Prasa: maladministration, impropriety, and failure

[schumi]

She's one of the few public servants with credibility and ability.

Heard another twat phone into 702 earlier today moaning about how she's attracting controversy and not going about the "processes" correctly, as if he would know what to do.

He essentially complained that those implicated in her reports don't get a chance to criticise her work in the media before the report is released.

As far as I know they were allowed to approach her with their submissions , http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Madonsela-delays-release-of-Prasa-report-20150722

Unless the caller meant publicly,but that would not make sense

 

[OrbitalDawn]

As far as I know they were allowed to approach her with their submissions , http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Madonsela-delays-release-of-Prasa-report-20150722

Unless the caller meant publicly,but that would not make sense

Yeah, Redi Thlabi specifically called him out on that and said they are approached for submissions, and he whined about it not being public.

 

[schumi]

Nothing in Prasa report based on a hunch - Madonsela

Amanda Khoza , News24

Durban - Public Protector Thuli Madonsela has voiced her disappointment at former Prasa CEO Lucky Montana’s decision to challenge her findings in court.

Addressing the media after delivering a keynote address on Women’s Month at the University of KwaZulu-Natal on Tuesday, Madonsela said Montana had earlier expressed a very different view in a letter to her.

The report into the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) entitled Derailed was released on Monday and Madonsela implicated Montana in maladministration at the parastatal.

In an interview with Talk radio 702 on Tuesday morning, Montana reportedly said Madonsela was not the judge.

He said he planned to take the matter to court so it could be reviewed and set aside.

Madonsela said Montana wrote to her after she released her provisional report.

"I am disappointed that he has changed his tone because he came and read the report in our office, and eventually took a copy.

"In his letter he wrote to me, he said he was happy with the report. He had one or two things that he wished we could have handled differently. He undertook to comply with the findings and remedial actions... so I am surprised that he has taken a different tone."

However, Madonsela said this was consistent with what she faced while she was conducting her investigation.

"One thing was said and [it contradicted] another that was said. The narrative he would send us would say one thing and the document supplied would say another story.

"I am sad, but the investigation is continuing and the fact that he no longer works for Prasa doesn't change things, because he still resides in the Republic of South Africa."

She said her office would still be communicating with Montana and he was free to further engage with them to understand how she arrived at the findings and the remedial action.

"Where we say [in the report] this went wrong, we indicated how it went wrong. Secondly we also say where Prasa had done well. And the third approach was if there was inconclusive evidence we said that there was inconclusive evidence.

"None of the evidence was found on a hunch. It was based on the evidence we had," said Madonsela.

News24
Source
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Nothing-in-Prasa-report-based-on-a-hunch-Madonsela-20150825

 

[schumi]

DA lays charges of corruption against Montana

Genevieve Quintal, News24

Johannesburg - The DA is convinced that axed Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) chief executive Lucky Montana must face the courts following the release of the public protector's report into allegations of maladministration.

This prompted DA leader Mmusi Maimane to lay charges against Montana and other functionaries at Prasa in Cape Town on Thursday.

"Having studied the report of the public protector, the Democratic Alliance is of the considered view, that there is a prima facie criminal case that needs to be investigated, to which Mr Montana must answer for in a court of law," Maimane said in a statement after laying the charges of corruption.

He said the charges were laid in terms of section four of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act. The act relates to public officers.

In Public Protector Thuli Madonsela's report, entitled Derailed, she found evidence of widespread maladministration and impropriety in the awarding of tenders worth R2.8 billion at Prasa.

Montana was widely implicated in the report.

In 2012, the SA Transport and Allied Workers’ Union reported allegations of corruption and tender irregularities at Prasa to the public protector.

Montana has said he will go to court to challenge Madonsela's report.

Madonsela said she was disappointed about Montana’s decision to challenge her findings in court.

Madonsela said Montana wrote to her after she released her provisional report. He said he was happy with the report and undertook to comply with the findings and remedial action.

Maimane claimed on Thursday that Montana used Prasa finances like it was his "personal piggy bank" and cancelled and rewarded tenders on a whim, which contravened laws and regulations.

"Mr Montana therefore directly allowed and, in fact, facilitated maladministration, corruption, conflicts of interest and financial mismanagement on a large scale," he said.

News24
Source
http://www.fin24.com/Economy/DA-lays-charges-of-corruption-against-Montana-20150827

 

[schumi]

Popo Molefe: Prasa has started cleaning-up process

Pretoria - Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) board chairperson Popo Molefe said on Thursday the board of Prasa is impelled to take the "necessary measures" about the irregularities listed in the public protector's report.

At last month's release of the findings of her report entitled 'Derailed' into maladministration at the state-owned enterprise, Public Protector Thuli Madonsela said she had received 32 complaints against Prasa. Most of them involved maladministration relating to tenders totalling R2.8bn.

Madonsela found 19 complaints were substantiated. Another three would be the subject of future reports.

Axed CEO Lucky Montana was widely implicated in Madonsela’s report, which followed an investigation after the SA Transport and Allied Workers Union in 2012 reported allegations of corruption and tender irregularities at Prasa.

According to the report, the complaints were principally levelled against Prasa management and Montana.

Molefe said on Thursday the board has already begun addressing the report's findings, and has committed itself to cooperating with the second part of the public protector's report.

He said the Prasa board has directed management to strengthen supply chain management structures and to find an experienced chief procurement officer.

He also said Prasa is considering legal steps regarding some of the remedial action recommended by the public protector. "We will deal with some of the employees implicated in irregularities and wasteful expenditure," he told a media briefing in Pretoria.

