Public Protector Thuli Madonsela has found widespread evidence of maladministration, improper conduct, and nepotism at the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa.

Here is a list of 10 of the 32 complaints Madonsela investigated and which she found were substantiated. A total of 19 were substantiated. Her report, released on Monday, is entitled “Derailed”.

1. Prasa improperly extended a tender awarded to Siyangena Technologies, worth R1.95bn, to install high-speed passenger gates at the Doornfontein and Nasrec train stations. The tender was extended beyond the advertised scope, in violation of Prasa’s supply chain management policy.

2. Prasa improperly extended a tender worth R256m, awarded to Siemens, to install a communications system. It was extended beyond Gauteng to the whole country. This constituted maladministration and improper conduct.

3. Former Prasa CEO Lucky Montana acted in breach of the Constitution and Promotion of Administrative Justice Act in terminating the contracts of seven cleaning companies in 2012.

4. Prasa’s Chris Moloi awarded a tender worth R3.7m to security company Sidas Security without a tender process being followed. Prasa’s failure to act against him constituted maladministration and improper conduct. Madonsela could find no evidence that the appointment was made on Montana’s instruction.

5. Prasa improperly appointed media company KG Media to produce its Hambanathi Magazine. The contract from 2012 to 2015 was worth R16.7m. Montana acted in bad faith when he extended it for another three years, for the same amount. This was while he was aware of a finding of maladministration regarding Hambanathi.

6. Montana improperly appointed Joel Chimanda’s company AR Chimanda Consulting as a special adviser at a cost of R2m.

7. Montana suspended seven employees without following proper disciplinary procedures, resulting in fruitless and wasteful expenditure. Subsequent labour dispute settlements cost Prasa R3.5m.

8. Montana terminated the services of five executives between 2008 and 2013 without following proper procedures.

9. Prasa incurred fruitless and wasteful expenditure by paying rent for the Intersite Building. It vacated it 10 months before the lease expired.

10. Prasa improperly awarded a R3.8m tender to develop Johannesburg’s Park Station to ARUP, a company associated with a Prasa board member. – News 24.

Source: News 24 wire