The SA Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu), one of the largest unions at embattled rail operator Prasa, says it welcomes the decision to fire Leonard Ramatlakane as chair and a board member of the state-owned enterprise.
His dismissal should serve as a deterrent to those who misuse state resources, Satawu said on Tuesday.
The transport department said Ramatlakane’s axing followed an investigation by the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) into the misuse of one of its properties in Cape Town by the chair, where due and proper processes were not followed.
The Sunday Times reported in March that Ramatlakane, a former chair of the transport portfolio committee in parliament, 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.
Satawu general secretary Jack Mazibuko said the Cosatu affiliate “appreciates” the decision taken by transport minister Sindisiwe Chikunga in fighting against “corruption and dishonesty in the department”.
“This should rather be a lesson to those who continue to misuse the state resources instead of advancing the lives the poor and the working class,” Mazibuko said.
“Ramatlakane’s misconduct is against what the union stands for. Satawu is committed in working with anyone who is promoting and dedicated [to] clean administration. Also, the union wants to emphasise that anything that seeks to undermine the workers, government’s interventions and the poor will never be supported by the union,” he said.
“We also wish to reiterate that the union will continue working and supporting the Minister and the board members as we are currently in a process of refurbishing and rebuilding the vandalised lines in the country.”
In a statement, the transport department said it was committed to clean administration and governance across its entities.
Chikunga expressed her appreciation to Ramatlakane “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 his watch that Prasa was able to restore a sizeable number of 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 programme was launched after rail lines and stations were hit by vandalism during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Ramatlakane was appointed Prasa board member and chair by former transport minister Fikile Mbalula in 2020.
This is after Western Cape High Court judge Nathan Erasmus ruled that the minister should appoint a new board within 60 days after Mbalula’s decision to appoint Bongisizwe Mpondo as the administrator instead of a full board was declared unlawful and set aside by Erasmus.
Prasa is one of the many state-owned enterprises that have been hollowed out by years of corruption and mismanagement linked to state capture.
It announced in May 2020 that it was facing a debilitating cash-flow crunch after failing to pay R23m to employees’ retirement fund benefits for two months.
In 2022, the auditor-general issued a disclaimer on the parastatal’s financial statements for a third consecutive year.
A disclaimer signifies that the company’s accounts cannot be relied on and often suggests the company is in a serious financial state.
Speaking to Business Day in March 2021, Ramatlakane said it would take billions of rand of taxpayers’ money to bring the “broken” rail operator back to its former glory. He said there was a “lot of work ahead” to get Prasa on track, and likened repairing the broken state-owned rail agency to “fixing an aeroplane while it is flying”.
In 2022, the Prasa board said the rail agency’s dire financial situation could have been made worse by payments it made to 3,000 (20% of the workforce) ghost workers it uncovered earlier last year.
Prasa had been struggling to implement the outstanding 5% wage increase as part of the final leg of a three-year wage agreement signed with unions in 2020.
Ramatlakane read but did not respond to questions sent to him on Tuesday. When contacted for comment, he said: “I will issue a general statement.”
Update: June 6 2023
This article has been updated throughout.
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