Johannesburg – The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa’s (PRASA) new accounting authority, Badisa Matshego, is faced with the mammoth task of stabilising the embattled state-owned rail agency.
Matshego has been put in the position following a Western Cape High Court ruling last week that set aside the appointment of Bongisizwe Mpondo as Prasa’s administrator.
National Treasury was ordered by the High Court to make the appointment of an accounting authority until a new board came into effect.
Up until now, Prasa was under the watchful eye of Mpondo after Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula dissolved the agency’s board in 2019.
Speaking at a media briefing on Wednesday, Mbalula said that they remained firmly on a path towards building a passenger rail agency that had the needed capacity and leadership to deliver on its mandate.’
Mbalula said Matshego would be tasked with making most of the decisions at Prasa.
“The accounting authority will be arriving in place [and] look at the decisions and everything else and basically make decisions that are important,” said Mbalula.
Matshego was a group executive responsible for infrastructure and asset management at the Airports Company South Africa (Acsa).
Mbalula has assured that a new board would be appointed within the next two months.
