DA welcomes Johannesburg High Court’s decision to set aside ‘tall trains’ tender

3 July 2017

The DA welcomes the judgment by the Johannesburg High Court to set aside the controversial Swifambo Rail Leasing contract.

Swifambo, which had no previous experience in the rail industry when it won the tender in March 2013, was contracted to supply 70 new locomotives to PRASA at a cost of R3.5 billion. The company received an initial payment of R460 million and supplied 13 locomotives but they were too tall and thus unsuitable for South Africa’s railways.

It was also alleged that the ANC were beneficiaries of an R80 million bribe aimed at securing the deal for Swifambo, with payments made to Zuma-aligned Maria de Cruz Gomes for business unrelated to PRASA’s operations. The DA has already previously laid charges in this regard in 2016.

The judgment states that “harm will be done to the administration of justice” and “corruption will triumph” if the court did not set aside the tender.

This is an indictment on PRASA and exposes how flawed the procurement procedures of PRASA and many other state-owned entities (SOEs) are.

The judgment is thus welcomed as it reaffirms the strength of the country’s judiciary and gives us hope that more SOEs can be rescued from State Capture, corrupt ANC officials and unscrupulous “businesspeople”.

Issued by Manny de Freitas, DA Shadow Minister of Transport, 3 July 2017