Prasa forks out R1-million a year on bodyguards for fired CEO

The Passenger Rail Agency continues to pay more than R1-million a year for bodyguards to "protect" its disgraced former boss, Collins Letsoalo.

This despite Prasa having more than 100 of its own security officers who could provide this service.

Letsoalo was axed five months ago after he awarded himself a 350% salary increase.

Prasa's former chairman, Popo Molefe, who admitted he gave Letsoalo permission to hire the guards, said it was temporary.

Since his axing, the bodyguards, who were hired permanently, have been sitting idle at Prasa's headquarters.

According to their contracts, signed by Prasa's human resources head, Pearl Munthali, they are each paid R670,120 a year.

They were hired after Letsoalo suspended Prasa's security head, Mkhuseli Matakata, in August 2016, when he refused to approve the assignment of Prasa bodyguards to Letsoalo when he attended a family event in Limpopo in 2016.

Molefe yesterday expressed shock when told the guards had been permanently employed.

"I was consulted by Letsoalo ... I simply said it should be a temporary measure. He had no business to appoint full time people when he knew that he was seconded [to Prasa] for a limited period.

"[Their appointments] is rubbish. It was not in the company structure. If there was a threat, they should have taken security from inside the company."

Molefe said Munthali had signed off on the appointments after he told Prasa's head of security, Joseph Makhura, about the threats.

Neither Makhura nor Munthali responded to questions.

Letsoalo was seconded to Prasa by then Transport Minister Dipuo Peters. He was fired in February after a board decision following the controversy around his salary increase.

Letsoalo said: "I was not involved in the appointments. It was done by the head of security with the chairperson (Molefe)."

Asked if his life was still in danger, Letsoalo said: "Why are you asking me that? Why don't you ask Popo Molefe, who signed for their hiring? There's nothing called 'wasteful expenditure'."