New deputy finance minister Sfiso Buthelezi was linked to possible financial irregularities in former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela\u2019s 2015 report on the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa).<\/p>\n
Buthelezi previously held the position of Prasa chairperson until he was replaced by Popo Molefe in 2014.<\/p>\n
Derailed, Madonsela\u2019s damning report on the troubled state-owned rail transport entity, contains allegations that a company of which Buthelezi was a shareholder and a director clinched an advisory services contract from Prasa while Buthelezi led Prasa\u2019s board.<\/p>\n
According to the report, however, Madonsela could not make any conclusive findings on the allegations because former Prasa CEO Lucky Montana failed to provide her with key documents related to the allegations.<\/p>\n
Buthelezi held shares in Cadiz Holdings and Makana Investment Corporation, according to an \u201cundated\u201d declaration of interests form included in the Derailed<\/em> report. Buthelezi was also a director of the latter company. Makana is a subsidiary of Cadiz.<\/p>\n Contract<\/strong><\/p>\n According to information provided to Madonsela, Cadiz Holdings secured a contract to provide advisory services to Prasa on the state-owned company\u2019s huge tender for new passenger carriages worth R51 billion.<\/p>\n Madonsela set out to determine whether Buthelezi \u201cimproperly fail[ed] to disclose and manage a conflict of interest arising from his interest in Makana, a subsidiary of Cadiz, a company allegedly providing advisory services to Prasa on the Rolling Stock Programme\u201d.<\/p>\n However, she did not receive the documents she needed to probe the claims.<\/p>\n \u201cThe documents have not been provided by Prasa, whose GCEO (Montana) only offered an explanation disputing the allegation and providing names of companies involved in the said advisory services. Accordingly, I have deferred my findings on this allegation and [it] will be dealt with in the second report,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n Madonsela\u2019s much-anticipated second report on Prasa\u2019s disastrous financial affairs under Montana\u2019s leadership could not be completed before she made way for Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhebane in October 2016.<\/p>\n Letter<\/strong><\/p>\n According to the report, Montana at the time wrote a letter in which he denied that Prasa had awarded an advisory contract to Cadiz.<\/p>\n \u201cPrasa argued that the allegation that Cadiz is providing advice on the new Rolling Stock Project is not only false but also dangerous as it jeopardises an important process in the upgrading of passenger rail services and the creation of job opportunities within South Africa,\u201d reads Madonsela\u2019s report.<\/p>\n According to CIPC records, Buthelezi resigned as a director of Cadiz Holdings in November 2010. He only resigned as a director of Makana Investment Corporation in August 2016.<\/p>\n The report states that Buthelezi was a \u201csenior executive at Makana Investment Corporation, which is owned by the Makana Trust, which belongs to former political prisoners in South Africa\u201d.<\/p>\n