Sparks fly at Prasa parly briefing

Cape Town - A parliamentary briefing between members of the portfolio committee on transport and the board of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) got off to a shaky start when the board and MPs accused one another of hostility on the one hand and "reluctance to answer questions" on the other.  

Prasa Board member Tefetso Phitsane told MPs they need to "stick to the agenda", as there were issues on the table during Tuesday's meeting that weren’t attended to. “We need to make the request (to MPs) before the meeting continues. It stems from the hostility of yesterday and is followed by the attitude of some members here.”             

On Tuesday, Prasa's former boss Collins Letsoalo briefed MPs on the entity’s problems, including the seemingly unauthorised 350% salary increase for himself.

The board and Letsoalo detailed the breakdown in communication between the parties and the matter at hand - the problems with Metrorail - were not discussed.                        

Manny de Freitas, DA MP and member of the portfolio committee on transport raised the point that it was concerning that the Minister of Transport Dipuo Peters was not attending the meeting. "She excused herself yesterday, saying she was ill, but yet she attended the plenary in the National Assembly in the afternoon," De Freitas said. 

"The Minister is an integral part of this whole thing. This committee has been lied to by the Minister. She needs to explain why she’s not here today."