Prasa adamant it will have a new boss before end of the year

The Passenger Rail Agency of SA [Prasa] has assured parliament that it will have a new group CEO before the end of this year.

Prasa board chairperson Leonard Ramatlakane and transport minister Fikile Mbalula told parliament’s standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) there was nothing stopping the agency from hiring a new administrative boss.

“In terms of the law and everything else, I don’t think there is anything that stands before us, that would prohibit us from moving ahead with the employment of a group CEO,” said Mbalula.

He said even though the previous CEO Zolani Matthews, who was fired last year, is challenging his dismissal, in terms of the law there was nothing that says this board cannot employ a new CEO.

“I have been briefed by the chair that that process has been undertaken, and in my radar I wanted that to be done and dusted by now.”

Ramatlakane added that the agency was continuing with a headhunting process after it could not find a suitable candidate from a recruitment process it undertook earlier.

“By the end of this year, we would have recommended a suitable GCEO to be appointed,” said Ramatlakane.

The Sunday Times reported this week that Matthews had warned that the recruitment drive for his replacement was illegal — and that he has threatened legal action. Matthews was axed on the pretext that his dual South African/UK citizenship prevented him from obtaining security clearance.

In April, retired judge Robert Nugent ruled after an arbitration that dual citizenship was not a problem and that Prasa should reinstate Matthews. 

But before Matthews could set foot in his Johannesburg office, Prasa fired him again — this time for “non-performance”, a decision the agency’s board said it had taken on November 29 2021 but had not told him about because it chose to axe him in terms of security clearance reasons.

Matthews’ lawyers, Harris Nupen Molebatsi Inc, warned Prasa’s legal representatives De Swardt Myambo Attorneys last week that its search for a new CEO was unlawful and threatened legal action.

“Until the enforcement of the arbitration award is stayed, or the award is set aside by a competent court, it is final and binding on the parties,” said Matthews’ lawyers.

Prasa has approached the labour court to appeal the arbitration ruling, saying the reinstatement order should not be enforced pending the review. Matthews’ lawyer, Peter Harris, said Prasa “cooked up a different reason” to fire his client. 

Ramatlakane told Scopa there was a panel made up of five board members and chaired by Smanga Sethene, that is in charge of the interview process. The panel will report to the full board when it concludes its process, which will then recommend a candidate to the transport minister.

Ramatlakane repeatedly told the committee this will happen in the calendar year of 2022.

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