Montana flouted tender processes – Madonsela
Her report claims shocking abuse of tax money by fired Prasa boss
AXED chief executive officer of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa), Lucky Montana, should face disciplinary action for flouting the supply chain management policies, costing the agency millions of rand.
In a report titled “Derailed”, released by Public Protector Thuli Madonsela yesterday, Montana was implicated in maladministration and improper conduct in connection with the awarding of tenders to companies under questionable circumstances.
But Montana hit back at Madonsela in an interview with e.tv, saying her report was ridden with factual inaccuracies and was inconsistent with the application of law.
He said he had instructed his lawyers to challenge the report in a court of law.
In 2012, the National Transport Movement (NTM) lodged complaints relating to allegations of maladministration, improper conduct involving procurement irregularities, conflict of interest, nepotism and human resource mismanagement. The report listed 32 allegations, but only 19 of them have been substantiated.
NTM secretary-general Ephraim Mphahlele said: “We believe that the public protector’s report has vindicated us. We want to appeal to the board, minister and the acting Prasa chief executive to fully implement the public protector’s recommendations.
“In the instances where tenders were awarded irregularly, the money used there should be recouped,” Mphahlele added.
The complaints were initially made by the SA Transport and Allied Workers Union, but it subsequently withdrew them. The union has since publicly voiced its support for Montana, calling for his reinstatement.
At the media briefing, Madonsela said some allegations would be dealt with in the second report she is likely to release in six months.
Montana allegedly took a leisure trip to Cape Town with female companions on the Blue Train, and they returned on an SAA flight costing R170 000. Madonsela said evidence regarding the allegation was inconclusive and would be dealt with in her second report.
Madonsela said her investigation was hamstrung by the fact that Montana was the only contact of communication at the agency. She said some information furnished by the agency was in doubt. Some documents were without signatures and undated, she added.
Seven employees were suspended without following proper procedures, which eventually cost the agency R2 million during the suspension period.
Montana was also found to have improperly terminated the services of five executives, and the agency subsequently paid labour dispute settlements amounting to R3.8 million.
ANC Youth League presidency contender Pule Mabe was also implicated in the report, after Madonsela found that his company KG Media was illegally appointed to publish newsletters for the agency.
There were no other competitive bidders for the tender, according to the report, and Mabe’s company was paid R33.5m. Madonsela said Montana acted in bad faith, saying his actions were inconsistent with the constitution.
Montana appointed a company called Change Management Consultancy improperly when he didn’t ask for three quotations from suppliers in the agency database. Madonsela said his act constituted improper conduct and maladministration. The consultancy was paid a total of R10.8m.
One tender was awarded to a consortium called Umjanji, which didn’t exist at the time the tender process was started.
According to the report, the agency continued to pay for the building in Braamfontein, Joburg, for 20 months after vacating it prior to the expiry of its lease agreement and without exercising its option of subletting.
Agency acting group chief executive officer Nathi Khena said: “Prasa will be studying the contents of this report over the coming few days and will, at the appropriate moment, communicate its views and related actions.” He added that the agency was awaiting legal opinion about the prospects of recovering funds from former employees accused of falsifying their qualifications.
Board chairman Popo Molefe said he wasn’t in a position to comment on the report until after it has been presented to the board and they had properly considered its contents.
Madonsela advised the board to report particulars of alleged financial misconduct to the National Treasury and the Auditor-General.