Public service commission to be asked to investigate Prasa’s chief engineer
8 July 2015
The FF Plus will be requesting the Public Service Commission (PSC) to investigate the validity of the qualifications of Prasa’s chief engineer, Dr. Daniel Mtimkulu, Adv. Anton Alberts, the FF Plus’ parliamentary spokesperson on Transport said (see report).
The FF Plus’ internal investigative team will also be making inquiries about the engineering degree of Mtimkulu and will present the acquired information to the PSC. The PSC had in 2015 issued guidelines to the public service and public institutions to properly investigate the qualifications of candidates for public service positions.
If there are any irregularities, the FF Plus will also lay fraud charges with the Police against all the relevant persons, including Prasa’s chief, Mr. Lucky Montana. Mr. Montana is the chief accounting officer in terms of the Public Finance Management Act who has to see to it that Prasa’s resources are utilised effectively and responsibly. If Dr. Daniel Mtimkulu appears to have been appointed irregularly due to his possible lack of proper qualifications for the position that he holds, and there is a link between Dr. Daniel Mtimkulu and the purchasing of trains with incorrect specifications, then both Mtimkulu and Montana would be liable for possible prosecution.
Adv. Alberts says allegations which have been made in today’s Beeld newspaper, is very serious and if Mtimkulu cannot provide immediate proof of his qualifications, he should be suspended immediately pending an investigation.
From the report it appears that Mtimkulu isn’t officially registered as am engineer, the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) turned down his application to be registered in 2006 and the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) where he had apparently studied, does not have any record of him.
According to Mtimkulu, he has a doctorate from a university in Germany. This too will be investigated, Adv. Alberts said.
“In the meantime, the FF Plus is requesting any person with further information to contact the party immediately so that it could be investigated.
“Incompetent cadre-deployment is busy paralysing the public service and its branches and the tragic results can now be seen manifested in places such as Eskom and Prasa, where R600 million was possibly wasted on the purchase of faulty locomotives.
“The FF Plus will ensure in this case that a golden handshake is not used to allow any irregularities to disappear as has been the case in so many other instances. If irregularities did take place, the law must take its course.
“The falsifying of qualifications is a crime and is fast increasing hand in hand in South Africa. This has to be stopped,” Adv. Alberts says.
Statement issued by FF Plus parliamentary spokesperson: Transport, July 8 2015
