Johannesburg - Former Prasa chairperson Popo Molefe is determined to fight the dissolution of the board all the way to the courts, as the battle for the control the agency heats up between him and Transport Minister Dipuo Peters.
Molefe was on Saturday night expected to file court papers asking that the board be reinstated. Peters on Wednesday dissolved the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa board during the portfolio committee on transport, where the board was appearing to report on the ongoing problems besetting the parastatal. The dissolution was precipitated by the sacking of acting chief executive Collins Letsoalo over the alleged hiking of his salary by 350 percent.
On Saturday night, Molefe made it clear that he wanted his job back, indicating that he would file legal papers to pursue the matter. This would include serving Peters with an urgent court interdict seeking to block her from appointing a new board for the parastatal.
On Friday the axed board, through their lawyer Vlad Movshovich, wrote a letter to Peters demanding that she assure them that no further appointments would be made. The board also gave the minister a deadline of 7pm on the same day to reply, which Peters had since missed. In a letter to Molefe’s lawyers, the Transport Department said the minister was given short notice to reply to the letter and would only do so next week. It said a meeting still had to be set up with Peters.
Meanwhile, former CEO Lucky Montana yesterday vowed to tell the truth about Molefe. Montana, who insisted he was no longer disgruntled after investigations against him were conducted in 2012 by the public protector over his conduct and financial mismanagement at the parastatal, said the chickens had finally come home to roost.
“I wanted to leave Prasa quietly without a fight and offered to help before I left Instead, Popo Molefe appointed Werksman et al to pursue me like wild dogs. I decided then to fight back,” he said.
Montana promised to spend the next three months relentlessly exposing what he called a fraudulent Molefe and the “powerful forces or 'dogs' behind him”.
To make his point heard, the former rail agency boss has also vowed to unleash explosive information regarding his court review application against the Prasa Report tabled by former public protector Thuli Madonsela, which he previously said lacked legal basis and substantive evidence.
“I’ve been subjected to dogs Popo Molefe broke the law when he hired attorneys to investigate me and for people to follow me over two years and break into my house. How can he do that to me?”
Montana added: “I nearly shot and killed people. I’ve reported the fact that I was constantly followed to the police. I’ve reported it to the security minister and nothing has been done. I’m not going to allow another man paid by Popo Molefe to come for me and my family. I’m going to shoot whoever I come across. I’d rather be arrested because the state has failed to protect me,” he said.
On the dissolution of the board, Montana said while he welcomed Peters’ decisive action, she also has to shoulder responsibility for the problems that afflicted Prasa.
“She knew what she was doing when she brought Molefe, (Willem) Steenkamp and (Zodwa) Manase on board. She made a mistake, a big mistake,” he said.
By Saturday night, Molefe was still consulting with his lawyers over his intention to serve the minister with a court interdict.