Sibusiso Sithole has resigned from his position as interim CEO at the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa).
Prasa had issued a statement on Thursday morning indicating that after nine months on the job, the board had accepted Sithole's resignation.
Sithole had been appointed as its interim group CEO on June 1, 2018 with a mandate to "bring stability and certainty" to the rail agency.
Sithole was the former city manager of eThekwini Municipality, he was also previously the general manager at the Umgeni Water Board.
During his time as CEO, Sithole and other Prasa board members accounted to Parliament about the steps being taken to clean up the group, which Transport Minister had labelled an "atm" due to financial leakages through wrongfully awarded contracts.
According to board chairperson Khanyisile Kweyama, Sithole's resignation comes after the board advertised positions for the role of CEO, Chief Financial Officer and other key group executives. "The Prasa board of control remains committed to the goal of getting Prasa back on track," she affirmed.
In the mean time, the Department of Transport has seconded Dr Nkosinathi Sishi to act as the Group CEO.
Sishi is the deputy director-general of public entity support, responsible for corporate governance, special projects and public entity oversight in which he oversaw 12 public entities within the transport portfolio including Prasa, the Road Accident Fund and the Airports Company South Africa.
"His experience will be valuable in keeping Prasa on track as the board of control continues the turnaround journey it has embarked upon," Kweyama said.
Sishi has more than 33 years of experience in public service. Among his area of expertise includes human capital development, skills development, and project management and infrastructure development. He also held roles in the higher education and training department.
As he takes on his new role, Sishi will step down from his role on the board of control.
Nzimande will appoint a representative from the department to the board as soon as possible, the statement read.
On his appointment Sishi said he would engage with the group executive to attend to immediate challenges at Prasa.
"The time I have spent on the Prasa board and my role as the deputy director general responsible for oversight of the public entities in the transport sector has given me some insight on the challenges ahead and the work that needs to be done," he said.