Prasa stands firm on R14bn probe

THE Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) has stuck to its guns by continuing to probe a R14 billion tender despite earlier attempts by Transport Minister Dipuo Peters to block it.

Prasa chairman Popo Molefe told MPs yesterday that he had held discussions with Peters on Monday evening and she had agreed that the investigation, by a law firm, should continue.

He said there was deepseated rot at Prasa and they wanted to get to the bottom of it. The findings of the Auditor-General and Public Protector Thuli Madonsela last year into corruption at Prasa were just the tip of the iceberg.

Molefe told MPs that Peters was concerned about the cost of the investigation, but the probe by the law firm would continue.

“We had to take a range of issues raised by the Auditor-General. In the process, this case became much bigger than we thought, revealing much bigger things,” said Molefe.

He was briefing the portfolio committee on transport on its programmes when MPs posed tough questions on the TODAY, the new municipalities get their first equitable share payment from the national government.

Today’s payment will be the first since the August 3 elections and is a total of R1.458 billion. The equitable share is normally paid in three instalments, in July, December and March, but because the election was held after the municipal financial year started, an extra payment date – today – was added.

But that extra payment date doesn’t mean extra money, as the total amounts each municipality receives remain the same as set out in the Division agency’s poor performance.

But Molefe declined to comment on his affidavit in court that R80 million had been channelled by one of the contractors of the multibillion-rand tender to the ANC.

ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe yesterday denied that the party had received the R80m.

The money had allegedly come from the suppliers of locomotives.

Molefe told MPs the matter was now in the hands of the courts.

He said his affidavits on the channelling of the funds and on corruption were based on a decision to challenge some of the contracts.

“We have two major applications before the courts,” said Molefe. “This is not a negative story in the media, it is a positive story that Prasa is firm in dealing with fraud and corruption,” he added.

“These matters were raised in the State of the Nation Address and the Budget, and (it was stated) in the recent election campaign that we deal with corruption,” he said.

Molefe said there was close collaboration between the Hawks and the National Prosecuting Authority in this investigation on tender irregularity.