Popo Molefe heading to court
Prasa chairman Popo Molefe on Sunday signalled that he would file an urgent court application to have Transport Minister Dipuo Peters’s decision to dismiss the board of the parastatal set aside.
In his founding affidavit, Molefe accused the minister of removing the board of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) in a bid to block its probe into wasteful, fruitless, and irregular spending totalling some R14 billion.
“The minister’s action interferes with the ongoing investigations at Prasa and may be an effort to frustrate the successful outcome of these investigations,” he said.
“The removal of the relevant directors clearly threatens the constitutional principle of legality, the operations in Prasa, the values of transparency and openness, and the continued viability and finalisation of the Prasa investigation.”
ALSO READ: The Battle for the Prasa Board
Peters dismissed the Prasa board on Wednesday, days after she was forced to remove acting CEO Collins Letsaolo from the entity after he publicly fell out with the board over his salary. It had been increased by 350 percent.
Molefe is expected to file the urgent application on Tuesday morning. There have been reports since last year of tension between him and Peters.