Latest news with #PRASA
Time Out
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Time Out
Springboks vs Wallabies: Everything you need to know
Can you feel it? With 16 August fast approaching, the Bok gees is tangible – and it's the perfect occasion to bring out your Labokboks as you back the boys. On Saturday, Ellis Park Stadium will come alive as the Springboks take on Australia's Wallabies in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship – a clash set to deliver fireworks. With the latest team announcement fuelling optimism, fans have every reason to believe the Boks are poised for a standout performance. Coach Rassie is ready for battle, saying that while the Wallabies will "come out guns blazing, we are confident that the players selected will be up for the challenge." Whether you're soaking up the atmosphere in the stands or cheering from home, here's everything you need to know to make the most of game day, from Park and Ride details to what to leave at home and how to doge traffic. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Springboks (@bokrugby) Match Details: Date: 16 August Location: Ellis Park Stadium Kick-off: 5:10 pm To book a ticket, click here Springbok Team to Face Australia: Ox Nche Malcolm Marx Wilco Louw Eben Etzebeth Lood de Jager Marco van Staden Pieter-Steph du Toit Siya Kolisi (captain) Grant Williams Manie Libbok Kurt-Lee Arendse Andre Esterhuizen Jesse Kriel Edwill van der Merwe Aphelele Fassi Park and Ride Services: Park and Ride services will be available at the designated pick-up points listed below. Buses will operate from 1 pm and 3 pm, transporting attendees to the stadium. Return services will depart from the stadium starting at 6:50 pm. Pick-up locations: Clearwater Mall Cresta Shopping Centre Montecasino Melrose Arch Mall of Africa Centurion Mall Menlyn Park Greenstone Shopping Centre East Rand Mall The Glen Shopping Centre Gold Reef City Sandton City Pretoria – The Grove Mall Tickets range from R250 and R395 and can be purchased here. Gautrain and PRASA Services: Gautrain services operate every 15 minutes to Ellis Park Station, ensuring a smooth and convenient journey to the stadium. To book your Gautrain trip, click here. PRASA rail services also connect Park Station directly to Ellis Park Stadium. This route takes approximately 3 to 4 minutes, with trains departing every 15 minutes. Time Out Tip: Travel between Park Station and Ellis Park Station on PRASA is free of charge for passengers presenting a valid match ticket. E-hailing Service: Pick-up and drop-off points are located at Gautrain Park Station. The following items are prohibited at Ellis Park Stadium: Animals (excluding service or guide dogs) Scooters or skateboards Flag poles greater than 1.5m in length Frisbees or similar objects Bottles, cans, glass vessels Air horns Let's go, Bokke!
IOL News
7 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
PRASA's Crisis of Accountability: Why the Boardroom Must Be Investigated and Raided
Law enforcement agencies — particularly the Hawks — have launched search and seizure operations against PRASA executives and administrative staff. Laptops are confiscated. Documents are removed. Offices are raided. However, board members remain untouched, says the writer. Image: Jacques Naude/Independent Newspapers By any standard of governance — legal, constitutional, or ethical — the failures plaguing the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) can be traced directly to its board. What is less ordinary, and far more disturbing, is the way accountability has been applied so selectively. Time and again, executives and senior officials are suspended, investigated, or dismissed, often amid significant public attention. Yet board members — the very individuals tasked with oversight — remain untouched. That pattern is not only unfair, it is deeply damaging to the principles of the rule of law, institutional integrity, and public trust. PRASA, like all state-owned entities, has a functioning board that carries legal and fiduciary responsibilities. The tenders that are awarded, the procurement decisions that are made, and the operational directions taken are all the product of board-sanctioned processes. Executives do not act in a vacuum. They work within governance frameworks that require decisions to be reviewed, approved, and frequently initiated by the board. This raises a critical question. If some of the executives who have faced disciplinary action or criminal investigation were simply implementing board-approved decisions, then what role did the board play in those decisions? And more importantly, why has there been so little accountability at that level? The standard narrative — that executive management failed while the board remained passive or uninformed — begins to fall apart under scrutiny. It is not a theoretical concern. In terms of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), PRASA's board is not an advisory body. It is the accounting authority. That status carries with it binding legal obligations. Section 51 of the PFMA makes this crystal clear. Accounting authorities must ensure effective, efficient, and transparent systems of financial and risk management. They must prevent irregular, fruitless, and wasteful expenditure. The Companies Act reinforces this by imposing fiduciary duties on directors to act in good faith and the best interests of the company, or in the case of PRASA, in the public interest. Take the Afro 4000 procurement scandal. The board approved it. Technical warnings were reportedly raised about the specifications of the locomotives. The trains were incompatible with South Africa's rail infrastructure — too tall for existing tunnels and bridges. Yet the deal, worth R2.65 billion, went ahead. That decision was not made in isolation by a single executive. It would have passed through