By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) chairperson Leonard Ramatlakane has been axed as chair and board member of the agency, the Department of Transport confirmed on Tuesday.
The department said, this followed an investigation by Prasa on the misuse of one of its properties in Cape Town by the chair without due and proper processes being followed.
Ramatlakane moved his family into a posh property belonging to the state-owned entity in the Cape Town suburb of Newlands. His own house had been undergoing renovations and extensions.
In a statement on Tuesday, Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga expressed her appreciation to the chairperson for his leadership and sterling work that led to the recovery of 13 rail lines by the entity, as part of its Rail Recovery Programme.
“This exceeded the target of 10 rail lines that were initially earmarked by PRASA for recovery. It is under Ramatlakane’s watch that PRASA was able to restore a sizable number of PRASA Rail services in various metros in the country, which has ensured that PRASA Rail reclaims its status as a mass mover of commuters in the Republic,” Chikunga said.
The rail lines and stations were hit by vandalists during the lockdown period and the Rail Recovery Programme was set up as a robust government response to that destruction.
The ministry said it is committed to a clean administration and governance across its entities.
Ramatlakane, who has chaired the failing passenger rail service since 2020, was given a deadline of 16 May deadline to make representations to Chikunga over the saga.