In an interview with BizNews founder Alec Hogg, Paul Hoffman of Accountability Now takes a lawyer’s look on the certain try and throw the kitchen sink at Matthews after he started uncovering malfeasance. In conserving with Hoffman, the usage of Matthews’s twin-citizenship because the motive within the lend a hand of his suspension is uncertain, questioning the factual motive of Leonard Ramatlakane, the baby-kisser drafted in as Prasa’s chairman. – Sharidyn Rogers
NB: Prasa reports to the Transport Minister, now now not the SOE Minister as suggested within the interview.
Paul Hoffman on Zolani Matthews suspension:
It’s refined to come to a conclusion because there is so necessary up within the air and so many tales on the side toll road. What all people is conscious of for obvious is that Leonard Ramatlakane – who has drifted into the role of chair of Prasa, having been a baby-kisser all his life and a member of Parliament at various phases – in his ability as chair, striking up two causes for the backyard leave that Matthews is enjoying. The first is the ask of the non-disclosure of his twin citizenship, share Brit, share South African. It appears to be like, when he used to be employed lend a hand in February, Matthews lawful wrote ‘SA citizen’ and did now not mention his British citizenship.
Why that need to be cloth defeats all logic because this man took plot to stay within the UK because his father used to be an exile. His sister is a cabinet member in South Africa, so if he is a security risk, let’s hope the leisure of the family isn’t. There appears to be like to be entirely no materiality to the non-disclosure of his British citizenship, which makes you pronounce that they are looking to throw the kitchen sink at him and need to resort to any manoeuvre to bewitch him on backyard leave long ample to get bored and desire to lawful pass on with his profession, in plot of set up.
The ask is, why stop they desire to place away with him and reasonably mysteriously? Ramatlakane talks about contractual duties giving upward push to the suspension, and he doesn’t assert what they’re. There’s heaps of speculation going on round what that is all about. It’s moreover identified that about a of the whistleblowers at Prasa, which resulted in the Zondo Fee, like now now not been handled smartly by Prasa and they’re now now not lend a hand in their jobs as they’d hoped to be.
This is able to likely like one thing to forestall with the suspension of Matthews. The diversified story on the side toll road is that Matthews has been atmosphere aside procurements that stop now now not observe the Constitution, aren’t comely, equitable, payment-efficient, transparent nor competitive. That’s upsetting the board of Prasa because he is now now not enjoying ball with the Cadre deployment in Prasa and now now not allowing the teach take hang of occasion to proceed in Prasa. I ponder why a person with a grasp’s diploma in public administration from Harvard need to allow himself to get mad about a multitude of this nature.
On the dignity between freight rail and Prasa:
The Passenger Rail Association of South Africa has the truth is succeeded the Metro rail. It’s all share of the family that outdated to be the South African Railways and Harbours, and that used to be split and separated out. Now we now like got the Ports Authority and we now like got Transnet. Prasa has been saved change into self sustaining from the freight rail. Freight rail is Transnet, Prasa is passenger rail.
On Pravin Gordhan’s jurisdiction over Prasa:
[Pravin Gordhan] is the shareholders’ advisor. He’s the minister responsible of public enterprises and the board needs to be reporting to him about what’s occurring there. Right relying on Ramatlakane’s press assertion as recorded within the enterprise day, let’s assert, it’s a ask of the materiality of his citizenship. The man has been there since February for heaven’s sake, and now without discover he is a security risk … I don’t pronounce so. Then this contractual duty, share of it is mysterious and ambiguous and the truth is refined to resolve. So, time will uncover.
On whether Ramatlakane would favor been appointed by Pravin Gordhan:
Optimistic, that’s goal. Here is share of the try and perfect up the act of the teach-owned enterprises which were sites of teach take hang of. Nonetheless need to you keep in mind it, it’s deployed cadres all round and it depends on which faction the cadres belong to, as to whether things are going to work as they need to, or whether they’ll be a continuation of teach take hang of.
On Zolani Matthews’ education:
He got an undergraduate diploma from Warwick College, which obviously took plot whereas his father used to be in exile. Then he has a postgraduate grasp’s in public administration from Harvard, in accordance with what mother Google told me about him.
It’s payback time. If we rob he is as pure because the driven snow, then he used to be actuated by basically the most classic of motives in looking out for to be share of the acknowledge in plot of share of the topic. Nonetheless if he is a conventional deployed cadre, then he’s sought deployment there, so that he can like his flip on the dining vehicle on this particular trailer.
On Ramatlakane because the man entrusted to flip across the embattled rail utility:
I’m obvious the matter needs to in an instant be driven to a head, and that can even be carried out by looking out for readability from Ramatlakane; as to what he used to be speaking about when he spoke so mysteriously about contractual duties. I’m obvious that within the interests of openness, accountability and responsiveness – that are all living up very deeply in allotment one in all the Constitution – informing as foundational values, the manner this nation is supposed to be run. Pravin Gordhan will be doing lawful that and asserting, “Okay, please, Mr Ramatlakane, can you ticket to us what precisely is going on right here?”
On Zolani Matthews’ investigation:
Matthews had never crossed my radar before this incident, which would appear to indicate that he has now now not previously been mad about shenanigans of teach take hang of. If there is battle between him and the board, then the underlying trigger is that he is looking out for to design goals in a explicit diagram; and they’re looking out for to design goals in a technique that is inconsistent with the manner that he’s going about it. Who’s correct and who’s detrimental? Successfully, Peter Harris is an outdated campaigner and is now potentially now not to head on myth to the media asserting that his client has no case to answer to.
If that is now now not the role, he would be extra likely to be very reserved and unforthcoming when it comes to queries like yours if he used to be eager that his client is in difficulty. I will be able to now now not leer any difficulty in any admire when it comes to the materiality of the non-disclosure of the British citizenship, especially because it’s raised in November, and he used to be employed in February. So it obviously has one thing to forestall with this mysterious contractual duties share of the story.
Read extra:
- Resolve Hlophe likely to study Stalingrad approach that Zuma made smartly-known – Paul Hoffman
- Why SA needs an Integrity Fee – Paul Hoffman
- Zuma going to jail isn’t a carried out deal – Paul Hoffman
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