This is all part of the "cleaning-up process" the board has begun to enhance good corporate governance at Prasa.

Fin24
Source
http://www.fin24.com/Economy/Popo-Molefe-Prasa-has-started-cleaning-up-process-20150903

 

[schumi]

Prasa board 'shocked' by Public Protector's report

Thomas Hartleb, News24

Pretoria - The board of the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) is shocked by the Public Protector’s findings of large-scale maladministration at the parastatal, its chairperson said on Thursday.

“We are a new board. We only became aware, seriously, of the Public Protector’s investigation in March this year, even though it started in 2012,” Prasa chairperson Popo Molefe told reporters in Pretoria.

It received formal documents relating to the report on March 15, six months before Thuli Madonsela released her report, entitled “Derailed”.

Asked about the difficulties Madonsela’s office had in getting information from the Prasa, Molefe said the requests went through fired chief executive Lucky Montana’s office.

“He was the only one who communicated with the office of the Public Protector. Whether those employees wilfully withheld information is unknown to us,” he said.

Madonsela’s report implicates Montana in several cases of maladministration and tender irregularities. She recommended that disciplinary action be taken against him.

Molefe said Prasa had asked National Treasury to send it a chief procurement officer and was looking at its supply chain management systems in a bid to fix its problems.

A qualifications audit would also be undertaken after its human resources department apparently let some employees “fall through the cracks”.

Chief engineer Daniel Mthimkhulu resigned recently after his academic qualifications were found to be nonexistent. Molefe said another individual had since been identified who claimed to have a doctorate, which appeared to be fraudulent.

Prasa is considering legal steps regarding some of the remedial action Madonsela mentioned in her report. It is taking disciplinary steps against employees implicated in wasteful and fruitless expenditure.

Madonsela found that 19 of the 32 complaints against Prasa were substantiated. There was a "systematic failure" to comply with supply chain management policies and a culture of hiding information.

News24
Source
http://www.fin24.com/Economy/Prasa-board-shocked-by-Public-Protectors-report-20150903

 

[schumi]

3 separate probes launched into Prasa's conduct

CAPE TOWN - Transport Minister Dipuo Peters says there are three separate probes into maladministration and improper conduct at the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa).

She's told the National Assembly that when the time is right, action will be taken.

In her report titled 'Derailed', Public Protector Thuli Madonsela found the parastatal guilty of financial mismanagement in the awarding of tenders, many involving former CEO Lucky Montana.

Peter's told MPs yesterday that a forensic probe has been commissioned into various aspects, including maladministration and improper conduct by Montana and any other Prasa employee or board member.

http://ewn.co.za/2015/09/10/Three-probes-launched-into-Prasa-conduct

 

[Gordon_R]

Thread necro. Four years later, seems to be hard to get the contracts set aside. Long read:

SCORPIO: Payment freeze could leave Prasa without attorneys in R6bn court battle

The beleaguered Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa will be in court early 2020 to try to set aside questionable contracts worth almost R6-billion. If Prasa loses this case, it would have to settle almost R3-billion in unpaid invoices from a dodgy contractor linked to Zuma benefactor Roy...

www.dailymaverick.co.za

 

[grok]

Sorry tl;dr..

Because Zuma has made a mockery of the NPA everyone else thinks they can too.

Can this country get any more broken.

2019: Here, hold my beer..

 

[Eniigma]

Prasa: maladministration, impropriety, and failure

I have a great idea... lets start a new state run shipping entity.

 

[Sarg3_ZN]

Viva ANC, Viva!
Viva BEE, Viva!

Don't come here with that tendency of undermining the spoils of the struggle. Amanda! Viva!

/s

 

[Gordon_R]

Thread necro (again). Some progress:

SCORPIO REPORT: Prasa wins court battle over multibillion-rand Siyangena contracts

SA’s cash-strapped rail agency won a key case against Siyangena Technologies with which it had been locked in a battle around contracts made without proper authorisation. The contracts had been signed off only by former group CEO Lucky Montana when they should have been signed off by the board...

www.dailymaverick.co.za

On Thursday 8 October, the Gauteng High Court set aside the contracts between the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) and Siyangena Technologies. The ruling by judges Lamont, Rualinga and Hughes also pointed out the need for state resources to be used for the advancement of social and economic rights and not for the advancement of corrupt officials and business people.

Between 2011 and 2014, Siyangena was contracted to create video installation services, automated gates and fire detection services at Prasa, of which some work had already been done. Siyangena had links to businessman Roy Moodley, who had links to former president Jacob Zuma. But allegations would later emerge that this contract was tailor-made for the company by then group CEO, Lucky Montana.

Good luck getting any money back:

In another order handed down, an engineer must be appointed to examine the work done by Siyangena and file a report to the court on the value of the work. According to the judgment, if the work done by Siyangena is valued at more than the money it was originally paid, Prasa must pay the excess of the value determined by the engineer. On the other hand, if the engineer finds the value of the work completed by Siyangena is less than the valuation, Siyangena must pay Prasa for the excess.

 

[TheChamp]

Siyangena loses appeal over R5.5bn Prasa contracts

Supreme Court of Appeal upholds ruling that the company was complicit in corruption, impropriety and maladministration regarding a security access management system

www-businesslive-co-za.cdn.ampproject.org

I almost forgot that there is someone called Lucky Montana, he must be feeling very uncomfortable wherever he is.

 

[RonSwanson]

And what about Pawpaw Molefe?

 

[TheChamp]

And what about Pawpaw Molefe?

What about him?