Fired Prasa CEO Zolani Matthews’ settlement was ‘fair and just’, MPs told

17 Sep 2024

The Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) dismissed its CEO Zolani Matthews in August for the third time after a protracted legal battle. The rail utility insists the process was ‘just and fair’.

‘Chair, there were no easy choices,” said Deputy Transport Minister Mkhuleko Hlengwa in Parliament on Tuesday, 17 September 2024, in response to questions about Prasa’s settlement with former chief executive Zolani Matthews.

Prasa fired Matthews in August this year following a protracted legal dispute dating back to 2021.

Hlengwa and senior Prasa officials had been called to brief Parliament’s transport oversight committee about the rail agency’s corporate plan. However, Matthews’ dismissal featured prominently during the day’s discussion.

Hiring and firing

Matthews’ tenure at Prasa was controversial from the time he was appointed in March 2021.

In November of that year, he was suspended over his alleged failure to disclose his dual British citizenship. Matthews is the son of former deputy minister of state security Joe Matthews and the grandson of anti-apartheid activist ZK Matthews. He is the brother of former international relations minister Naledi Pandor.

The board subsequently fired Matthews for failing to disclose his dual citizenship, which was obtained during his family’s exile.

Matthews went to the Labour Court, but while the parties were in arbitration, Prasa fired him once again for what it claimed was poor performance.

In July 2024, the Labour Court ruled that Prasa had to reinstate Matthews. However, the entity already had a new CEO, Hishaam Emeran. He was hired in 2022 after Matthews had been fired for the second time.

In August 2024, after the court ordered Matthews to be reinstated, Prasa announced it had fired him again. The board said in a statement that it had settled the remainder of Matthews’ contract.

GroundUp reported that the legal botch-ups in the saga had so far cost Prasa upwards of R15-million in payouts to Matthews.

‘No easy choices’

On Tuesday, Matthews’ firing last month was raised by committee members who asked Prasa and Hlengwa to explain the situation. Makashule Gana (Rise Mzansi) asked if the board took responsibility for this and how much the dismissal cost.

Prasa had reportedly agreed to settle the remainder of Matthews’ contract.

“There were no easy choices. There were no easy decisions, but a decision had to be taken in order for us to be able to take Prasa forward and deal with the issues of the past,” said Hlengwa.

Before his role as deputy minister, Hlengwa was chair of the public accounts committee where Prasa had been a frequent topic of discussion during the sixth administration.

“The board is currently engaged in a full-scale analysis of the set of circumstances which characterised that particular situation… and I know there are questions around the board that was there… there have been shifts in terms of members and membership of the board,” said Hlengwa.

“There were issues around legal advice that was given to the board at the end… which also informed the decision,” said Hlengwa.

Prasa board chair Nosizwe Nokwe-Macamo insisted there had been a “fair and just process”.

“The board applied its mind,” said Nokwe-Macamo, adding that Prasa acted “consistently”.

“The board acted consistent with the legal advice that it received at the time and it acted consistent with the policies of the organisation,” she told MPs.

At the same time, she said, there was a need for stability at Prasa as it was seeking to revive its rail operations.

This is not Prasa’s first controversy surrounding top management. Before Matthews’ appointment, Lucky Montana was CEO until he left the agency in 2015. Ever since, Prasa has had acting CEOs.

Montana is now an MP for the uMkhonto Wesizwe party and sits on the transport committee, which has oversight on Prasa. DM

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Hiring and firing

‘No easy choices’