By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula says Prasa has saved about R200 million through a project to verify employees on its payroll system as its preliminary investigation shows about 1,480 “employees” vanished from the payroll system.
Mbalula provided an update on Project Ziveze, which is an employee verification process, on Monday.
The project was launched last year after irregularities were uncovered within Prasa’s information and communications technology (ICT), human resource and payroll systems.
Addressing the media on Monday, Mbalula said Prasa employees were initially asked to come forward on a voluntary basis in order to be verified during phase one of Project Ziveze.
Only 14 268 of the 17 268 recorded employees on the state-owned entity’s payroll system, however, presented themselves for verification, according to the minister.
“During the same period, 1 159 employees resigned,” he said.
“The preliminary investigation revealed that 1 480 employees either cannot be physically verified and their files or documentation are non-existent, while others resigned without the necessary supporting documentation at the start of the project. The investigation also revealed a number of instances where ID photos do not match the face of employees. This has triggered further investigations,” Mbalula said.
The investigation concluded that the root cause of these findings are:
- Incorrect data capturing of employee information, resulting in a corrupted employee database.
- Weaknesses in the PRASA’s ICT system.
- Weaknesses in PRASA’s internal control environment.
“As a consequence of the developments to date, the next steps include taking urgent action to address the findings and challenges identified to date,” the Minister said.
These include:
- A forensic investigation that will conduct a deep dive on critical issues flagged in the preliminary investigation.
- A Digital fingerprint and Photo ID verification process with the assistance of the Department of Home Affairs. This exercise is currently underway. The completion of this exercise will then enable PRASA to freeze the salaries of those flagged.
- Digitisation of files and supporting documents.
- Clean up of the employee database.
- Employees who submitted fraudulent qualifications will be served with letters to explain themselves within 48 hours from today, failing which stricter action will be taken in line with the applicable prescripts.
- Criminal charges will be laid against those who have committed fraud.
“Through Project Ziveze, we have been able to save PRASA approximately R200m since the inception of the project in November 2021. Our efforts must translate into PRASA becoming a truly credible and ethical organization, that prides itself of its professional ethos and robust governance systems,” the Minister said.”