State-owned freight rail company Transnet says its doors are open if workers have compelling evidence of recent state capture at the ports authority division.
On Wednesday, the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) fingered the Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) as a crime scene.
The workers’ union described the damage as far more severe than state capture and warned of secret plans to privatise the lucrative state asset.
The union said it would request the Transnet board chairperson and the group chief executive to conduct an urgent investigation into Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) CEO Pepi Silinga.
The union’s demand included his immediate removal from office pending investigations.
In response, Transnet told Sunday World on Thursday that Satawu’s allegations were taken seriously.
“In this regard, we have requested Satawu to assist Transnet in investigating the matter by
providing information to substantiate the claims,” said TNPA spokesperson Ayanda Mantshongo.
Mantshongo said any further action will be assessed if or when any information or evidence is provided to substantiate the claims.
Satawu’s general secretary, Jack Mazibuko, said in a statement on Wednesday that instead of a turnaround plan, the company was infested with corruption.
He alleged that the company’s current leadership orchestrated the malfeasance because they could not wait for a chance to take over, loot, and ultimately destroy the company.
Three years ago, Transnet appointed Silinga as TNPA CEO.
Before that, Silinga served as CEO of Coega Development Corporation (CDC), an investment agency of the Eastern Cape government.
Satawu alleged that Silinga recruited the whole CDC team to TNPA, which he described as CDC 2.0.
According to the workers’ union, those recruited had no experience coping in the highly regulated division of Transnet.
Mazibuko said: “To name a few, the CEO is from the CDC, the secretary [is from the] CDC, five members, executive managers, and senior managers, including fixed-term contractors, are all from the CDC.”
He claimed that TNPA’s procurement department was also staffed with ex-CDC employees.
He said the level of control Silinga enjoyed across the department was an incentive for “corruption and irregularities we have seen happening in the procurement space of TNPA”.
He called for an investigation as soon as possible.
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