Prasa welcomes the conclusion of probe

Johannesburg - The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) says it welcomes the fact that the Public Protector has concluded her investigation into the company.

The Prasa board and management look forward to receiving the report and studying it.

Prasa spokesperson Moffet Mofokeng said the company respected the role of the Public Protector and that is why it co-operated fully during the investigation.

"We responded comprehensively to each and every allegation she was investigating and we await the reportedly complete report.

"However, it is important to remind the public that the allegations were made not against the group CEO of Prasa as a person.

Institute legal action

"The allegations were made early in 2012 by the then president of Satawu against Prasa. The Group CEO was cited in his capacity as the accounting officer and not that he personally did something untoward.

"The then Satawu president re-iterated this fact publicly himself. Subsequently, Satawu distanced themselves from the allegations and their former president after Prasa expressed our intention to institute legal action against the union.

"When the allegations were first made, the Prasa board appointed Deloitte to conduct a forensic investigation into the allegations and Deloitte, assisted by Prasa's internal audit division, came to the conclusion that the allegations are baseless, false and, in some instances, defamatory," Mofokeng said.