Question NW893 to the Minister of Transport
13 April 2017 - NW893
De Freitas, Mr MS to ask the Minister of Transport
With reference to the process to appoint the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa which began in 2016, (a) why was the process terminated, (b) who made the decision to terminate the process and (c) what amount was spent on the process?
Reply:
Firstly, the former Minister of Transport, Ms Dipuo Peters met with staff members of PRASA. The staff members shared concerns that emerged from when SARCC became PRASA. The consolidation process of the various passenger rail entities into a single passenger entity, namely PRASA, did not also pay attention to cultivating a specific culture within the new organization. As result, hence the challenges that are now being experienced within PRASA. Secondly, the recruitment process for the Group CEO was compromised through the leaking of information to the public. The former Minister impressed upon the Board Chairperson to consider putting the appointment process on hold in light of the above developments. She emphasised that organisational stability was critical and had to be reached before a new CEO can be appointed. This would enable the incoming new CEO to focus on performance and gearing the organization for delivery.
a) The process to appoint the Group CEO of PRASA was terminated within the context of the above background. The credibility of the recruitment process was compromised.
b) The former Minister together with the Board Chairperson agreed and both took the matter to the Board for discussion and decision making
c) The amount spent on the process was R 1 767 000.00