South African law firm, Webber Wentzel, has been appointed to investigate allegations of corruption at the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA).
This according to Transport Minister Barbara Creecy who made the announcement during a media briefing on Monday.
The allegations stem from media reports that a whistleblower had compiled a report detailing alleged corruption related to two tenders amounting to some R18 billion.
“These will be investigations which will include both the relevant officials named by the whistleblower as well as board members.
“We will look at all aspects: alleged procurement irregularities, alleged fraudulent payments. We will review compliance with bond security requirements, allegations of non-payment of 16 companies and also allegations of awarding unlawful contracts.
“The investigation will also assess compliance with the legal and regulatory frameworks in relation to the awarding of these contracts,” she said.
Creecy added that given the seriousness of the allegations, a preliminary report is expected to be produced within 30 days, “if not sooner”.
“[On Sunday] following a conversation with the chairperson of the PRASA board, I agreed that given that there are allegations against the board, I will receive the preliminary report and on the basis of the findings advise on what further action needs to be taken.
“It is important that this investigation takes place speedily so that if necessary, we can take appropriate remedial action and we can put this episode behind us,” the Minister said.
Furthermore, the Auditor General (AG) will conduct real-time audits of all large procurement processes at the entity.
“Real-time audits are a mechanism that the [AG] can implement during or immediately after a procurement process to prevent and detect weaknesses in controls and to report on these findings in a very short space of time.
“It is the intention going forward that PRASA will adopt this system to enable the accounting officer to take corrective measures to protect resources and prevent fraud or wastage and ensure that programmes rolled out, as designed, benefit…our passengers,” Creecy said.
The Minister added that the seventh administration has singled out the recovery of the rail passenger system as an important objective.
“It is important that the board, management and workers of PRASA continue to focus on the recovery of priority lines, the rehabilitation of stations and the renewal of signalling so that we can increase train slots and thereby ensure that our passengers get to work and to school cheaply, safely and on time.
“Over the past two and a half years, important work has been done by PRASA to restore train services on 31 out of 40 priority lines to rehabilitate hundreds of stations vandalised during the COVID-19 pandemic. We must continue this work so that PRASA’s passengers can get the rail system they deserve,” Creecy said. – SAnews.gov.za
