Durban - The Dube TradePort CEO has quit amid allegations
that he received kickbacks from a company that operated a cargo terminal at
Durban's King Shaka International Airport, the Mercury reported on Friday.
Rohan Persad had been on cautionary suspension since July 12
after it had been reported that he had allegedly taken kickbacks from Alex
McRoberts, a director of Worldwide Flight Services SA, which operates Dube
TradePort's cargo terminal at the airport.
The Dube TradePort is the flagship development project of
the KwaZulu-Natal economic development department. It is a public company
wholly funded by the department.
The Sunday Tribune reported earlier this month that Persad
was apparently expected to walk away with R15m as a result of the kickbacks.
The Mercury reported that other Dube TradePort executives
were also being investigated.
Earlier this year President Jacob Zuma officially opened the
TradePort, amid much fanfare.
The Dube TradePort was developed along with the King Shaka
International Airport, the building of which, according to former Airport
Company of SA CEO Momhla Hlahla, should have been delayed by seven to 10 years.
She told the Sunday Times last year in October that the
government had made her build against her better judgement and the advice of
financial and aviation analysts.