DA submits PAIA to Treasury for Sfiso Buthelezi PRASA forensic reports
19 June 2017
The DA has submitted an application, in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA), for the findings of all the forensic investigations into Deputy Finance Minister, Sfiso Buthelezi, when he was Chairperson of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa).
It is in the best interest of the South African public that these findings be made public and will ensure that any of these damning findings will not be buried. There is a very real and present danger that as Deputy Minister, Mr Sfiso Buthelezi has the power to conceal and bury the findings against him.
Reports recently stated that the forensic investigations findings, going as far back as seven years, show that Prasa Executives, the Board and Buthelezi did not uphold their fiduciary duties when they ignored wasteful, fruitless and irregular spending in multiple tender procurement processes totalling more than R1 billion and violated the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).
The findings of the investigations were apparently passed on to National Treasury recently and now Finance Minister, Malusi Gigaba, and Buthelezi are left to act on the findings. The Minister is between a rock and a hard place, and only a full public disclosure will ease this for him.
The DA has already opened a criminal case against Buthelezi for apparent involvement in corruption at Prasa. We have also written to Transport Committee Chairperson, Dikeledi Magadzi, to summon the Hawks to update Parliament on its continued Prasa investigations and we have written to Minister Gigaba to pass on the full forensic investigations findings on Buthelezi to the Hawks.
We will continue to push for the corrupt rot at the State Owned Entity (SOE) to be weeded out and will not back down until all implicated government officials are brought to book for any abuse of state resources. If guilty, Buthelezi must be held accountable to the full extent of the law.
Issued by Manny de Freitas, DA Shadow Minister of Transport, 19 June 2017
