GOOD press statement by Brett Herron,
GOOD: Secretary-General & Member of Parliament
08 May 2022
After telling Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) on 22 March 2022 that PRASA had stopped paying 3000 ghost workers on its payroll last December, Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula now says the ghost workers are still being paid.
Replying, on Friday 6 May 2022, to written questions from GOOD MP Brett Herron, Mbalula said that PRASA’s Chief Financial Officer had yet to be instructed to stop salary payments to the ghost workers.
This was because the state-owned rail company was still busy conducting internal verification processes, he said.
The Minister further revealed that PRASA has not attempted to establish whether any of the ghost workers are employed elsewhere by the state, although this could be simply verified by engaging with the Department of Public Service and Administration.
Briefing SCOPA in March, Mbalula created the impression that under his and a new Board’s leadership long-ailing PRASA was effectively being managed back to its feet.
He said the ghost workers were discovered through the efforts of the new Board to clean up maladministration. The Board had instituted a special programme called Operation Ziveze (“show yourself”) which required all of PRASA’s 17 000 employees to come forward and show their managers who they are and what they do.
According to Mbalula, the operation uncovered 3000 “employees” who did not exist. He told SCOPA, “you have people who can’t come forward and account for where they work. It’s clear you are dealing with a scam”.
Mbalula said PRASA had stopped paying the salaries of the identified scamsters in December, and no one had come forward complaining about not being paid.
Sounds decisive. But regrettably, this doesn’t seem to be true.
PRASA is in deep crisis due to sustained poor management and significant revenue losses resulting from broken and/or stolen infrastructure. Fare revenue has plummeted as commuters have shifted to road-based modes of public transport.
PRASA cannot afford to pay salaries to thousands of people who don’t work for it, and South Africa can’t afford members of the executive misinforming parliament rather than fixing the rot.
After identifying people fraudulently receiving salaries, allowing the scam to continue is reckless and wasteful.
The salaries of the ghost workers should have been stopped immediately, as SCOPA was informed had happened.
The PRASA Board must immediately stop making these payments, and begin the tasks of holding members of staff responsible for the fraud accountable and recovering the stolen money.
The Minister must clarify the discrepancies in his story. Misinforming parliament’s watchdog committee is an ethical breach.
Media enquiries:
Brett Herron, GOOD: Secretary-General & Member of Parliament
Cell: 0825183264
Email: bretth@forgood.org.za
Samkelo Mgobozi, GOOD: Media Manager
Cell: 0792315977 (WhatsApp)/0829684021 (calls)
Email: samm@forgood.org.za