Johannesburg - The head of the beleaguered Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa on Friday said the parastatal would not be derailed by its recent troubles.
Chief executive Nkosinathi Khena said the agency remained unfazed by the public protector’s report which is due to be released on Monday and that it would adhere to any recommendations.
Khena also announced the dismissal of the chief engineer, David Mthimkhulu, who was found to have falsified his academic qualifications. This was part of the parastatal’s attempt to clean up its ranks.
“Mthimkulu resigned when he found out that he was being investigated, but his resignation was declined. He failed to attend his disciplinary hearing and has been officially dismissed,” Khena said.
Khena said: “We are hoping there won’t be too many issues to deal with when the report is released on Monday. If issues of corruption and malpractice arise, we will deal with them appropriately.”
He was addressing the media during a briefing at Prasa House in Hatfield on the suspension of seven senior employees.
They were found to have convened an unauthorised gathering which, the parastatal has equated to an “unprotected strike”.
“This gathering and the statements made during media interviews are issues for disciplinary action and Prasa has subsequently suspended the seven staff members, identified to be at the root of these regrettable actions and utterances,” Khena said.
He said only 70 people took part in the protest this week, which is only a small portion of the agency’s 18 000 employees and did not reflect the view of the majority.
“The seven that are suspended are located in Prasa’s organisational hierarchy, they are at about fifth and sixth levels of management.
Among other issues brought up at the briefing was the investigation under way to clean up the parastatal through an academic verification and skills audit.
“Today we can put it on public record that Prasa is in the middle of an intensive investigation which includes forensic and legal enquiries.
“The auditor-general’s findings highlight weaknesses in areas which include supply chain management, human resource management and irregular expenditure.”
Khena also said investigations were under way to get to the bottom of Wednesday’s derailment in Kimberley, involving one of the controversial multimillion-rand Afro 4000 trains. The train was travelling from Joburg to Cape Town.
“We haven’t received the preliminary report on the investigation yet. But one thing is certain, work had been done (on the line) by Transnet,” Khena said.
Meanwhile the Federation of Unions of SA general secretary, Dennis George, along with the United National Transport Union will meet Prasa’s chairman, Popo Molefe on Monday to discuss the challenges faced by the parastatal.
“Prasa plays an important role in the South African economy, enabling 3.9 million people per annum to commute to and from work, thus it is critical to ensure that reasonable measures are put in place to provide for the safety of rail commuters,” George said.
Saturday Star