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The commission of inquiry into alleged state capture will soon be receiving comprehensive reports and evidence unveiling the waste of billions of rands at Transnet.
The revelation from the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse came after the state-owned entity announced the suspension of two senior officials implicated in the dodgy procurement of 1064 diesel and electric locomotives.
Thamsanqa Jiyane, chief officer of advanced manufacturing at Transnet Engineering, and Lindiwe Mdletshe, senior manager for strategic sourcing at Transnet Freight Rail, were served with official suspension letters on Thursday, following a special board meeting on Wednesday.
Outa chief executive Wayne Duvenage said the suspension of the pair was an “example of the tide turning against those implicated in [alleged] state capture”.
Duvenage congratulated Transnet chairperson Popo Molefe and urged for more to still be done at the state-owned entity.
“There is so much more to come and arrests are what we want to see, but we are confident these will happen in time. The wheel is starting to turn,” said Duvenage.
Outa argued that the buck should not stop with the suspension of the two executives but more heads should roll because the wasteful expenditure and alleged fraud at Transnet implicated many more officials.
“These two executives are not the only ones implicated in buying the 1064 locomotives. Outa will submit comprehensive reports and evidences to the state capture inquiry on how billions have been wasted at Transnet,” read the organisation’s statement.
The suspensions followed investigations by law firms Werksmans and MNS Attorneys, as well as the Treasury, into allegations of impropriety linked to the R54 billion purchase of locomotives from General Electric, Bombardier Transport, China South Rail and China North Rail.
An initial investigation and report by Werksmans implicated Jiyane, Mdletshe and chief executive Siyabonga Gama, with the law firm recommending disciplinary action against all three.
The law firm also recommended that law enforcement agencies be brought in to further investigate matters identified in the report.
The MNS report mirrored Werksmans’ findings, while the draft Treasury report also implicated Gama.
Gama is expected to be notified of his suspension soon, following a meeting between the board and public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan.
The Transnet board confirmed that Jiyane and Mdletshe were given time to present arguments as to why they should not be suspended, but their representations on reasons for them not to be suspended where found to be “implausible”.
According to board chairperson Molefe, their continued presence at Transnet was “likely to hinder and prejudice further forensic investigations that the board has instituted.”
With the pair suspended and Gama looking likely to also follow suit, the only question remaining is whether the deal to procure these locomotives will be cancelled and the R54 billion Transnet engineered heist recuperated.
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