Johannesburg - The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa said on Friday that it had placed 12 senior officials on suspension over allegations of gross misconduct.
Prasa administrator Bongisizwe Mpondo, who took over the troubled state owned company in December, has been tasked with establishing a system of consequence management.
Prasa spokesperson Makhosini Mgitywa said the suspensions of the 12 officials were in line with the administrator's mandate to ensure good governance.
"The suspensions are in line with the Administrator’s commitment to ensuring good governance, as well as the eradication of corruption and fruitless and wasteful expenditure by various employees throughout the organisation.
"The action is also a response to repeated damning findings by the Auditor-General and the Public Protector. Some of the suspensions arise from ongoing investigations by the Special Investigating Unit, into contracts and payments made by PRASA from 1 January 2010 to the present, with a view to uncovering corruption," said Mgitywa.
The cash-strapped rail agency is going through a cash-flow crunch that has depleted its operational budget and further led to the company failing to pay suppliers and creditors.
"Prasa's dire financial position is in part due to irregular expenditure amounting to billions of rand under the watch of successive Boards and the Executive. The suspended employees span across the various business units, regions and departments in Prasa," said Mgitywa.