Transport minister Fikile Mbalula has dismissed reports claiming it will take 30 years to fix the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa), saying the agency will deliver tangible results in the coming year.

An optimistic Mbalula said significant progress has been made to address institutional and operational challenges.

He said most of the corridors that were shut down will be back to full operation in the new year, including the Central line in Cape Town and the Mabopane line in Tshwane.

“Our efforts to turn around Prasa will not take us 30 years but will deliver tangible results in the coming year. Most of the corridors that were shut down will be back to full operation in the new year, including the Central line in Cape Town and the Mabopane line in Tshwane,” he said.

Mbalula said his department had noted media enquiries on the state of Prasa, saying this was a matter they “intend to fully address”.

He said it was common cause that his department had inherited a broken organisation, which was in dire straits.

“Through the shareholders compact, we concluded with the board, we seek to address the challenges with speed, in a systematic and focused manner,” said Mbalula.

“When we came into office in 2019, we set out a process to address the dire state of the entity and implemented various interventions to address institutional and operational challenges at Prasa. That process is firmly on track and significant progress has been made in a number of areas.”

According to Mbalula, a report by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) implicated about 44 officials in wrongdoing. He said the Prasa board was implementing consequence management in this regard.

“The board is equally giving urgent attention to serious allegations made against one of the executives, while tackling, among others, the challenge of ghost workers through an internal campaign, Operation Ziveze.

“I have comfort that the board has its eye on the ball and is making headway in addressing chronic challenges that have undermined Prasa’s ability to deliver on its mandate in the past,” he said

Despite losing its CEO Zolani Matthews, Mbalula said he was confident that Prasa’s board was making progress with turning the rail agency around.

He vowed to provide comprehensive updates to the nation next year on the progress made.

TimesLIVE