Public protector Thuli Madonsela would consider a request by the DA for an investigation into the controversial e-toll collecting contracts in Gauteng, Jack Bloom, the party’s caucus leader in Gauteng, said yesterday.
In a letter to Bloom yesterday, Madonsela said the matter he had raised would be assessed to establish jurisdiction and merit, among other things.
Last Thursday, Bloom wrote to Madonsela, saying according to reports, there were allegations of links between Swedish firms involved in the arms deal and the Vienna-based Austrian company, Kapsch TrafficCom, the largest shareholder in the Electronic Toll Collection consortium.
He said Swedish Kapsch TrafficCom was previously part of the Swedish manufacturing company Saab Aerospace, which sold 28 Gripen jet fighters to South Africa in the arms deal.
Meanwhile, the SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) announced yesterday that Koos Smit, an engineering executive at Sanral and a long-standing member of its executive management team, had been appointed acting chief executive of the agency.
This follows the resignation of chief executive Nazir Alli on Monday. Sanral’s board stressed yesterday that Alli was not asked to resign and the decision “was his own choice”.
No reasons have been given for Alli’s departure.
Tembakazi Mnyaka, the chairwoman of Sanral’s board, said yesterday that the board had taken note of speculation around the reason for Alli’s resignation, adding that Alli had not elaborated on factors that influenced his decision in his letter of resignation.
Mnyaka said while acknowledging the pressure on Sanral in recent times, the board did not believe it necessary in the circumstances to try to explore with Alli “his personal deliberations and reflections”.
“We can be certain, however, that this was Alli’s own choice. He was not asked to resign. In fact, in the recent performance assessment of the chief executive, the board assessed him as well above average in his performance,” she said.
Mnyaka said it was widely acknowledged that Sanral’s record of delivery under Alli had made it one of the best performing state-owned enterprises for a number of years.
The agency had also been independently named an employer of choice for two consecutive years, she said.
“We believe this decision of a chief executive with a long record of service and achievement should be respected rather than interrogated.”
The debacle around the planned implementation of e-tolling and subsequent temporary court interdict obtained to halt its implementation is widely believed to have been the catalyst for the resignation.
The Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance and Cosatu expressed more confidence about a resolution being found to the impasse over the implementation of e-tolling because of Alli’s resignation. Wayne Duvenage, the chairman of the alliance, said Sanral was likely to become more engaging and more embracing and willing to listen after Alli’s departure.