In a surprising turn of events, Thembinkosi Pulu, a member of the South African Communist Party (SACP) in the Vaal District, has formally withdrawn his whistleblower complaint regarding corruption at the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa).

Pulu, who had earlier submitted the complaint to key figures, including the Minister of Transport, Honorable Barbara Creecy, and other relevant stakeholders, has cited new information as the reason for retracting the allegations.

In a letter dated 16 March 2025, Pulu stated that the SACP Vaal District was formally retracting the letter they sent on 14 February 2025, which outlined concerns about alleged corruption within Prasa. The letter was sent to several officials, including Deputy Minister of Transport Mkhuleko Hlengwa, the Prasa Board Chairperson, and the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee, Honorable S.D. Selamolela had raised the alarm over governance issues within the state-owned transport agency.

Pulu’s retraction comes after further investigations and new facts were brought to light. He emphasised that the SACP had not been coerced or influenced by any external party in making this decision.

He further highlighted that the party is not a “faceless” whistleblower and remains committed to addressing issues of corruption within the country’s public institutions.

In his statement, Pulu also reiterated the need for urgent action to be taken by Prasa to address critical issues such as the implementation of the Employment Equity Act, tackling nepotism, and prioritising the employment of Africans, particularly black individuals, in senior executive roles.

The withdrawal of the corruption complaint by Pulu has raised eyebrows but the SACP’s call for the agency to implement employment equity and to restore critical services like rail infrastructure and Autopax services remains firm.

The retraction seems to have poured cold water on the controversy surrounding PRASA and Maziya General Services. Speaking to Independent Media yesterday Chris Delport lashed out at the media, in particular, News24, referring to the news agency as “a rogue propaganda outlet”.In documents leaked from the Standard Bank, Maziya General Services was proven to have received bid bonds of up to 80 million rands from the bank - contrary to the whistleblower's report.

The whistleblower’s report also alleged that two tenders awarded to Maziya General Services for a global system for mobile communications-railway redundancy network in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, and Western Cape were awarded unprocedurally.

The letter compiled by a self-proclaimed whistleblower alleges that almost R2.7 billion in advance payments was made and that two tenders worth R17.4bn were unprocedurally awarded.

However, evidence found that on 29 March 2022, Standard Bank wrote to both Prasa and Maziya offering them bid bonds of up to 80 million rand.

There was also no evidence of any unprocedural awarding of contracts to Maziya General Services. Not mincing his words, Delport said: “Over the weekend the outlet released a story that my daughter was a 1% contractor to to the project.

Besides the fact that News24 got it entirely wrong, again, there is nothing wrong with my daughter getting a subcontract. Her company is one of many companies that will subcontract.

Her company has the highest grading and she won’t be denied work because she is my daughter. Maziya General Services is a private company and reserves the right to appoint and partner with companies it sees fit”.

Asked to respond to the Whistleblower’s retraction, Delport said: “Lies have short legs.''

According to a recent News24 article, Mercedes Delport, the daughter of Chris, has secured a 1% subcontract in a deal involving Prasa.

While the withdrawal of the whistleblower report has somewhat eased the immediate pressure on Prasa, questions still loom over the agency’s management and its handling of public resources.

The SACP’s latest statement calls for swift reforms, particularly to support small businesses and cooperatives in the Vaal District and to improve services for the working-class communities in the area.