JOHANNESBURG, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- In the last two years the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) has lost over R1 billion (about 69 million U.S. dollars) for trains burnt or vandalized, said the South African Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula on Wednesday.
Mbalula said this in Johannesburg while briefing the media after touring Braamfontein Prasa depot where trains were set alight last December.
"In over 2 years, almost R1 billion has been lost due to either train burnings, vandalism of power stations, public disorder, train collisions or floods. These costs peaked in 2019 at R364 million," said Mbalula.
He stated that they have appointed administrator Bongisizwe Mpondo to correct mistakes in the state-owned enterprise.
"Prasa has suffered blows from many years of mismanagement and deteriorating corporate governance. Today it is a broken organization, struggling to provide an efficient commuter and passenger rail service. consequence management must be prioritized,"he said.
Mpondo said he has unearthed many deficiencies in the organization which include no proper record keeping, no consequence management, and no back up system for Prasa.
"There is lack of capacity, management, operational order and duplication of work. We will be doing lifestyle audits for all employees,"he said, adding that 52 cases of current and former employees would be charged with corruption and they would ensure all those who committed crimes are brought to book.