multiple governance layers and ultimately received board approval. That failure is emblematic of a deeper problem — one of institutional decay, negligence, and possibly complicity. During the 2018 and 2019 financial years, PRASA's board reportedly held meetings for a full year without keeping formal minutes. The chairperson at the time is said to have received over R1.2 million in remuneration for those undocumented meetings. The failure to record official board decisions is more than a lapse in procedure. It is a fundamental breach of governance practice. It suggests an environment where oversight was neither practised nor valued. And yet, when a scandal erupts, it is executives who are dismissed or paraded before the public. Their reputations are often destroyed long before any formal finding is made. Meanwhile, board members continue to serve or exit quietly, with little to no scrutiny of their role in the dysfunction. This imbalance begs the question: Is the lack of board accountability a matter of political convenience? Board appointments in state-owned entities are often political. Holding executives accountable may temporarily satisfy public outrage. But investigating a board risks exposing the very political networks that put them there in the first place. That makes such action far less likely. Which brings us to a recent and increasingly bizarre pattern. Law enforcement agencies — particularly the Hawks — have launched search and seizure operations against PRASA executives and administrative staff. Laptops are confiscated. Documents are removed. Offices are raided. But in all of this, not once has a current or former board member been subjected to similar treatment. Not one home has been searched. Not one board office has been entered. Not one director has faced the same intensity of scrutiny. That is not just strange. It is alarming. If wrongdoing occurred at the level of governance — and there is mounting evidence that it did — then failure to investigate the board undermines the entire justice process. The law does not distinguish between an executive who signs off on a questionable contract and a board member who authorises or enables it. In public entities, the board is the final line of defence. If mismanagement or corruption took place with board approval, or worse, with its silent consent, then it is not less serious — it is more so. The Zondo Commission taught the nation a vital lesson. State capture did not begin at the operational level. It began in the boardroom. It began with individuals who had oversight powers and either abused them or looked away. PRASA cannot afford to repeat this history. It would be naïve to believe that collapses of governance on this scale happened without the knowledge or involvement of the board. The idea that executives alone engineered PRASA's failures while the board watched passively stretches the limits of both logic and law. If justice is to be done — and be seen to be done — then the boardroom must be subjected to the same investigative scrutiny as the executive corridor.
The Citizen
31-07-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
First train fare surge coming in August
Rail commuters using the Metrorail Northern Line in Pretoria are preparing for higher travel costs as the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) rolls out its first fare increase in a decade, effective from August 1. The fare adjustment, approved by the Department of Transport, will see single tickets rise by R2.50, with return fares increasing by between R5.50 and R6.00, depending on the travel distance. This change affects thousands of daily passengers who rely on Metrorail services from stations such as Pretoria North, Wolmerton, Mabopane, Soshanguve, and Ga-Rankuwa. PRASA has defended the increase, citing the need to meet growing operational costs, particularly those related to energy, infrastructure maintenance, and safety enhancements. While some commuters acknowledge the need for improvements, others feel the increase is poorly timed, given the rising cost of living. 'We understand PRASA needs funds to improve, but salaries are not going up at the same speed. 'Even a few rands extra every day makes a difference when you are already stretching your budget,' said John Molefe, a daily commuter from Pretoria North who uses the train to get to work in the Pretoria CBD. To soften the blow, PRASA has announced the return of weekly and monthly ticket options at discounted rates, an effort aimed at encouraging regular commuters to continue using rail services. According to PRASA spokesperson Andiswa Makanda, off-peak discounts of up to 50% will also remain in place for those travelling between 09:00 and 14:00, offering some relief to pensioners, military veterans, and scholars. PRASA rail CEO Nwabisa Gqamane-Ntiyane maintains that train travel remains the most affordable public transport option available in the country. 'Even with this fare adjustment, PRASA Rail fares remain the most affordable across all modes of transport. We are committed to providing affordable, safe and efficient commuter services,' she said. However, concerns remain about service quality, punctuality, and station conditions. 'If I'm paying more, I expect cleaner trains, safer stations, and reliable schedules,' said Thato Makhura, a student from Mabopane. Makanda said commuters can find detailed information about the new fares, seasonal tickets, and station-specific details by visiting their nearest Metrorail station. ALSO READ: WATCH: Massive python pulled from safari vehicle near Pretoria Do you have more information about the story? Please send us an email to [email protected] or phone us on 083 625 4114. For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord's websites: Rekord East For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram or TikTok.
