File photo: One of 13 locomotives supplied by Swifambo. (Included)
President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed a proclamation giving the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) powers to investigate corruption at the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA), particularly in relation to its dealings with Swifumbo and Syangena.
The declaration was published in the Official Gazette on Friday, and the SIU issued a statement on the matter on Monday.
The move took a long time. A campaign has been going on for more than six years calling on the National Prosecuting Authority and the Hawks (Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation) to take action against those involved in state corruption linked to the Suifambo and Syangena cases.
The SIU will investigate violations of anti-corruption laws, specifically PRASA's purchase of locomotives from Swifambo and PRASA's contract with Syangena to supply and maintain integrated security access management systems at various railway stations across the country. empowered.
According to testimony before the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into State Capture (Zondo Commission) under Justice Raymond Zondo, Suifambo was appointed in 2012 to supply locomotives worth R3.5 billion to PRASA, with approximately R8,000 Rand 10,000 was reportedly paid to the ANC. Former PRASA Chairman Popo Molefe. The locomotive purchased from the Spanish company Vossloh did not fit into the PRASA railway network. In 2017, the Johannesburg High Court found the deal to be corrupt.
Syangena's investigation, under former CEO Lucky Montana, revealed that under the guise of preparation requirements for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the company's scope to provide automated access security controls at Nasrec and Doornfontein stations and seven others across the country It is related to PRASA, which has expanded to two stations. As detailed in then Public Protector Thuli Madonsela's “derailment” report, the nearly R2-billion contract extension was made after the World Cup and was not implemented in many stations, including Cape Town.
The SIU was also given permission to investigate serious irregularities relating to fraudulent liability claims processed and paid by PRASA's Group Insurance division, including claims paid as one-off payments to vendors. The investigation will also extend to the employment of ghost employees identified by PRASA's Project Givese in August 2021, the SIU said in a statement.
SIU spokesperson Kaiser Kganyago told GroundUp that the force had been “dealing with PRASA for years” but could not move forward without a declaration. This is why they made the request to the President through the Department of Justice.
Mr Kganyago did not say when the declaration was submitted or how long the SIU had been waiting for Mr Ramaphosa's signature, but said an investigation had been launched before the Zondo commission and there had already been no word on the investigation. He said a lot of groundwork is being done.
He said the Zondo commission had helped clarify the information but now the SIU “needs to get to the bottom of it”.
“It's hard work,” he said.
Civil society group #UniteBehind, which has long campaigned for the investigation and prosecution of corruption at PRASA, is “delighted” with the publication of the declaration, said Solicitor General Joseph Mason.
But Mr Mason said the declaration was “four years late”, citing the lawsuits against Mr Suifambo and Mr Siyangena and the Zondo commission.
“There are concerns that this will make asset forfeiture even more difficult.”
He also said it was unclear what was happening with the Hawks' existing investigation, which was “apparently 90% complete two years ago.”
PRASA was contacted for comment but could not be reached prior to publication.
This article was first published by GroundUp.
