in her report, which was titled Derailed.She found that Prasa had improperly:Extended the scope and value of a tender awarded to Siyangena Technologies to the tune of R1.95-billion;Extended the scope and value of a tender awarded to Siemens beyond what had been advertised and approved;Extended the contract of Vimtsire Security Services to the tune of R26.5-million;Paid R600000 to Enlightened Security before signing the contract;Appointed KG Media on a three-year contract to produce its Hambanathi publication at a cost of R16.7-million;Appointed Ndwandwe Consultancy at a cost of R10.8-million for "value creation and culture change process";Increased the scope and price of a marketing and communications tender from R12-million to R29.5-million;Awarded Edwin Lekota's Lekga Investment Holdings a R10-million contract for the development of a contingency emergency preparedness programme for Metrorail without a competitive process; andAwarded a R10.6-million contract to security company Futuris Guarding.Madonsela also found that Montana improperly terminated contracts of executives, resulting in fruitless and wasteful expenditure of R5-million; suspended employees, resulting in labour dispute settlements amounting to R3.35-million.Madonsela is investigating new allegations of corruption and financial mismanagement at Prasa.The National Transport Movement's deputy general secretary, Craig Nte, said his organisation would follow up on the criminal case against Montana opened with the Hawks in 2012.Last night Montana told eNCA that he plans to challenge Madonsela's report in court.He said the report was factually incorrect and selective...

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