IOL News
27-07-2025
- Business
- IOL News
PRASA Scandal Deepens: R7. 5 Billion Rail Project centre of focus
The Prasa headquarters were raided on Wednesday. Image: Jacques Naude/Independent Newspapers A high-level investigation into procurement irregularities at the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) has intensified, following a dramatic raid by the Hawks at the agency's Braamfontein headquarters. While public attention has largely focused on Maziya General Services following the release of a whistleblower report, mounting evidence now suggests that some of PRASA's most serious procurement failures — costing taxpayers billions — may lie elsewhere. On Wednesday, the Hawks' Specialised Commercial Crime Unit, supported by the National Prosecuting Authority's Specialised Commercial Crime Unit, executed a search-and-seizure operation. Laptops, mobile phones, and documents were taken from four of PRASA's top executives: CEO Hishaam Emeran, acting chief procurement officer Asif Rehman, head of legal Nompumelelo Gamedze-Phasha, and chief financial officer Brian Alexander. Brigadier Thandi Mambo, spokesperson for the Hawks, confirmed that the operation formed part of an ongoing investigation, but declined to comment further. 'To protect the integrity of our investigation, we cannot disclose details at this time,' she said. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Sources familiar with the matter say that Maziya's contracts went through all required internal processes, including evaluations by the Bid Evaluation Committee (BEC), Board Adjudication Committee (BAC), and the Executive. Notably, Maziya's work appears to be one of the few bright spots in PRASA's recent efforts to restore passenger rail services. Maziya has been actively involved in rehabilitating key corridors in Gauteng and the Western Cape. Trains are now running along previously dormant routes, and infrastructure upgrades are visibly in progress. In contrast, another massive PRASA project — unrelated to Maziya — valued at R7.5 billion, appears to have stalled completely. That project, which has already consumed R2.5 billion in public funds, was meant to refurbish trains and improve network reliability. Instead, many of the trains procured remain idle, in disrepair, or have been discarded entirely. With no clear operational outcomes, the R7.5 billion deal is increasingly viewed by insiders as one of the most costly and unproductive contracts in recent memory. Now, PRASA is reportedly exploring the option of cancelling that contract. However, legal experts are warning that such a move could trigger far-reaching consequences.'Terminating a contract of this size and complexity isn't something that can be done lightly,' said Mesela Nhlapo, CEO of the African Rail Industry Association. 'Even if there were procurement irregularities, the agency could face massive financial penalties or protracted litigation. These contracts often contain strict arbitration clauses and early termination fees.' Nhlapo added that the implications for the rail industry are broader than just this case. 'This is one of the biggest financial missteps in South Africa's recent transport history. The reputational and operational damage to PRASA and the country's commuter rail system is enormous. Investors and industry players are watching closely.' PRASA, for its part, has acknowledged receipt of the whistleblower's report and confirmed it will appoint an independent panel to investigate. 'The board takes the allegations seriously,' said PRASA spokesperson Andiswa Makanda. 'In line with our whistleblower policy, the first step will be to appoint an independent investigator.'
Time Out
21-07-2025
- Time Out
PRASA fare hike: What commuters need to know
Commuting via rail in the City is about to become more expensive, as government-owned Passenger Railway Agency of South Africa (PRASA) officially announced a fare increase across its Metrorail network. This marks the first adjustment since 1 July 2015. Effectively, travellers will pay about R30 for a return journey from Cape Town to Simon's Town, with off-peak discounts still applicable. The rail agency explained that following extensive consultations with commuters and stakeholders, which concluded in 2023, the new fare structure will be implemented nationwide from 1 August. @prasa_group Off-peak discounts Everyday 09:30 - 14:30 Off-peak Commuter services fares will be discounted effective from Monday the 13 November 2023 as follows: Between 09:30 and 14:30 on weekdays, weekends and public holidays. 50% Pensioners 40% Public/ Commuters 50% Scholars in uniform 10% Bulk Buying 50% Events #PeoplesTrain #rail #train #fyp #capetown #summer #beach ♬ original sound - 🦋andiswa🦋 What You Need To Know: Travel zones Fares are based on travel distances and divided into four zones: Zone 1 (Z1): 1km to 15km Zone 2 (Z2): 16km to 40km Zone 3 (Z3): 41km to 135km Zone 4 (Z4): 135km and above New fare structure Single Fares: Z1: Increased from R7.50 to R10 Z2: Increased from R9.50 to R12 Z3: Remains at R14 Z4: Remains at R15 Return Fares: Z1: Increased from R14 to R20 Z2: Increased from R18.50 to R24 Z3: Remains at R28 Z4: Remains at R30 Weekly Fares (Monday to Friday): Z1: Increased from R46 to R60 Z2: Increased from R55 to R70 Z3: Increased from R75 to R80 Z4: Increased from R80 to R90 Weekly Fares (Monday to Saturday): Z1: Increased from R50 to R75 Z2: Increased from R70 to R80 Z3: Increased from R90 to R100 Z4: Increased from R91 to R120 Monthly Fares: Z1: Increased from R142 to R240 Z2: Increased from R190 to R300 Z3: Increased from R235 to R320 Z4: Increased from R260 to R350 Effective d ate The new fare structure will take effect from 1 August 2025 nationwide. Discounts s till a pply PRASA has confirmed that the 50% discount for pensioners and military veterans will remain in effect for single and return tickets during off-peak hours (9 am to 2 pm). The new fares will also be discounted by 40% for normal travellers during these off-peak hours. @prasa_group Off-peak discounts Everyday 09:30 - 14:30 Off-peak Commuter services fares will be discounted effective from Monday the 13 November 2023 as follows: Between 09:30 and 14:30 on weekdays, weekends and public holidays. 50% Pensioners 40% Public/ Commuters 50% Scholars in uniform 10% Bulk Buying 50% Events #PeoplesTrain #rail #train #fyp #capetown #summer #beach ♬ original sound - 🦋andiswa🦋
