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R37 million. That is how much the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa has forked out to employees suspended on full pay pending disciplinary action over the past three years.
In response to a parliamentary question from the Democratic Alliance’s Manny de Freitas, Transport Minister Dipuo Peters said the suspensions were due to “several cases of misconduct that required intensive investigations”.
In the months between April 2012 and March 2015 there were between 44 and 120 Prasa employees suspended pending disciplinary action.
Prasa was considering contracting external resources to assist in chairing the hearings, and workshops are ongoing with trade unions to embrace the culture of discipline.
According to Peters, the most investigations were instituted after staff blew the whistle on colleagues.
“With regards to investigations, engagements are ongoing since most of the complex investigations arise out of whistle-blowing.”
“Doctor” Daniel Mtimkulu is probably the most well-known recent case where a Prasa employee was subjected to disciplinary action.
After a series of revelations by Media24 that he had lied about his qualifications, Mtimkulu was fired in August 2015 after a hearing.
