reporter Tebogo Tshwane. It’s such a wonderful illustration of everything that has gone wrong with SA’s state-owned enterprises through the lens of a detailed look at a comparatively small contract to maintain Prasa’s trains.
The recent history of Prasa was encapsulated by the decision, you’ll recall, to buy trains that were too tall, using an intermediary company called Swifambo – a transparent skimming exercise, it turned out. I remember taking the train between Johannesburg and Soweto way back when. It was too much fun. There were religious carriages, ANC carriages, IFP carriages, everyone was singing. People hung out of the doors. It was just madness, but somehow, the train left and arrived. This was and is an absolutely crucial transport link, of course.
The new board and management of Prasa is obviously trying to save an organisation that is absolutely on the brink. Of course, being South Africa, the decision to fire some of the old management, who the board decided was part of the corruption, hit a snag when their dismissal was revoked by the Labour Court. Some t was not crossed, or i dotted somewhere, obvs. The decision is being appealed. Just another day in the morass.
So now, of course, the remaining 10 companies are pissed off – losing bidders always are. But their case is massively enhanced since one of the unsuccessful bidders was fellow parastatal Transnet, the most obvious and natural candidate, partly because a) Transnet did it before, b) has the capacity, and c) owns the most crucial component of the maintenance process: a warehouse with rail access.
What occurs to me in this sorry tale is that there is a crucial piece of the puzzle missing: the board.
Belgique Dernières Nouvelles, Belgique Actualités
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