The Board at the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) has admitted to the rot within the procurement system at the rail service.
Board Chairperson Khanyisile Kweyama says it’s not a secret that Prasa has been thoroughly destroyed by corruption and maladministration.
Kweyama was speaking on Friday at a roundtable that discussed what they termed as “pertinent issues” at Prasa. These included the latest developments such as the war room that has been established, safety issues and ongoing investigations.
Prasa says its war room deals with issues of reliability, maintenance and proper contracts at the agency.
The board notes that since its appointment 18 months ago, it has been focusing on cleaning up the past.
At the same time, the Acting CEO at Prasa Nkosinathi Sishi has denied that he secretly negotiated an agreement that allows the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) to extract management fees in excess of R400 million for proposing and developing infrastructure projects for Prasa.
Earlier this week, the Daily Maverick ran an article that Prasa insiders have questioned the need for the project.
Sishi says any engagement he has had with DBSA has been with the approval of the board.
