PioTrans, the Johannesburg-based Rea Vaya bus company, has been placed under business rescue. The move was the result of an attempt last week by a creditor to repossess the company’s buses.
Senior Business Rescue Practitioner and Specialist Forensic Auditor Mahier Tayob says the company should have opted to be put under business rescue sometime ago.
Tayob announces plans to dissolve the current board and assume operational control of Rea Vaya, emphasising the need for accountability for those who benefited from the mismanagement of the system.
The senior business rescue practitioner adds that he’ll also ensure that those who were involved in the fraud and corruption in the company will be brought to book.
“Well, the current board, the previous board and everyone that have unlawfully benefited. In my opinion prima facie – there were absolutely no proper controls in place. There were agreements that were signed that made no commercial sense. And there were payments made that should not have been made and I intend to recover every single payment from every particular individual that was involved to the extent that I may even approach the court to hold these directors to be delinquent.”
PioTrans’ 12-year contract to operate the bus rapid transport system in the City of Johannesburg ended in January this year.
There have been complaints from commuters – about the unreliable bus service in recent months.
Tayop says PioTrans has been marred by problems, preventing the company from running optimally for quite some time now.
” It has been widely reported that there was maladministration, if not fraud, at PioTrans, and it is unfortunate because the company should have been the nominated choice a long time ago, and the directors were under a statutory obligation to either plan for business rescue and if not, inform all of the creditors in terms of a notice which we refer to as a Section 129 (7) notice, informing the creditors of the financial standing. If the period runs and the reason for not filing for business rescue notwithstanding this. We know a lot of credit as the court papers themselves describe the extent and I do not believe it is the true extent of the financial inability of the entity to pay its creditors. so business rescue, of course, is going to be the regime to try and rehabilitate the entity.”
Tayop says Rea Vaya bus services will continue without disruptions at the investigations and business rescue process takes place.
