The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) has expressed its satisfaction with the 15-year prison sentence recently handed down to Daniel Mthimkhulu, a former head of engineering at the parastatal.
This comes after Mthimkhulu was convicted on Tuesday, September 3 on nine counts of fraud, including the misrepresentation of qualifications.
In a statement, Prasa emphasised that the sentence, delivered by the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court sitting in Palm Ridge, serves as a stern warning to individuals attempting to defraud or engage in corrupt practices within Prasa or other state entities.
"Prasa will not tolerate any fraudulent behaviour," said Andiswa Makanda, Prasa spokesperson.
"We remain committed to our turnaround efforts and our mission to provide safe and affordable rail transportation for the people of this country."
"The successful conviction of Mthimkhulu sends a clear message to those who previously engaged in fraudulent behaviour at Prasa and to those considering illegal activities: justice is sometimes slow, but the long arm of the law does catch up with criminals," Makanda said.
Mthimkhulu was initially charged with nine counts, including fraud, uttering, and forgery, for falsifying his academic qualifications.
He had claimed to possess a Master's degree from the University of Witwatersrand and a Doctorate in Engineering Management from Technische Universität München (Munich Technical University) in Germany.
As a result of this misrepresentation, the rail agency suffered prejudice in that Mthimkhulu’s annual salary hiked from R1.6 million, as executive manager heading the engineering services, to R2.8 million.
Leading the Prasa team, Mthimkhulu also procured 13 locomotives from Spain in 2013 for R600 million, which were too tall for the rail system in South Africa.
In March, the Johannesburg High Court ordered Mthimkhulu to repay R5.7 million to Prasa as part of efforts to recover the proceeds of his crimes.
In Addition, Makanda said the National Prosecuting Authority's (NPA) Asset Forfeiture Unit has been authorised to seize his assets.
IOL